NO REGRET Losing $270B, But No $ to Help Destitute! SHAMELESS CORRUPTION!

[makapaaa]

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>June 20, 2009
THE YOUNG
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>The perils of growing up in a one-room flat
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A DETACHED LIFE: Cheryl, nine, is pleasantly surprised when her mother, Madam Ong, 47, decides to join her in practising her dance moves. Forbidden to venture outside without supervision as her mother thinks it is not safe, Cheryl is given a good stock of educational videos and toys to help compensate for the lack of social activity. -- PHOTOS: ALEX TEH
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</TD><TD align=right> </TD></TR><TR></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=3>FALLING BEHIND: Four-year-old Mohammad Saliqin Abdul Resa- falling asleep on the mattress. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


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</TD><TD align=right> </TD></TR><TR></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=3>His parents at home love watching TV. But instead of popular children's programmes such as Barney and friends, he is growing up on a staple of Indonesian horror flicks because he does not understand English. His father, Mr Abdul Hamid, 28, is the sole breadwinner, bringing home about $1,000 a month as an odd-job labourer -- not enough to send Saliqin to preschool where he can learn English. The boy's mother, Ms Noor Aini, 23, is a housewife.

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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->REWIND three decades and Block 2, Jalan Kukoh, was a boisterous place, with children playing in the corridors and neighbours keeping a friendly eye out.

Fast forward and the lively atmosphere has gone along with the communal spirit, with many wary parents such as Madam Josephine Ong, who is now afraid to let her nine-year-old daughter Cheryl out. Ever since the 47-year-old single mum moved into the rented one-room flat in 2006, she has kept her gate bolted and forbids Cheryl to venture out without supervision.
'I have seen too many complicated characters in this block,' she says in Mandarin. 'Allowing Cheryl to go out and play is not a risk I am willing to take.'
Many parents in Block 2 feel the same, a consequence of vast changes in income and lifestyle that have occurred over the past 20 years. Rental flats like these have become more like way stations, temporary residences that serve a purpose but are not places where forging neighbourhood ties rates high on the priorities list.
The high turnover of residents means communal bonds never have time to put down roots. Suspicion has become the default setting. It spells a detached life for Cheryl, who has a good stock of toys and educational videos to help make up for the lack of social activity.
'I try to buy her this stuff even though my finances are tight. It's already very sad for her to be growing up here in a place with no friends and where she can't play outside,' says her mother, who bakes cookies part-time.
Even the most dedicated parent at Block 2 struggles when meagre finances come up hard against their aspirations for their children's education.
Four-year-old Mohammad Saliqin Abdul Resa is already falling behind. He loves watching TV but instead of popular children's programmes such as Barney and Friends, he is growing up on a staple of Indonesian horror flicks because he does not understand English.
His father, Mr Abdul Hamid, 28, is the sole breadwinner, bringing home about $1,000 a month as an odd-job labourer - not enough to send Saliqin to preschool where he can learn English.
'After paying for rent and utilities, we still have to eat,' says Mr Hamid, who admits that Saliqin's education is the least of his concerns. With preschool education now the norm, children from such disadvantaged backgrounds will find it hard to play catch-up when they enrol in mainstream schools.
In 2005, Mr Hawazi Daipi, then Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Education and Manpower), said in Parliament that on average, academic performance had a correlation with housing type as it is related to parents' education levels. However, he noted that this is just one of several factors and that ultimately it is the aptitude and attitude of a student that matters.
However, Dr Tam Chen Hee, a sociology teaching fellow at Nanyang Technological University, says that giving financial help to level the playing field for these disadvantaged families solves only half the problem.
Children from rental flats still encounter difficulties in trying to communicate with their peers, most of whom are from middle-class families. 'If their friends talk about overseas holidays and private music lessons, these working-class children can find themselves unable to assimilate into the school environment,' he notes, adding that the noisy confines of a one-room flat make studying difficult. Their poverty may make them unable to afford now basic learning tools like a computer.
Even efforts by parents to improve their lot can be harmful, if both are working so hard that they have no time to guide their children's development. Such guidance is doubly important in a difficult neighbourhood like Jalan Kukoh.
Mr H. Mohammad, 60, took up two shifts as a security guard, working up to 16 hours a day, just to send his son, Shahid (not his real name), 21, to tuition classes, religious lessons and silat training in his formative years.
'I wanted to give him what other normal kids would have, so I worked as much as I could,' said Mr Mohammad, who moved into Jalan Kukoh when Shahid was five.
His homemaker wife had her hands full with household chores and caring for Shadid's younger sister, now 18.
With little parental supervision, Shahid drifted into bad company. He says: 'This estate is like a ghetto. It's complicated... there are drug dealers. Some people do crimes outside, but they all live here.' By age 12, Shahid was smoking and getting into fights. 'I seldom saw my father, let alone have time to talk to him,' he recounts.
Fortunately, ties between father and son improved after Mr Mohammad found a job in a manufacturing company. He started to have more time for his son and the pair can now 'talk like friends'.
Shahid, now 21, is serving his national service as a firefighter and intends to make that his career.
'I am proud that he did not grow up to be a gangster. He is religious, respectful to elders and can take care of himself,' says Mr Mohammad. Despite breaking with his past, Shahid says it was not an easy journey. His advice for downgrading families who move into Jalan Kukoh in the hope of overcoming financial hardship is: 'For anyone who wishes to start a new life here, they must weigh the money saved against the future of the young ones in their home.'

