HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read. 2.55 p.m.

The Minister for National Development (Mr Teh Cheang Wan): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

In 1973, the Government decided to introduce a housing scheme for the middle class to enable young professionals and executives who were not eligible for public housing to own homes. The Housing and Urban Development Company (Pte) Ltd, a wholly-owned Government company, was subsequently incorporated on 4th February 1974, to develop and manage middle-income housing. Since its inception, the Company has sold over 2,700 units of flats. However, as a private corporation, the Company faces limitations in achieving all the objectives of the HUDC housing scheme.

The Government has therefore decided that the Housing and Development Board should take over the functions of developing and managing HUDC housing. The HDB, which has over 20 years of experience in housing development and the necessary expertise and resources, will be in a better position to implement, manage, and construct HUDC flats. Under a single housing authority, it will be easier to achieve the Government's objective of creating integrated communities with a good mix of different income levels in the New Towns and housing estates.

In 1969 and during the 1970's, to meet the urgent demand for low-cost housing in industrial areas, the Jurong Town Corporation developed public housing estates at Taman Jurong, Boon Lay, Teban and Pandan Gardens as well as at Sembawang. To avoid duplication of functions of two statutory boards, the Government has decided that JTC shall rationalise its operations and concentrate on the development of industrial estates. The HDB shall be the sole public housing authority in Singapore and therefore public housing presently under the management of the JTC shall be transferred to the HDB. In addition, the HDB shall assume the function of meeting the housing needs of workers in Jurong.

The Amendment Bill seeks to give effect to the proposals to transfer HUDC and JTC housing estates to the HDB.

Section 30 (A) of the Bill seeks to vest in the HDB existing estates and interests of the Housing and Urban Development Company and the Jurong Town Corporation in the lands described in the First and Second Schedules. All the rights and liabilities of the Company and the JTC in connection with their transferred properties shall also be transferred to the HDB. The Board may continue, complete or enforce any proceedings by or against the Company or the JTC in respect of the lands vested which are pending on the date of commencement of the Act.

Section 30 (B) provides that the HDB shall pay the Company and the JTC such compensation as may be agreed between the parties concerned for the transferred properties. As "HUDC" has become synonymous with middle-income housing, it is intended to preserve the name "HUDC" after the takeover by HDB. Section 30 (C) provides that all existing dwellings and future ones to be built by HDB for middle-income earners will be known as "HUDC dwellings".

Section 30 (D) provides for the transfer to the HDB of all the rights and obligations relating to existing applications for HUDC dwellings. The HDB is empowered to vary the terms and conditions of any application made to the Housing and Urban Development Company prior to the take-over date for the purchase of future HUDC dwellings. It is necessary to give powers to the Board to impose from time to time conditions for the purchase of flats consistent with the prevailing Government policies. For example, the Government is actively encouraging the preservation of the extended family unit. In the past, single persons were permitted to buy HUDC flats without the need to form a family nucleus. This leads to the premature break-up of the family unit. To discourage this, single persons who register for HUDC flats will not be allocated a unit until they are able to form a family nucleus or until they attain 40 years of age. This section also empowers HDB to cancel an application if the applicant has refused or failed to accept the terms and conditions as varied by the Board.

The existing section 41 of the Housing and Development Act prescribes restrictions on the purchase of properties sold by the HDB. Clause 4 of the Amendment Bill amends section 41 to enable the Minister to direct the Board to exempt any persons or class of persons from any or all of the provisions of this section.

At present, permanent residents are permitted to apply for HUDC housing. Upon assuming the function of developing HUDC flats, the HDB will continue to permit applications from eligible permanent residents. Clause 5 of the Bill amends section 48 (A) of the Housing and Development Act to enable the Board to compulsorily acquire any HUDC premises whose owner has ceased to be a permanent resident of Singapore.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed. 3.02 p.m.

