(18-05-2023, 04:17 PM)fuch_asia Wrote: Dear Madam Halimah Yacob,
On 5 May 2023 I raised concerns in a series of social media posts on my blog about two properties managed by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) which are being tenanted by two senior Cabinet Ministers Shanmugam and Balakrishnan.
On 13 May in response to my concerns, SLA issued a statement confirming that Senior Ministers Shanmugam and Balakrishnan are the tenants of the two compounds on Ridout Road which they inhabit for their own use. The statement is otherwise devoid of useful facts but SLA said that more details will be provided on this issue at the next parliamentary session in July.
SLA properties are state assets on land managed as part of our reserves for the nation. As such these SLA assets fall within your remit as President under your duty both to safeguard the reserves and also in the interests of fairness, to prevent them being used just to benefit a select group at the expense of all Singaporeans.
We are lectured frequently by Government Ministers on the need to ensure that the state receives the full market value for the land it owns. Otherwise, the Ministers say, it would constitute a drain on Past Reserves and be unfair to future generations of Singaporeans. As recently as March 2023, Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, was reported by The Straits Times as saying in Parliament that excluding “land costs in pricing HDB flats would not only erode Singapore’s reserves but also benefit only a select group of flat buyers at the expense of all Singaporeans.” In the light of Ms Rajah’s remarks, there are legitimate concerns that Mr Shanmugam and Mr Balakrishnan are not paying the full market value that could be realised for the properties and are enjoying a benefit from State assets only available to a select few and that this is therefore a drain on the reserves.
More at https://tinyurl.com/bdzb2f2k
well said. How hypocritical to accuse HDB buyers of robbing the reserves if they were to suggest in not paying current land cost valuation to SLA when two of the highest paid ministars are not paying the full market value and robbing the reserves / SLA
真丢脸 . I think no matter how the lawyer wishes to twist and turn. Oppo may have got them by the ballz