KNN! I shopping donch need money ah? *chey*​

 

[makapaaa]

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>June 20, 2009
THE STUCK
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>One-way ticket to nowhere
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WAITING: Mr Michael Goh is hoping that when his China-born wife becomes a PR, they can buy a subsidised flat from the HDB. -- PHOTOS: ALEX TEH
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</TD><TD align=right> </TD></TR><TR></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=3>RESIGNED: Mr Thomas Chan Chee Keong has found a job as a security guard after a skills upgrading course, He earns enough to live on but not to buy a ticket out of his one-room rental flat. he says he is happy to have a "roof over my head" till the day he dies. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>




<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THE first question many people ask when they move into one-roomers is: 'How do I get out of here?'

Mr Michael Goh is now struggling along after once enjoying the good life as a sub-contractor on $10,000 a month, living in a four-room flat in Bishan.
All that changed in 2001, when his main contractor absconded with a huge sum of his money. Mr Goh, 47, had to wind up his business and sell his flat. He moved to Jalan Kukoh in 2006.
Now a maintenance officer, he gets by on $1,200 a month. 'I would love to upgrade. But I simply do not have enough to buy from the open market,' he says.

Then u peasants expect me give u more "subsidies"? *chey*​

He is married to Chinese national Jenny Yan, 38, who is waiting to become a Permanent Resident. The couple would then qualify, under HDB rules, to buy a subsidised flat from the Housing Board.
While the Gohs may make it out of Jalan Kukoh eventually, many of their fellow residents are stuck. Most do menial or odd jobs and barely earn enough to live on, let alone save anything.
Take Miss Masriani Akab, 31. The primary school drop-out earns about $700 a month as a cleaner. She supplements this as a home mover on her days off, earning about $35 each time.
Till today, the fights that often break out late at night among drunks on the ground floor of Block 2 frighten her. But given her limited savings and career prospects, Miss Masriani has come to accept that Jalan Kukoh is for the long haul.
'Live here good lah. Even though it's rented from the Government, I like this feeling of having my own flat,' says the single woman, who lives with her 58-year-old mother.
Official figures last year showed the monthly median household income of those living in one- and two-room flats was about $750 - just 15 per cent of the national average of $4,950.

=> Yet jiat liao bee ministers are paid $$$millions?

A 2007 Ministry of Manpower report found that all occupational groups enjoyed wage gains in the past decade, except cleaners, labourers and related workers, whose median gross wages remained almost unchanged at $968 a month. In fact, inflation means their wages had fallen in real terms.
Workers in these fields also get the axe sooner. In 2007, the number of jobs lost for production and transport operators, cleaners and labourers was about four times as many as those among clerical, sales and service workers and about twice that among executives and technicians.

=> Solution: Import more FTrash?

The downturn also makes it harder for such lower-skilled workers, who are increasingly displaced by foreign workers, to find new jobs.
Ms Jolain Chay, a senior manager from the Central Community Development Council (CDC), says: 'During good times, there will be plenty of odd jobs available, so they are able to manage their living expenses. However, during bad times, they may not get enough jobs and this will adversely affect their income.'
With rising retrenchments, the number of people seeking help from the Central CDC has also increased. It alone processed, on average, 1,311 applications for financial assistance between January to May this year, against 834 for the whole of last year.
Jalan Kukoh resident Thomas Chan Chee Keong, 60, sought help when he was retrenched last November as a logistics supervisor after 24 years at SembCorp Logistics.

=> Replaced by FTrash?

