ACQUISITION OF ALSAGOFF ESTATE IN GEYLANG BY GOVERNMENT

Inche Mohd. Ariff: (In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister for Culture and Social Affairs stated in his speech on the opening of the National Language Campaign at Pasir Panjang Community Centre recently that the Government at the moment have no plans to redevelop Alsagoff Estate at Geylang. He was referring to current rumours to the effect that the Government have bought over Alsagoff Estate for redevelopment and that the residents of various races - the majority of whom are Malays - would have to be evicted from there. With the denial made by the Minister for Culture and Social Affairs, it is clear that the rumours concerning the purchase of Alsagoff Estate by the Government and that the residents are to be evicted are falsehoods. I believe they have been purposely cooked up by parties who are anti-Government and anti-national, to create uneasiness among the residents of Alsagoff Estate for their own political ends. As such, I feel it is my duty to point out to the House how important it is that this matter be brought before this House so that the Minister concerned and other hon. Members can understand the true position regarding Alsagoff Estate in Geylang.

From inquiries made by me and from statements in the Utusan Melayu of 28th November, 1966, made by a member of the Alsagoff family, I have come to understand - and I quote from the Utusan Melayu of 28th November, page 7, column 1:

'The Alsagoff Estate covering an area of about 850 acres will be redeveloped as part of the urban area of the Republic in future. Subdivision will be carried out as soon as the parties concerned have approved the plan for the said project.'

And further the Utusan Melayu states:

'Groups of wealthy businessmen who are experienced and conversant with matters concerning housing development are ready to buy and redevelop the Geylang area which is congested, and that the whole area of Alsagoff Estate will be subdivided into lots and the tenants have the right to buy up the lots as their own property.'

Mr Speaker, if wealthy businessmen are going to carry out the redevelopment of this area, their main objective is surely to enrich themselves. On the other hand, if the plan is to be carried out by people who are not of the wealthy class, then their purpose is surely to deceive the poor people staying in the area, and these are the people who will suffer hardship.

The Utusan Melayu in the same issue further states:

'All facilities such as good roads, proper drainage, better supply of electricity, together with modern sanitation, will be provided,'

Mr Speaker, if all this can be carried out, it is well and good. But who will defray the expenses for the provision of those facilities? To my knowledge, the order has been obtained to sell Alsagoff Estate at Geylang, also known as Perseverance Estate, an area of 850 acres, to Disco Limited of Penang for the sum of $5 million, the method of payment being 20 per cent or $1 million to be paid as soon as the layout plan is approved by Government. After a year, 30 per cent or $1.5 million, and after another year another 30 per cent or $1.5 million, and after that the final payment of 20 per cent or $1 million will be made.

Mr Speaker, as I have stated earlier, the order has been obtained for the sale of the Estate to Disco Limited. But the forms circulated to the residents of the area are by Alsagoff Realty Limited, whose office is at U.M.N.O. House, Changi Road. Earlier on, I have quoted the Utusan Melayu of 28th November which states that the whole area of Alsagoff Estate will be subdivided into lots and that the tenants have the right to buy up the lots as their own property. But the price and the method of payment are not made clear. However, I am given to understand that the method of payment is, first a buyer pays $50 as option money. Then he has to pay a deposit of 25 per cent of the price which has been fixed for a parcel of land of 6,000 square feet in area at $2.20 per square foot. This could be paid in instalments spread over a period of five years or ten years. But the roads and drainage must be laid by the buyer. So if we are to consider the report in the Utusan Melayu of 28th November, 1966, the picture one gets is attractive. All the more so as the plan is to be carried out by Alsagoff Realty Limited, whose office is at U.M.N.O. House, No. 218E Changi Road. The reader may well expect that the company is that of the Alsagoff family and U.M.N.O. must be helping the Malays. However, if we ponder over the matter more deeply, we find that the sale price to Disco Limited is $5 million for an area of 850 acres, which works out to about 5½ cents per square foot, whereas the price to the residents is $2.20 per square foot exclusive of expenses for roads and drainage. Another item of expenditure which would not occur to the residents is the cost of filling up the area of 6,000 square feet of land with earth, as the area is below sea level. Yet another item is the interest to be charged on the instalments. If we add up all these expenses, the price per square foot is not less than $3.50 or more, while the purchase price from Alsagoff Estate is about 5½ cents.

This being the case, Mr Speaker, I am most keen to know whether Government will approve the application of Disco Limited in respect of the layout plan which has been submitted to the relevant Government departments: for if this plan is approved, there may be poor Malays and also non-Malays living in the area who will be exploited and victimised by a group of unscrupulous wealthy businessmen. So I trust the Government will give every possible help and assistance to the residents of the area to enable them to own the land by direct purchase from the trustees of Alsagoff Estate at a price similar to if not less than that paid by Disco Limited. The residents of Alsagoff Estate are from the poor class and it is only proper that our socialist Government give them every assistance so that they are not victimised by the capitalists.

Inche Rahamat Bin Kenap (Geylang Serai): (In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, because the matter raised by the hon. Member for Kampong Kembangan refers to my constituency - Geylang Serai - I would like to clarify the position. At the end of last month, a number of people, who claimed to be employees of Alsagoff Estate, went from house to house bringing with them forms for the purchase of land in Geylang Serai. These people had no proper authority from the owners of the land. They informed the residents there that Alsagoff Estate wished to sell the area to the residents of Geylang Serai, and that every resident had to buy the land on which he was staying, whether in cash or in instalments. And the forms, according to them, should be returned to the office with $50 option money. When I made inquiries. I found that the address was at U.M.N.O. House, Changi Road. After investigations up to now, I find there has not been a single official notice from the owners of the land to the residents of Geylang Serai. These people who claimed to be the employees of Alsagoff Estate had carried out false propaganda and said that if the residents of Alsagoff Estate did not buy up the land before 1968, Government would buy over the estate and build flats. I believe the false propaganda spread by these people was carried out with the evil intention of causing unrest among the people of Geylang Serai. We must fight it. These people are based at U.M.N.O. House in Changi Road.

