Monday, August 21, 2006
[RealEdge] TodayOnline : Blocks of irritation
 This story was printed from TODAYonline | |
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| Blocks of irritation HDB's lease of Jurong flats to foreign students upsets some residents Monday August 21, 2006 Lee U-Wen u-wen@newstoday. WHEN the Government recently leased a batch of unsold flats in Jurong to foreign nationals, some residents were incensed. The reason? These foreigners were "troublemakers" One resident even called the MediaCorp hotline to complain about the Housing and Development Board's (HDB) move to rent out the units at Jurong West Street 64 to "non-Singaporeans" "We pay good money for our homes, yet, now I see many units at my block being occupied by foreign workers. My daughter and wife don't feel safe now, what if something happens to them?" wondered Mr Bernard Tan, a father-of-two in his 50s. Faced with nearly 9,000 unsold new flats in a sluggish property market, the HDB said it was an "interim measure" to lease some of them out to keep them occupied. But contrary to what residents like Mr Tan think, an HDB spokesman said that the flats at Jurong West, which are leased out by EM Services, are only rented to foreign and local students and their families. "Construction workers and work permit holders are not allowed. The people staying in these previously-vacant flats are professionals, executives and students," he said. Interestingly, this type of fear mentality was touched on last night at the National Day Rally by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, as he urged Singaporeans to mature as a society and welcome new immigrants. "I know some Singaporeans don't agree with me. Once in a while, I hear stories of residents who complain to the media that some immigrants and foreigners have moved in, (so) they don't feel safe," he said without referring to any specific case. "'Please move them away or compensate us (as) it affects (our) environment. The Jurong West executive apartment units at blocks 669A to 669D mostly on the second and third floors are all five years or older and have remained unsold despite being repeatedly offered in sales exercises, said the HDB. One of the new lessees, Myanmar student Kyaw Kyaw Htike, was surprised that foreigners like him were being stereotyped as labourers. "We're all from different countries Myanmar, India, China. Most of us are educated, and we're all just here to study or earn a living," the 28-year-old Nanyang Technological University masters student told Today. On residents' concerns, the HDB spokesman said: "A system of management and control is undertaken by EM Services, which has to ensure that no noise nuisance or annoyance is caused to neighbouring residents." HDB added that EM Services conducts "stringent checks" regularly to ensure there are no illegal occupiers of the rented flats. Such checks include verifying the validity of the student and employment passes. Surprise spot checks are also conducted, with tenants unaware of their exact day and timing, said the HDB. Said Mr Lee last night: "I understand these concerns, but we have to take a big-hearted approach. Our forefathers were immigrants too, and if Singapore had rejected them, we would not be here today." | |
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// posted by Shajahan @ 9:36 AM 