He was referred to the Security Industry Institute in Paya Lebar for a security officer training course. He now works as a security officer at the National Cancer Centre, earning around $1,400 a month - enough to live on but not to buy a ticket out of his one-room rental flat.
'I'm already 60 and in a few years, I can finally retire,' says the bachelor. 'I am just happy to have a roof over my head till the day I kick the bucket.'
Like Mr Chan, other Jalan Kukoh residents have gradually become content with their lot and even attached to their surroundings. Others have simply given up all hope of ever moving out.
Dr Tam Chen Hee, a sociology teaching fellow at Nanyang Technological University, notes: 'Although some might say they do not feel a sense of belonging to the rental flats, by putting up lanterns and decorations around their homes, their actions speak otherwise.'
The tougher job market - about 16,000 workers lost their jobs last year, the highest figure in five years - also makes it much harder to upgrade. And amid the world's worst financial slump in 60 years, survival - not upgrading - is now the top concern at Jalan Kukoh.
Even without the downturn, academics believe it is difficult for a person from a one-room rental to distance themselves from the stigma that comes from the lowest end of the housing market.
Associate Professor Tan Ern Ser, a sociologist from the National University of Singapore, grew up in Jalan Kukoh. He says: 'Living in or coming from an area associated with poverty in a largely affluent society like Singapore's is never a good feeling.'
The author of Does Class Matter? - a study of social stratification and orientations - says: 'We need to give the people who live there the opportunities that they would otherwise lack.'
There are measures in this year's Budget to help rental tenants, such as rent waivers, but these are not seen as long-term efforts to help low-income families break out of the poverty trap.
The Government is also responding to the demand by building more rental flats, upping supply by 20 per cent to 50,000 units by 2012. With characteristic pragmatism, it sees such flats as here to stay, as there will always be a segment of the population unable to afford their own homes.

U smelly peasants get out of my elite uncaring face! *chey*​

 

[makapaaa]

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>June 20, 2009
THE OLD
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Retirement's an unreachable goal
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Madam Anthony Theresa is a devout Catholic who goes to Tamil Mass at a church in Bugis most Sundays. Her fervent wish is to get enough money to visit Peter's Basilica in Rome. -- PHOTO: ALEX TEH
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THE golden years are not turning out to be glowing for Madam Anthony Theresa.

The 60-year-old spends most of it at home in her tiny flat, watching Bollywood movies and cooking.
'Going out is very expensive, taking the bus is a waste of money. I rather stay at home and watch TV,' says the single.
For the past 20 years, she has been an office cleaner, taking home under $700 a month. To save money, she buys groceries at Tekka Market, where prices are lower, and avoids eating out. Despite scrimping, her grocery bill of $200 a month still takes up a third of her income.
Of all the luxuries she misses, perhaps the most painful is the expectation of retirement. She has no savings and no help from family members.
Her plight mirrors that of many other low-income elderly living at Jalan Kukoh, who must keep working just to survive in Singapore, ranked the 10th costliest city to live in by the latest Economist Intelligence Unit study.
Despite her willingness to keep working, her challenge lies in convincing employers she is worth hiring.
Ms Jolain Chay, senior manager at the Central Community Development Council (CDC) and once a social officer for the Jalan Kukoh area, notes: 'If an elderly person who comes to look for a job is fit and has a positive attitude, it usually doesn't take a lot... to convince prospective employers to hire them.'
But because of their lack of education, limited skills and advanced age, most older workers have no bargaining power when it comes to negotiating salaries.
For example, Madam Theresa's boss recently hinted at a wage cut, citing 'dull business'. It is a prospect she is already preparing herself for. 'What to do, we cannot say anything. No use,' she sighs. 'I just have to be thriftier.'

=> But when she could say something during the GE, she would choose the status quo?