After the Minister for Culture and Social Affairs clarified the matter in his speech, the Singapore U.M.N.O. issued a statement in the Utusan Melayu stating that U.M.N.O. held a meeting in order to consider the matter pertaining to Alsagoff Estate. This statement has confused the people of Geylang Serai, because U.M.N.O. has given over its office area to the people who carried out the propaganda. And the statement issued in the Utusan Melayu was for the purpose of clarifying the matter. However, with U.M.N.O. House being used as an office by the organisation, U.M.N.O. has been giving its assistance to the people concerned, so that the residents of Geylang Serai will dislike the Government of Singapore. Firstly, it happened when Singapore was part of Malaysia. This group attempted to spread false propaganda, allegedly saying that the Malaysian Government would purchase the land in Alsagoff Estate which would be sold to the existing settlers. They further alleged that residents who wished to purchase the land from the Malaysian Government should be members of U.M.N.O. This, Mr Speaker, clearly proves that Alsagoff Estate has become a political issue, the object of which is to create uneasiness among the Malays in Geylang Serai. It is hoped that the proper authorities will give due attention to this matter.

8.15 p.m.

Inche Mahmud Awang (Kampong Kapor): (In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, I will not take very long. Firstly, we have heard the Members for Kampong Kembangan and Geylang Serai speaking on the activities of Alsagoff Realty against the Government of our Republic.

Mr Speaker, Sir, we cannot remain indifferent to the irresponsible elements from Alsagoff Realty who are engaged in this vicious propaganda of smearing the Government, and who intend to sell the property in their own interest; otherwise our people, particularly the Malays, will be misled and confused and then there will be another chaotic state of affairs.

Mr Speaker, Sir, serious attention should be given to this matter. The Special Branch should be given the responsibility of ferretting out these irresponsible elements and they should be on the alert against stooges responsible for spreading this malicious propaganda so that such stooges can be apprehended and brought to book.

8.17 p.m.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for National Development (Mr Ho Cheng Choon): Mr Speaker, Sir, before I answer the Members for Kampong Kembangan, Geylang Serai and Kampong Kapor, I want to give a clear picture to the House about Alsagoff Estate.

Alsagoff Estate comprises 930 acres. 846 acres will be available for actual use. The breakdown is as follows: Green Belt 480 acres Light Industry 18 acres Residential (Restricted) 264 acres Unrestricted 76 acres --------- Total 358 acres 358 acres Local Shopping 5 acres Open space 3 acres --------- Approximate grand total 846 acres =========

Sir, the rest will be taken up by the existing road widening proposals and the proposed drainage canal scheme which has not been implemented because of the squatter problem. The area is heavily encumbered. The owners themselves have no precise idea of the number of squatters and ground tenants on the land. In many cases, the areas have been sublet for a lump sum, the sub-lessee renting the land and collecting ground rent at a profit. The buildings on the land are mainly temporary structures owned by the ground tenants. Of the 3,990 authorised houses in the area shown on the property tax rolls, 1,931 are owned by Malays and 2,065 by non-Malays who are mainly Chinese. These figures do not include the unauthorised or unnumbered houses which do not appear on the property tax records.

In March 1965, the solicitors for the Estate published an advertisement in the Press offering the area for sale. It said:

'Subject to existing tenancies and occupational rights, if any, part of the Estate, approximately 410 acres, has been earmarked on the Master Plan as Green Belt, but approval can be obtained for development purposes.'

The Chief Planner drew the attention of the solicitors for the Estate to the advertisement and pointed out two points:

(a) Permission for the development of half of Perseverance Estate will not be granted because of the allocation of that half of the Estate as Green Belt and Public Open Space in the Master Plan.

(b) Development of the remaining 480 acres area of the Estate, which is allocated for residential use, may be considered by the competent authority on an application being made under the provisions of the Planning Ordinance, 1959, but in considering the application due regard must be had by the competent authority 5 acres to the provisions of the Master Plan for 3 acres the area and other relevant planning requirements.

Sir, Government has at various times given thought to the acquisition of this Estate for development, but the area presents an appalling picture of squatter difficulties and resettlement problem. The area in part is also low-lying and considerable filling and drainage work involving clearance will be necessary before any construction can take place. This will inevitably mean the removing and resiting of families now on the site. Except for limited development, for example, the Geylang Serai Project and other road improvement schemes, etc., the acquisition of the entire Estate and comprehensive development of the area have not been undertaken.

Sir, the Government is fully aware of the news carried by the Utusan Melayu dated 5th December and I have the English translation of it in hand. The news carried is that there is one company by the name of Alsagoff Realty which has issued circulars to the residents in Alsagoff Estate asking them to buy the land which they occupy at $1.10 per square foot.

Sir, at this stage, the Government, in fact, has no plan to buy or acquire the land in Alsagoff Estate. The position is very clear as the resettlement problem will be very unmanageable if the land is acquired. At this stage, I would advise the residents who are now occupying land in Alsagoff Estate not to buy any land or enter into any agreement with the Landlord or to pay any deposit before they obtain approval for the subdivision of land and building plans from the Government.

Question put, and agreed to.

Resolved,

That Parliament do now adjourn.

Adjourned accordingly at twenty-eight Minutes past Eight o'clock p.m.