Dr Tan Cheng Bock (Ayer Rajah): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Housing and Development (Amendment) Bill involves two housing estates in my constituency. I refer you, Sir, to pages 14 and 15 of the Bill, i.e. the Second Schedule, where the estates of Teban Gardens and Pandan Gardens are mentioned. I am sure the residents of these two estates, and in particular, Teban, would support me if I tell this House that the HDB will not be receiving a bundle of joy but a bundle of woes. My fellow MP, the Member for Boon Lay, and of course the Member for Jurong who has now crossed over to the other side of this House, could also testify to what I am about to say and he would indeed be glad that I am echoing what he has said before in this House when he was a Backbencher.

Sir, a picture is worth a thousand words. Therefore, with your indulgence, Sir, I would pass this photograph to the Minister for National Development and another one to the Minister for Trade and Industry who was in charge of JTC previously. In it you will see the conditions of one of the very badly managed flats in JTC. [Photographs handed in] I am sure that the Minister for Trade and Industry, after seeing that photograph, will be glad to pass this JTC buck over to the Minister for National Development. If the two Ministers are not convinced by the photographs I have just given to them, I have here a stack of them taken from the homes of many residents in Teban, and if they are still not convinced, I would extend an invitation to both of them to my Ayer Rajah community hall to watch a video-recording of the Teban market, the housing defects and the general environment. I hope also, Sir, to give the Minister for National Development a report of the housing problems of Teban which is being compiled now by the two Residents' Committees of the estate and the Citizens' Consultative Committee of my constituency in due course.

Sir, the land in Teban and in Pandan has sunk. The drainage system is dislocated in some areas. The drains are clogged, rats are plentiful, pipes are broken, toilets leak and lifts break down frequently. The residents are fed up with the delays in attending to their complaints and many have stopped writing to the JTC. Therefore, the residents of Teban and Pandan greet this takeover with great expectations. The HDB, with its glorious history of achievements in the housing industry, is welcomed by the residents as their only hope and saviour.

Sir, I am not trying to be sarcastic when I pass that remark. It is a general feeling of the residents there. As for me, I personally feel that I would like to go along with the feelings of these residents. But after having been in this House for one year and listening to the brickbats thrown at the HDB by my fellow MPs who are in charge of predominantly HDB dwellings, I welcome this takeover with mixed feelings.

I hope the HDB lives up to the expectations of the residents of Teban and Pandan and I hope that the Minister for National Development is listening very carefully. Do not let the residents of Teban and Pandan down. Do something when you take over.I hope I do not need to bring my video-recording to this House next year this time to drive home my point.

Sir, one of the issues that HDB must look into is the question of foreign workers. Some of my residents have written to me about their behaviour and some have even written to the press to air their frustrations. Must Teban have so many foreign workers occupying flats in the estate? Would a less concentrated presence lessen their aggravation? After all, I remember what our First Deputy Prime Minister said, "Misery should be shared equally."

The other issue, Sir, is water. Many of the residents have complained about the sediments in the water. I remember one resident showing me a piece of a darkish brown cloth. This was used to filter the water that flows through the tap of a home. It was really very black.

Sir, Teban was built in a hurry and the Minister for National Development is fully aware of its history. I only hope that the buildings remain structurally sound in spite of the land having sunk considerably. I would also urge that the HDB engineers move in to check so that the residents can be reassured and the first place to start with is the Teban market.

Sir, talking about markets, I am asking the Minister for National development not to build markets or shopping centres at odd corners of the estate when they take over. I can assure him that the market at West Coast Drive, Block 502, tucked in an isolated corner of Ayer Rajah, has given me a lot of headache which will last me till my term ends. So I am asking him to give more thought to the future planning of Teban estate and not to repeat the same mistake.

On the question of free car parking that the residents of JTC estates are enjoying, I would like to give my full support to the Member for Jurong who at the last Budget debate argued that HDB should not take away this privilege for the same reason that JTC had allowed free parking in the first place.

In all fairness, Sir, there are many JTC staff who, in spite of the Corporation's shortcomings, have gone out of their way to answer to the needs and requests of the residents. To these JTC workers, I thank them for their services rendered and hope HDB will absorb them into their setup.

With that note, Sir, I support the Bill. 3.10 p.m.