But there are also elderly residents at Jalan Kukoh who choose to keep working to free their children from the financial burden of providing for them.
Mr C.H. Yap, 60, downgraded from an executive flat in Pasir Ris to a one- room rental with his wife after suffering heavy losses in the stock market in 2006.
'My son moved out and had to get his own place after the incident. He has his own family to take care of now so it's better that my wife and I remain independent,' he says.
Mr Yap cannot go back to his former taxi driver job because a niggling back problem rules out sitting for long hours. Fortunately, a new career as a martial arts instructor has allowed him back into the workforce. He now earns about $500 for teaching three months of lessons.
It is not much but many of the elderly at Jalan Kukoh are less lucky than him, he acknowledges. They are unfit for work and have to depend on the government for financial assistance.
Under the Public Assistance scheme provided by the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports, Singaporeans unable to work owing to old age, illness or disability and have little or no family support can apply for a monthly $360 cash grant.
Not enough, say most residents, but social workers like Miss Mabel Wong, a Lion Befrienders volunteer, believe that the amount can cover daily expenses, as long as recipients live within their means.
'If one does not gamble, smoke, drink, it should be just about sufficient,' says Miss Wong, who has been visiting the elderly folks weekly for the past 16 years.
While financial assistance is needed, she says companionship is what most old folk really hanker after. 'They are very happy when young people visit and talk to them. But the problem is we have a shortage of volunteers to help us out.'
The Lion Befrienders sends out volunteers to befriend and provide a listening ear to residents, a vital service, given that cases of unattended elderly deaths are fairly common in Jalan Kukoh.
Miss Wong recalls a case three years ago when a reclusive 73-year-old man died alone in his flat. His body was found three weeks later, after he did not show for consecutive Befrienders' outings. While such incidents sadden her, she is now used to it. 'Sometimes, it is a relief to see them go because they are suffering from so many ailments and have no kin.'

Let's move on! *tata*​

 

[makapaaa]

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Fast facts about rental flats in Singapore


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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->How many: There are 42,800 rental flats in Singapore - 19,700 are one-room and 23,100 two-roomers.
How much: They are rented to needy Singaporeans at a heavily subsidised rate under the Public Rental Scheme. Monthly rent ranges from $26 to $205 for one-room flats and $44 to $275 for two-roomers.
How big: They range in size from 280 to 484 sq ft each.
Where they are: Besides the Jalan Kukoh area, which includes the Jalan Minyak and York Hill enclaves, there are at least 1,000 rental flats in areas such as Geylang, Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bukit Merah, Kallang and Whampoa.
Brief history: These homes were built in the 1960s to take in Singaporeans then living in slums and squatter colonies. The HDB later started building three- and four-room flats to accommodate growing households. As the economy took off, more Singaporeans could afford to buy their own homes. Today, 82 per cent of the resident population live in HDB flats and 80 per cent of the population own their flats.
Growing demand: Even as demand for rental flats slumped post-Independence, they were retained to cater to the needy. From 66,005 applications at the start of the 1970s, the demand for rental flats dropped by nearly 90 per cent, to 4,493 applications in 2004. However, there has been renewed interest over the last three years. In 2005, there were 5,138 applicants and this rose to 5,643 in 2007. Last year, 5,970 people applied for rental flats, signalling the end of a 30-year downward spiral for rental housing.

=> Does this not coincide with Old Fart's mad scramble to import more FTrash? FTrash create jobs for Sporns? It's more like the other way round lah!

VOTE WISELY IN THE NEXT GE!​

Waiting time: Demand for rental flats far outstrips supply today. While 300 applicants join the queue each month, only about 150 people return flats in the same period. As of February this year, the average waiting time for a one-room flat was 19.5 months, almost five months longer than in December 2007. The wait for a two-room flat was 15 months, five months more than in 2007.
Going forward: To meet the growing demand, the government converted vacant three- and four-room flats in Woodlands and Boon Lay to one- and two-roomers last year. The HDB says the total number of rental flats will increase to 49,860 by the end of 2011. The next batch of 290 converted units in Redhill should also be ready by the end of this year. New HDB rental flats are also being built in Yishun, Sembawang and Choa Chu Kang. This will increase the stock of rental flats to 50,000 units by 2012, a 17 per cent increase from the 42,800 units now.
Political issue: Just who is deserving of a rental flat has become a political issue. National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan told Parliament in February that two-thirds of the 4,550 applicants in the current waiting list for rental flats 'do not seem to be in financial difficulty when they sold their flats'. He said that 40 per cent of these former home owners collected a profit of more than $90,000 from selling their HDB flats. Such applicants should be able to afford other housing options, instead of vying with the genuinely needy for a rental flat. This has prompted the HDB to set stringent criteria based on factors such as age, income, property ownership and family support for applicants.
Eligibility: The criteria for the Public Rental Scheme were tightened in February. Singapore citizens over 21 and with an average monthly household income not exceeding $1,500 can apply for a rental flat.
Applicants must have a proper family nucleus - defined as applicant and spouse; applicant (if single) and parents; applicant (if widowed/divorced) with children under legal custody; fiance and fiancee or orphaned siblings - to be eligible. But two single persons at least 35 years old can apply for a rental flat under the Joint Singles Scheme. Income and assets of rental flat applicants who have enjoyed at least one housing subsidy are assessed. This is to prevent applicants, like retirees, who do not exceed the household income ceiling of $1,500 per month but are asset-rich, from joining the rental flat queue. Family support will also be considered. Elderly with children who own flats or houses and whose children can accommodate them will not qualify. Applicants who previously owned or sold two direct-purchased HDB flats in the open market are permanently debarred from application. A 30-month debarment period applies for applicants who just sold their flats.

