PAP Maths No 1 - PAP sell to you $141k or you sell to PAP $15k

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The 20-year lease

THE Stall Ownership Scheme, introduced by the Government in 1994, aimed to encourage Singaporeans to own assets and improve the quality of service at hawker centres.

The food centre in Block 207, New Upper Changi Road was among the first four selected for the scheme. The others were: Block 117, Aljunied Avenue 2; Block 503, West Coast Drive; and Block 20, Ghim Moh Road.

Hawkers received discounts of up to 30 per cent in buying a 20-year lease for a stall. They ranged from $26,600 to $141,000. In all, the discounts from the Government to the four centres amounted to $10.1 million.

Those who did not buy could opt to give up their stalls for a cash grant of between $12,000 and $15,000, or keep renting their stalls at a new price.

The last batch was sold in 1997 and the scheme was discontinued in 1998. The last group's lease expires in 2017. In all, four batches comprising 1,956 stalls in 15 food centres have been sold.

 

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there goes $141K

STALLHOLDERS at Bedok Food Centre, famed for its chwee kueh (steamed rice cake with preserved radish) and chye tau kueh (carrot cake), have petitioned the Government not to tear the place down when their lease expires in 2014.

Such a move, they said, would put an end to their means of making a living at the food centre in Block 207, New Upper Changi Road, where most of them have been for almost 30 years.

There are about 70 stallholders there, and unlike most of their counterparts elsewhere, many of them own their stalls under a 20-year lease that will expire in 2014. These stall owners were among the first group of hawkers allowed to buy their stalls under the 1994 Stall Ownership Scheme. But now they are losing sleep over their future because in three years the land will go back to the Government, which has yet to make public its plans for it.

A new development at a neighbouring site has made them fear the worst.

In September this year, the plot next door, which is home to a bus interchange, was sold to property giant CapitaLand. It will build an integrated public transport hub on the plot, to be ready by 2015.

The stallholders fear that their food centre may go the same way.

And should its ownership pass on to a private developer, it would mark the end of their livelihoods even if the developer does not change the land use, said all 10 of the stallholders interviewed.

Said chye tau kueh seller Tan Kim Leng, 52: 'If our lease is not renewed and the place is sold to a private developer, they may rebuild it. I don't think I would be able to afford the new rent.'

Agreeing, fried Hokkien mee seller Wee Swee Lan, 64, added: 'I think a private developer would prefer to build a condominium or shopping mall here.'

The petition, signed by 50 of the 70 stallholders, urges the Government to let them keep their livelihoods.

But some stall owners, like fishball noodle seller Richard Teo, are open to the 31-year-old food centre being upgraded to make it more airy and spacious, as long as they can continue operating there.

Said Mr Teo, 51, the instigator of the petition: 'The best solution is for the Government to upgrade the centre and lease the stalls to us again.'

Meanwhile, the stallholders have been holding talks with their MP, Mr Lee Yi Shyan, who is in charge of the Kampong Chai Chee ward of East Coast GRC.

They say he is also keen for the food centre to continue operating.

Only about 30 of the original stall owners remain there. They paid about $140,000 for the 20-year lease. The rest have sold their stalls or are sub-letting them for an average of $5,000 a month. This is much more than the subsidised monthly rent of about $400 at HDB-owned food centres.

But for many of the original owners, the uncertainty of their future weighs heavily on their minds.

Lor mee seller Tan Hock Bee, 52, whose three children are in primary school, said: 'I only know how to cook noodles. At my age, what else can I do?'

Kway chap hawker Lim Choon Lan, 46, said renting a stall at a food court was out of the question: 'As owners, we have flexible hours. At a food court, I'd have to work at least eight hours to pay the rent.'

The National Environment Agency (NEA), which is considering the petition, told The Straits Times yesterday that the stallholders may be allowed to stay if the land is not affected by redevelopment plans. If it is, they will be informed as early as possible, and the NEA will help the affected find 'alternative stalls under our allocation policies', said its spokesman.

Regulars at the food centre, like retiree Cheng Han Tion, 62, said without it, eating out would be inconvenient as the nearby coffee shops are packed at lunchtime.

Added Tampines resident Lily Tan, 40, a marketing manager: 'It would be a waste if it is demolished, as it has an old-hawker-centre charm.'

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[wizard]

End off the day.. it will all be demolish.. Re-tender, higher bid with higher rental and transfer the cost to the comsumers..

Or it will be sold 1 lump sum to a bidder S21 or kopitiam.. pocket the money then let them do the killing themselves..


the PAP MPs will show how concern they are at these moment.. as if standing at the same line.. later they will switch side quoting cleaner enviroment and more comfortable eating enviroment....


Why the PAP use the same trick over and over again and it work on sinkies...

 

[patrickv]

Hawkers received discounts of up to 30 per cent in buying a 20-year lease for a stall. They ranged from $26,600 to $141,000. In all, the discounts from the Government to the four centres amounted to $10.1 million.

pap creative accounting at work again. just like hdb can sell you pigeonhole at a few times their cost price and yet make yearly deficits.

 

[soIsee]

The only smart Sinkie who wins hands down is the one who sublet his stall for the rest of the 20 years at S$5000 per month by buying from the MIWs for S$140000 for a 20 year lease.

Thereafter, they can do whatever they want!

 

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The only smart Sinkie who wins hands down is the one who sublet his stall for the rest of the 20 years at S$5000 per month by buying from the MIWs for S$140000 for a 20 year lease.

Thereafter, they can do whatever they want!

wrong, just like HDB flat, u have to occupy it or u the stall will be confiscated