Mr Goh Chee Wee (Boon Lay): Mr Speaker, Sir, JTC is a statutory board set up by the Government to develop industrial estates. I must say that the Corporation has played a very significant role in developing Singapore into a thriving industrial nation. The effort and achievement of JTC is indeed commendable. However, as part of the infrastructural development, JTC has somehow and unfortunately found itself engaged in the business of building and managing residential estates.

Sir, managing housing estates is a complex task. The HDB, being the public housing authority in Singapore, has accumulated a wealth of experience and expertise. With due respect to JTC, their resources and experience in managing housing estates are necessarily limited. The move to transfer the JTC housing estate to HDB is a logical one.

Sir, any move to change must be a change for the better. With the intended transfer of the estate to HDB, residents in Boon Lay and Jurong area certainly hope to enjoy a better and more efficient standard of service to be provided by HDB. I have to mention Jurong as I believe that my good Friend, the Member for Jurong, would definitely have a lot to say after having been the Member for Jurong for many years. Unfortunately, the Member has to trade in his freedom to speak for the position he is now occupying.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to bring to the attention of the Minister for National Development a few problems that confront my constituents in Boon Lay. One of the teething problems is the frequent breakdown of lifts. I believe this is due to the inherent faults in the design of the lifts that have been installed. Other reasons are poor maintenance and inadequate number of lifts for certain blocks. For instance, while some blocks have an average of one lift for every 20 units of flats, certain blocks have a ratio as low as one lift for every 110 units of flats. I hope with the takeover of the housing estate, HDB will not only bring along with it the management expertise but also bring along more lifts and, if possible, replace those old lifts, which are beyond repair, with new ones.

Sir, the other major problem is housing maintenance. Like HDB estates, cleanliness of the JTC estate is maintained by contract workers. On paper, these contract workers are supposed to sweep or wash the corridors and common areas frequent enough to keep the places clean. However, I do not think the jobs are carried out according to schedule. For instance, although the flushing of the refuse chute is supposed to be carried out regularly at not less than once a week, very often I hear complaints from residents that this is only done at intervals of weeks or months. I must stress that this problem of cleaning the refuse chutes has become all the more serious as the residents now have to dispose of the swill by throwing them down the refuse chute. As we know, even if the swill were to be thrown down in a plastic bag, as advised by the Ministry of the Environment, the plastic bag would explode like a bomb when it reaches the ground floor. This has posed a serious health and environmental problem. I hope the Minister for National Development will inform this House of the steps that HDB will take to overcome this serious problem. I would also like to know how would HDB ensure that cleaning contract workers do carry out work as specified in the contract.

Sir, I can go on and on to list the complaints of my residents but I do not propose to do it today. To be fair to JTC, I must also mention some good points about JTC. In spite of all limitations, I must say that the staff of the JTC are generally cooperative and have established very good rapport with the community leaders, the Citizens' Consultative Committee and the Residents' Committee members in the constituency. I hope the link would be strengthened and not weakened by the transfer.

Sir, in response to my question in this House last year regarding rusty water supplied to households in Boon Lay and Jurong housing estates, the Hon. Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Trade and Industry assured me that the JTC would take steps to repaint the inside of the water storage tank. I am glad to learn that the JTC has already started the recoating programme of all water tanks and I hope that the work can be completed as soon as possible.

Sir, one of the greatest successes which the JTC can be proud of, and which is very much appreciated by the residents, is that all these years the Corporation has been able to offer free parking facilities to residents of the JTC housing estate. Ever since the residents of Jurong and Boon Lay moved into these housing estates, they have been able to enjoy free parking facilities. As a matter of fact, they are now used to such a free parking system and would very much like to preserve this JTC tradition. May I, therefore, bring to the attention of the Hon. Minister for National Development that the residents of Boon Lay, Jurong and Teban housing estates will be very angry with him if the HDB tries to impose parking fees after the takeover.