 

[makapaaa]

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Old block, new faces

</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Wong Jing Han, Lim Wei Yang, Alex Teh & Lim Rong Shan

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WORLDS APART: Mr Ramah Arif (not his real name) has moved from a four-room flat in Little India to a one-room rental unit from Robertson Quay. -- PHOTOS: ALEX TEH

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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Rental flats today are no longer just a shelter for the destitute. With the worsening economy, some middle-class families, faced with financial hardship, have been forced to downgrade. How are the newly poor, who are now moving into one-room flats, coping with their new environment, envy and hostility?
THIS is the last place Mr Ramah Arif (not his real name), 33, expected to end up.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>ABOUT BLOCK 2, JALAN KUKOH
JUST across the road from Robertson Quay, along Havelock Road, is the mature estate of Jalan Kukoh. About 10 per cent of Singapore's 19,700 one-room rental flats are situated here.

There are 2,073 one-room flats in the area, which falls within the Kreta Ayer division of the Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency.

... more​

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BLOCK 2, JALAN KUKOH
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>A cheap, far from cheerful one-room rental flat, hostile neighbours and about as far down the housing ladder as one can go.
In 2006, he moved into Block 2, Jalan Kukoh after selling his four-room flat in Little India. He had quit his job to care for his ailing mother who was diagnosed with Churg-Strauss syndrome. The disease, which attacks a person's blood vessels, had left her bedridden.
'I couldn't keep up with the mortgage without the steady income,' says Mr Ramah.
With his parents divorced and his sister married with her own family, the bachelor has spent over $20,000 of his savings on his mum's medical bills in the past three years.
Before he moved in, the business administration diploma holder who worked as an accounts manager for a local telecommunications firm used to earn more than $3,000 a month - easily five times that of the average blue-collar resident living in the block.
He had never before seen the interior of a one-room rental flat, let alone lived in one.
He is not alone. A survey last year of 264 units in the same block found that half its residents had downgraded from three- and four-room flats in new towns such as Yishun, Woodlands and Sengkang.
Most were plagued by financial problems. Others had lost their jobs, from around 1998 to 2005, when an estimated 126,000 people in Singapore were laid off and forced to sell their flats when they could not meet their mortgages.
The loss of status has made it a painful, even humiliating, transition. Many still struggle daily to deal with the smallness, litter, crime and disregard for social niceties in a rental block.
There are 42,800 HDB rental flats in Singapore today. These one- and two- room flats, each ranging from 26 to 45 sq m, were first built by the HDB in the 1960s to provide immediate housing for people cleared from their squatters and slums.
But as the HDB began building bigger flats and introducing home ownership (???) schemes, these rental flats became subsidised housing for the elderly and destitute. Depending on the size of the flat, monthly rent ranges from $26 to $275.
To rent such a flat, one must be a Singaporean or Permanent Resident aged over 21, with a total monthly household income not exceeding $1,500, and apply with a 'proper family nucleus', such as with a spouse or parents. Singles above 35 can apply with other singles.

=> PR also eligible? When it's issued like tampons? WTF is happening?


NEW RESIDENTS
AS PART of the Housing Board's Rental Flat Upgrading Project since 2001, the ageing estate of Block 2 has seen various upgrades such as better lifts, metal grilles for doors and hand-grips for the elderly.
But these physical changes are minor, compared with the changing tenant base at Block 2, as the downturn creates a whole new class of residents.
These new entrants usually come from middle-income backgrounds. Some are single parents getting over a divorce, others are middle-aged former home-owners who have fallen on hard times, yet others are cost-conscious newly-weds starting families.
Generally, the newcomers are better- educated, possess at least a primary school education and are comfortable speaking English. Quite a few work as professionals, managers, executives and technicians and think of Block 2 as transitional housing.
Contrast this to the earlier generations of residents: mostly elderly, who have never had formal education and have erratic incomes as odd-job labourers. Many have lived in Block 2 for up to 30 years.
Newcomers like Ms June Tong, who moved into the block in 2006, have much better odds of gaining employment.
Ms Tong, 64, who studied till Secondary 4, kept her receptionist job at the Law Society of Singapore despite a recent retrenchment exercise, thanks to her command of English and work record. 'I'm just glad that I'm still employed even though I had to take a 50 per cent pay cut,' she says.
But the pay cut came at a bad time, just after she and her husband had to sell their four-room Yishun flat to help clear their son's business debts.
Unable to afford another home, they applied for a one-room rental flat, which costs them $33 a month and up to $70 in municipal bills. The rest of Mrs Tong's income, about $1,000 a month, goes towards the couple's medical expenses.

