www.shaproperty.com: [RealEdge] TodayOnline : Spottiswoode smiling

Monday, November 06, 2006

[RealEdge] TodayOnline : Spottiswoode smiling

This story was printed from TODAYonline

Spottiswoode smiling

But don't take goodies for granted, says MM Lee

Monday ? November 6, 2006

Lee U-Wen
u-wen@mediacorp.com.sg

TWENTY months ago, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew dished out this piece of advice to residents at Spottiswoode Park: Vote for lift upgrading and increase the value of your flat.

The response was near-unanimous, with 93.4 per cent of all eligible households in the 10 blocks at the Tanjong Pagar estate giving their thumbs-up.

At a ceremony to mark the completion of the upgrading yesterday evening, Mr Lee, an MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, shared some good news with a word of caution.

"For those who bought the original flats, you can now sell it for eight to nine times the price. If you hang on for another 10 to 20 years, as Singapore rises, the value of these properties here will rise too," he said.

Most of the estate's 500 units, comprising both four and five-room flats, were completed between 1973 and 1977.

For the lift upgrading, which began in September last year, residents forked out as little as $475 per household. The rest of the $13,000 bill for each household was taken care of by the Government, said Mr Lee.

"But where do we get the money? From income tax, corporate tax, goods and services tax, property tax, everything. There is some way in which we give it back to the people. When we do this, your property value goes up, you pay a token fee and we top it up," he explained.

But some Singaporeans believe that benefits such as upgrading "come naturally" to them, said Mr Lee.

"I don't think so. What I know is that if we don't adjust and take the necessary steps to meet the challenges that are confronting us and the world, we will slide down," he said.

His message to Singaporeans: The future is a bright one, so get a good education and possess the drive to compete with hungrier workers from countries such as India, China and Vietnam.

"We have good links with America, China and India. With New Zealand, we have special free trade agreements. If we can't grow when they are growing at this pace, then we are stupid. And I believe we are not stupid. What we must do is to move quickly, we cannot stay still," he said.

With the economy changing so rapidly, said Mr Lee, it was inevitable that workers lower down the ladder would be displaced, owing to more higher-value and high skill jobs coming in.

Harking back to Mr S R Nathan's address in Parliament last Thursday, where the President talked about the importance of helping the less fortunate, Mr Lee said he was aware of the problem of low-skilled workers losing their jobs.

But Singaporeans should not expect "handouts" from the Government, he said.

"If we do that, they will get lazy and we will get into trouble. It should be, you work and we can top up. Not just in subsidies, but in conservancy charges, utilities, education. We also give them assets into their CPF and into the value of their property," he said.

Meanwhile, apart from the lift upgrading, the Tanjong Pagar Town Council has also granted Spottiswoode Park the status of a Barrier-Free Access Precinct.

Now, all residents, even the elderly and wheelchair-bound, are able to move around freely with the help of numerous ramps and sheltered walkways. The lifts are all fitted with handrail bars, lower lift buttons with Braille type, wider doors and security cameras at the lobbies.

Next up for the neighbourhood is the upgrading of lifts at Tanjong Pagar Plaza, said Mr Lee. The Residents' Committee is now carrying out a survey, and if feedback is positive, the official polling ? where 75 per cent of households must vote in favour ? will be carried out by June next year.

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

__._,_.___

Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic

Messages | Database

Real Estate News Provided Freely

Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

// posted by Shajahan @ 9:49 AM

<< Home

	This story was printed from TODAYonline


	Spottiswoode smiling But don't take goodies for granted, says MM Lee Monday ? November 6, 2006 Lee U-Wen u-wen@mediacorp.com.sg TWENTY months ago, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew dished out this piece of advice to residents at Spottiswoode Park: Vote for lift upgrading and increase the value of your flat. The response was near-unanimous, with 93.4 per cent of all eligible households in the 10 blocks at the Tanjong Pagar estate giving their thumbs-up. At a ceremony to mark the completion of the upgrading yesterday evening, Mr Lee, an MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, shared some good news with a word of caution. "For those who bought the original flats, you can now sell it for eight to nine times the price. If you hang on for another 10 to 20 years, as Singapore rises, the value of these properties here will rise too," he said. Most of the estate's 500 units, comprising both four and five-room flats, were completed between 1973 and 1977. For the lift upgrading, which began in September last year, residents forked out as little as $475 per household. The rest of the $13,000 bill for each household was taken care of by the Government, said Mr Lee. "But where do we get the money? From income tax, corporate tax, goods and services tax, property tax, everything. There is some way in which we give it back to the people. When we do this, your property value goes up, you pay a token fee and we top it up," he explained. But some Singaporeans believe that benefits such as upgrading "come naturally" to them, said Mr Lee. "I don't think so. What I know is that if we don't adjust and take the necessary steps to meet the challenges that are confronting us and the world, we will slide down," he said. His message to Singaporeans: The future is a bright one, so get a good education and possess the drive to compete with hungrier workers from countries such as India, China and Vietnam. "We have good links with America, China and India. With New Zealand, we have special free trade agreements. If we can't grow when they are growing at this pace, then we are stupid. And I believe we are not stupid. What we must do is to move quickly, we cannot stay still," he said. With the economy changing so rapidly, said Mr Lee, it was inevitable that workers lower down the ladder would be displaced, owing to more higher-value and high skill jobs coming in. Harking back to Mr S R Nathan's address in Parliament last Thursday, where the President talked about the importance of helping the less fortunate, Mr Lee said he was aware of the problem of low-skilled workers losing their jobs. But Singaporeans should not expect "handouts" from the Government, he said. "If we do that, they will get lazy and we will get into trouble. It should be, you work and we can top up. Not just in subsidies, but in conservancy charges, utilities, education. We also give them assets into their CPF and into the value of their property," he said. Meanwhile, apart from the lift upgrading, the Tanjong Pagar Town Council has also granted Spottiswoode Park the status of a Barrier-Free Access Precinct. Now, all residents, even the elderly and wheelchair-bound, are able to move around freely with the help of numerous ramps and sheltered walkways. The lifts are all fitted with handrail bars, lower lift buttons with Braille type, wider doors and security cameras at the lobbies. Next up for the neighbourhood is the upgrading of lifts at Tanjong Pagar Plaza, said Mr Lee. The Residents' Committee is now carrying out a survey, and if feedback is positive, the official polling ? where 75 per cent of households must vote in favour ? will be carried out by June next year.

	Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

www.shaproperty.com

Monday, November 06, 2006

[RealEdge] TodayOnline : Spottiswoode smiling

Previous Posts