Sir, I am not saying that currently there are no problems of parking in Boon Lay housing estate. Free parking has enabled the residents and their relatives and friends to visit one another rather freely, without having to worry about paying the parking fee or getting a fine for exceeding the parking time limit. This has encouraged better social interaction. However, the free parking has also attracted a lot of lorries, private buses, container trucks, trailers and ready-mixed concrete trucks to the residential parking lots. What I am afraid is that the HDB might think that the only way to control this problem is to impose fee parking. I believe that there are other measures to improve the situation, like erecting physical barriers to stop the entry of these heavy duty vehicles or to set aside specific areas for parking of lorries, buses, etc. I would, therefore, appeal to the Minister to explore other more positive measures to improve the situation rather than to simply impose charges for parking. I have great confidence and faith in our Hon. Minister for National Development who is no doubt most resourceful and innovative in solving complex problems or seemingly insurmountable difficulties. May I, on behalf of my constituents, thank the Hon. Minister in advance for his kind and sympathetic consideration.

Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam (Anson): Mr Speaker, Sir, I shall be very brief. I do not rise to oppose this Bill but merely to seek an assurance from the Minister for National Development that there will be no shift in the emphasis on the object and purpose for which HDB was established. The HDB and the HUDC cater to different sections of the community. The HDB was primarily designed to cater for those in the lower income group to provide housing as cheaply as possible; the HUDC for people higher up the income ladder. I hope that with the taking over of both these somewhat different needs, the HDB will not slacken its drive to provide public housing for the poor at a price that they can afford and concentrate to a greater extent on providing houses for the middle class because it may perhaps be profitable.

Mr Teh Cheang Wan: Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to thank the various hon. Members involved in the estates in Jurong where the HDB is going to take over. I will definitely pass on their hopes and high expectations, after the taking over of the estates in Jurong by the HDB, that there will be a change for the better. At this stage, I am not able to inform hon. Members of how the HDB is going to deal with the various problems. But I can give hon. Members the assurance that the RDB will, as usual, try its best to solve the problems. Even in those estates where there are no problems, the HDB will constantly improve their environment.

On the question of free car parks, the Member for Boon Lay is quite right. But as for the new estates in Jurong East and Jurong West where the HDB is building them, the HDB will impose parking fees. As for the former JTC housing estates, if there is free parking, then we can expect a great influx of lorries, buses, trailers, as has been described by the hon. Member for Boon Lay, moving in to the old housing estates. I will not be surprised if the RCs and Members of Parliament will come back to request the HDB to do something, including the imposition of parking fees, to solve the problem. Anyway, we will ask the HDB to make a study of this problem before they come to a decision on the imposition of parking fees.

I would like to request the hon. Member that perhaps the RCs and the CCCs ought to get to know what are the specific problems in the estates and then pass on this information, either directly to the HDB or to me, so that I can ask the HDB to look into those problems and find a solution as speedily as possible.

On the point raised by the hon. Member for Anson, this is clearly a non-issue. The Government has declared its policy quite clearly - that Government will be responsible for providing housing for all Singaporeans at a price within the reach or affordability of the people of Singapore. Two days ago I gave an assurance to hon. Members that those HDB residents on the waiting list will get their flats by 1985. There is no question that the HDB will slow down its programme of public housing.

On the other hand, the demand for HUDC flats is not very large. Hon. Members in this House may be interested to know the records. The number of applications for HUDC flats has, in fact, been relatively small. In 1977, the total number of applications is only 624. In 1978, the total number of applications for HUDC flats is 859. In 1979 the total number of applications is 1,212 and in 1980 the number went up to 3,108. This is because of the increase in the price of property and a lot of young people believed that the HUDC would continue to sell HUDC flats at a very low price, as in Laguna Park where the cost of a flat was less than $100,000. So to get an HUDC flat is just like striking a second or third prize lottery. There was, therefore, a big rush for the flats. But normally I do not expect the applications for HUDC flats to exceed 1,500 per year. It is not likely that the demand for HUDC flats will grow to such an extent as to adversely affect the capability of the HDB to provide public housing for the lower income group.

Mr Goh Chee Wee: Mr Speaker, Sir, can I have a reassurance from the Minister that the HDB would explore all other means and consult Members of Parliament and the residents before the HDB consider imposing charges for parking?

Mr Teh Cheang Wan: The answer is yes.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Teh Cheang Wan].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.