 

[makapaaa]

Meanwhile, Ms Jean Teo (not her real name), 28, moved in with her eight- year-old daughter in 2006, after ending her marriage and leaving her ex-husband's four-room flat in Jurong West.
The well-spoken and stylish events planner looks every inch the successful executive, a far cry from the average grey-haired resident of Block 2.
But although she may not look the part, her monthly income of $1,300 and legal custody of her child - which means she has a 'proper family nucleus' - qualifies her to rent a flat.
CLOSED DOORS, SMELLY LIFTS
FOR newcomers like her, deteriorating family ties - due to divorce, abandonment or strained relationships - are the push factor towards rental housing.
But the move is far more than swapping a large living space for a smaller one. The cultural and social dislocations can be traumatic.
House-proud newcomers bristle at what they see as a blatant disregard for the environment among older residents.
The ground floor of Block 2 piles up with rubbish every day as older residents simply bundle up trash and hurl it out the windows.
Metal cans, glass bottles and the odd chair rain down on the uncovered concrete walkway outside provision shops on the ground level, such that shopkeepers have resorted to hoisting tarpaulins to shelter their goods.
There are also complaints of people urinating and defecating in the lifts although such incidents have been fewer since upgrading works recently began.
'I was just walking out of the block when a packet of curry rice dropped onto me,' recalls 43-year-old Madam Kusnah Abdullah, a food stall helper, who downgraded from a five-room flat in Sengkang three years ago.
The curry rice was an unwelcome accessory to the new baju kurung she had bought specially for Hari Raya.

 

[makapaaa]

'There is no point in hanging my washing outside since it will be stained by those living upstairs,' grumbles Madam Kusnah, who lives on the third floor. She now hangs her laundry on a rack indoors.
Newer residents like her blame the elderly tenants, accusing them of having no consideration for their surroundings.
Former cabby C.H. Yap, 60, who moved in last year with his wife after downgrading from a Sengkang executive flat, says residents blatantly litter in lift lobbies.
'People here do not care,' says the part-time martial arts instructor, who moved to Jalan Kukoh after his savings were wiped out in 2006 by heavy losses in the stock market.
'I have to speak to them nicely, convince them to throw their rubbish properly and even thank them.
'I tried complaining to the town council about the rubbish and inconsiderate actions since I moved in. But it still happens,' he says with a sigh.
The Jalan Besar Town Council has posted notices throughout the block, warning residents to stop dumping rubbish out of the window, but to little avail.
The littering mirrors a deeper malaise and a lack of community spirit that often thrives at owner-occupied HDB estates.
'It's like a dead town,' complains Mr Mohammad Amin, 57, a security officer, who downgraded from a four-room flat in Choa Chu Kang after divorcing his wife and selling the flat.
Community spirit in rental estates rarely gets a foothold because of the high turnover rate of residents. Many newcomers see rental housing as a transition phase and cannot be bothered to interact with their neighbours.
They also point to the drunks, drug abusers and loan sharks who occasionally lurk in the stairwells. To avoid trouble, many residents just padlock their doors. Even on weekends, when most are home, the corridors of Block 2 are unnervingly silent.
Mr Pang Chai Kang, 41, says he witnessed his first drug raid the very first month he moved in. Until February, the odd-job labourer used to live in a cramped two-room 484 sq ft flat in Marine Terrace with his mother.
So he had no qualms about moving with his new Thai wife into the marginally-smaller 355 sq ft flat at Jalan Kukoh, their temporary matrimonial home until they save up enough to buy their own flat.
But unlike in Marine Terrace, Mr Pang noticed that residents in his new block keep to themselves and hardly speak to one another. Even an exchange of greetings is done silently, with a wave or nod of the head.
It is unsettling but hardly surprising.
A 2003 HDB study on public housing study showed that one-room flat residents know the least number of neighbours, compared with residents of other unit types.
Madam Siti Rashidah, 33, who is unemployed and moved in in 2006, says: 'I'm just so disappointed in the people living here.'
In March, when her depressive husband beat up her father, no one on her floor bothered to help, even though she screamed for assistance. In the end, she called the police who helped to break up the fight.
'Some residents keep their doors locked shut to avoid any contact with strangers,' says a police spokesman.
The police now pay regular visits to the estate and educate residents on crime prevention measures.
But most residents figure their best protection is reclusiveness.
When he works the night shift as a security officer, Mr Amin sends his 17-year-old daughter Nuratika to stay at his friend's house.
'It's too quiet here. If something happens to my daughter, no one will know,' says the single father.
Ms Masriani Akab, 31, a condominium cleaner, has seen many drug users and illegal cigarette peddlers hovering around the void deck since she moved into Block 2 in 2006.
'I was very scared when police raided the flat opposite mine because the people inside were selling duty-unpaid cigarettes. I often see glue sniffers at the staircases,' she says.
She now makes sure her 58-year-old mother stays at a relative's home while she is at work during the day, something that had never crossed her mind before when they lived with her brother in his four-room flat at Old Airport Road.
INCREASED POLICE PATROLS
A RETIRED police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, says substance abuse has been a problem in Jalan Kukoh since the 1980s.
But increased police patrols and raids have brought the situation under control over the last decade.
Still, Ms Masriani feels unsettled.
'For now, I just close the door to avoid any trouble,' she says.
Another bone of contention is sub-letting, when residents illegally let out their unit or part of it to others.

=> Work of PeeR FTrash?

Mr Ramah loathes this and has blown the whistle on one of his neighbours.
'We pay low rent, typically between $33 and $128 per month, but these people charge their illegal tenants 10 or even 20 times more,' he says, adding that it is unfair for tenants to profit by sub-letting the flats for up to $1,000 a month.
According to recent figures released by the HDB, flats seized for illegally sub-letting increased fivefold last year. In August last year, as many as 147 rental flats were recovered as a result of this offence, compared to 28 in 2007.
The HDB conducts routine inspections and has stepped up enforcement of its rules against sub-letting of one- and two-room flats.
Offenders are evicted at once and face a five-year ban from renting or buying HDB property.
But social workers say sub-letting is just too lucrative an opportunity to turn down for many poorer tenants, who are often approached by interested parties.
'Many of these old folks have never earned or seen so much money before in their lives so it's very tempting to give in,' says Ms Mabel Wong, 43, a volunteer from the Lions Befrienders, who has been helping out in Jalan Kukoh for 16 years.
Of course, it is not just the upward mobility of the newcomers which rubs the old guard the wrong way but the real reminders of it, especially when they move in with their flashy gadgets and plush furniture from their old lives.
At first glance, Mr Ramah looks to be living it up. His small apartment is crammed with a giant plasma TV set, a designer couch, an exercise bicycle and a fish tank filled with a dozen koi.
But the modern conveniences do not reflect his current predicament, he maintains. 'All these are from my old home. I bought them when times were good.'
He had no money to spare for new furniture after moving to Block 2 since his savings had dwindled because of his mother's medical bills. So he has to make do with the bulky furniture from his old flat, even though there is hardly any walking space.
Yet some older residents, whose houses are bare, seem resentful. He notes a few have a disconcerting habit of staring into his flat, wordlessly, as if 'checking out' his stuff.
About four months ago, Mr Ramah and his mother were watching TV when a middle-aged, heavily-tattooed neighbour, who lives two doors away, strode towards his flat.
He walked up to his door, carrying what looked like a '30cm-long knife' concealed within a rolled-up newspaper, and challenged him to a fight.
'It was ridiculous. Why should I give in, make him happy and fight him?' says Mr Ramah, who immediately rang the police.
When the police arrived, the neighbour accused Mr Ramah of being a snob and 'looking down' on him.
In his own defence, Mr Ramah, who denies any condescending behaviour towards his neighbours, says:
'I open my door, not to show off the interior of my home, but to improve the ventilation.'
But for the less well-off, appearances are everything.
And poorer, older residents struggle to understand how their new neighbours can be stuck with financial burdens similar to theirs.
Madam Zaimah Buntak, 43, a part-time cleaner, who moved to Block 2 some 12 years ago, gripes: 'Some of those who moved in recently don't look like they have money problems. Some can even afford to drive cars.'
The one-room flat has been the setting for her second marriage to another divorcee, Mr Talib Abdul Rahman, 52. They have a combined salary of $500 a month from their jobs as temporary cleaners.
Before Jalan Kukoh, they camped outdoors at Fort Canning Park for three whole years.

 

[makapaaa]

They consider their sparsely-furnished rental flat, which has a TV and a fridge donated by relatives, a big step up from where they came from. For them, it is as good as it gets.
'One-room flats should be for people who have difficulties getting jobs and no money to buy other types of houses,' she says. To many newcomers, it is just a temporary, stop-gap measure and they cannot wait to move out, she adds.
While Ms Teo has come to terms with Block 2's harsh living conditions, she is dead set against having her eight-year-old daughter grow up in the neighbourhood.
'I hear about stabbing cases and there are loan sharks who come regularly to splash paint on doors,' says the concerned mother, who makes her daughter stay with a family member on weekdays.
Mr Ramah has similar getaway plans. 'I will get back to work as soon as my mother's condition stabilises so that I can save up to buy a bigger flat,' he says.
But while younger tenants have time on their side, it is nearly impossible for long-term residents like unemployed Mr Andy Ong (not his real name), 58, to effect an escape.
The late-1990s downturn forced the former construction contractor to fold all three of his companies and sell his four-room flat in Bukit Merah to clear his debts. 'Only if I get a windfall from buying 4-D, then I will definitely move out,' he says.

 

[cass888]

Makapaa wants to deplete Singapore's reserves with communist policies

Makapaa, you are nothing but the mole of the MONGREL who bit his masters' hands LOUDHAILER chee soon juan. Always harp on losses when you never look at the gains.

If Singapore followed your stupid communist type policies, Singapore would not even have had the 270B to lose or keep.

Communist, begone.

 

[FuckSamLeong]

Re: Makapaa wants to deplete Singapore's reserves with communist policies

Makapaa, you are nothing but the mole of the MONGREL who bit his masters' hands LOUDHAILER chee soon juan. Always harp on losses when you never look at the gains.

If Singapore followed your stupid communist type policies, Singapore would not even have had the 270B to lose or keep.

Communist, begone.

Fucking PAP IB bitch, don't you think it's "over-blowing" PAP cocks a bit? Now go for the infraction button, chao cheebye!

 

[cass888]

Re: Makapaa wants to deplete Singapore's reserves with communist policies

Really hit a raw nerve ah? Another mole of the MONGREL who bit his masters' hands LOUDHAILER chee soon juan.,

Want to be communist, take your bleeding heart welfarist policies to Cuba lah. We don't need it here.

Fucking PAP IB bitch, don't you think it's "over-blowing" PAP cocks a bit? Now go for the infraction button, chao cheebye!

 

[FuckSamLeong]

Re: Makapaa wants to deplete Singapore's reserves with communist policies

Really hit a raw nerve ah? Another mole of the MONGREL who bit his masters' hands LOUDHAILER chee soon juan.,

Want to be communist, take your bleeding heart welfarist policies to Cuba lah. We don't need it here.

Not a sensitive nerve lah Bitch! it's my big lanjiao! And it's shafted into your cheebye throat! Why you always like to target Dr. Chee har? He don't let you suck his cock issit?....lol....lol

 

[cass888]

Re: Makapaa wants to deplete Singapore's reserves with communist policies

Wow, wow, wow. The communists of the MONGREL who bit his masters' hands LOUDHAILER chee soon juan are getting desperate.

Not a sensitive nerve lah Bitch! it's my big lanjiao! And it's shafted into your cheebye throat! Why you always like to target Dr. Chee har? He don't let you suck his cock issit?....lol....lol

 

[FuckSamLeong]

Re: Makapaa wants to deplete Singapore's reserves with communist policies

Wow, wow, wow. The communists of the MONGREL who bit his masters' hands LOUDHAILER chee soon juan are getting desperate.

Yah! economic downturn mah! so free fucks like you will do! I shaft my cock down your throat! Lick my balls while you are at it!...lol

 

[Eurekas]

Re: Makapaa wants to deplete Singapore's reserves with communist policies

Hi Makapa thanks for showing us there are slums in Singapore. Old fart who lives in his own Ivory Tower in Oxley Rd thinks that there are no slums in properous Singapore. Wooden Goh thinks that opposition estates like Hougang and Potong Pasir are slums whereas Gayland which is in Marine Parade GRC also has many slum (1 room and 2 room flats) houses.

 

[Frankiestine]

Unfortunately the scums will merely brush these incidents off by saying help is actually available to these people if only they are willing to seek it. But many know that this "help" is just crap shit....how "accessible" is it? By the time one can really fulfill the criteria for "help", many would have fallen through the gaps...

 

[Watchman]

Re: Makapaa wants to deplete Singapore's reserves with communist policies