HDB PRIORITY ALLOCATION SCHEME FOR GRASSROOTS ORGANISATIONS (Justification)

Mr Low Thia Khiang asked the Acting Minister for National Development if he will justify the priority accorded to members of Citizens' Consultative Committees, Community Centre/Club Management Committees, Residents' Committee, Women's Executive Committees and Youth Executive Committees in the purchase of existing Housing and Development Board flats offered for sale and whether the scheme favours People's Action Party appointees of these various bodies and discriminates against other purchasers.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, can I have your permission to take Questions Nos. 11 and 12 together because they are on the same subject?

Mr Speaker: All right.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Thank you. Under the Priority Allocation Scheme for Grassroots Organisations, HDB grants priority allocation to grassroots leaders who are members of CCCs, RCs, CCMCs, YECs and WECs. This is in recognition of their services to the community. Grassroots leaders are appointed by the Government through the People's Association. They are not PAP appointees, as misconstrued by the Member for Hougang. To be eligible for this scheme, grassroots leaders must be serving members of their grassroots organisations with at least three years of continuous service.

The number of flats allocated under this priority allocation scheme has been very small. Since the introduction of the Booking System in July 1989, only a total of 745 HDB flats have been allocated under this scheme. This constitutes less than 0.7% of the 112,000 flats offered for booking during this period. Priority allocation for grassroots leaders therefore does not adversely affect the chances of success of the other applicants.

The Member for Potong Pasir has suggested extending this priority scheme to cover charitable and social organisations. The nature of the charitable and social work is very diverse. It ranges from the occasional weekend volunteer help to paid social work. Many Singaporeans are involved in charitable and social work of one kind or another. It is not feasible to extend the scheme to all of them. The number eligible would be too large. The contributions of volunteers working in charitable and social organisations will be recognised in other ways.

Mr Low Thia Khiang (Hougang): Sir, the Acting Minister mentioned that I have misconstrued and that these grassroots members are actually appointees of the Government. Is there a difference between the so-called Government-appointed or PAP-appointed grassroots members?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: All the grassroots leaders are appointed by the People's Association.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: My question is: Is there a difference between a Government appointee, as the Minister mentioned, and a PAP appointee?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Of course, there is a difference when a person is a party member versus a person who is not a party member. For the purposes of this scheme, the volunteers are all appointed by the People's Association and, under this scheme, their assessment is based on their work in the grassroots organisations.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, is the Minister saying that the office holders of the various committees, like the members of the CCMC, are not PAP members? Or if they are PAP members, they are not qualified to sit there?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Many of the appointees to these organisations are party members, but many are also not party members. We do not distinguish between them. We appoint them based on their contributions to community work, their ability to serve and their dedication to serve.

Mr Chiam See Tong: Sir, these grassroots members are obviously given such priority because of the public service that they have rendered. What is the difference between the public service rendered by the grassroots members and by people who do public service in charitable organisations? I am sure the latter sometimes gives more time, energy, effort and even money than the grassroots members. But they are completely kept out. Is that fair?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, it is not a question of effort, money or contributions. The main purpose of this priority scheme is to retain the grassroots leaders who are serving the community where they are working in. So by giving them priority allocation of flats, they will remain in the community as RC members, CCMC members, or CCC members. As I said earlier, there are many Singaporeans who do excellent work in charitable and social organisations and we do recognise them in many ways, ie, National Day awards and other avenues.

Mr Chiam See Tong: They do not want the National Day awards. They want priority in the allocation of flats. Does the Minister not think that he should give them the choice? Is the Minister saying that the grassroots leaders who give their time and effort to grassroots work are, in fact, more valuable than those who give to charity?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, I am not making a ranking of the contributions. The people who serve in the various grassroots organisations work very closely in the community that they are serving in and we find it useful to retain their ties with the community. So when we give them priority allocation, they will remain in the area where they have been working for many years. I am sure there are many Singaporeans who do excellent work in voluntary and social organisations.

Mr Chiam See Tong: Sir, the Minister says that he is not making a ranking. But it will disturb those Singaporeans who have given a lot of their time to charitable work and are not rewarded in concrete terms. Whereas those who work for the grassroots organisations, they are rewarded. I am sure they are very disturbed. Does the Minister not agree with me?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: I will refer the Member's concern to the Minister for Community Development.

Mr Chiam See Tong: I do not think the Minister needs to be cheeky. The HDB has taken upon itself the right to make such priority. In fact, these flats are built with taxpayers' monies. Why should some Singaporeans benefit and the others do not? That is the crux of the matter. It is not a fair system, and this system should be enlarged.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, let me assure the House that I was not being cheeky. In fact, this is the correct procedure. HDB is not allocating these flats on its own volition. If there is indeed concern that people working in charitable and social organisations feel that they are not recognised sufficiently, then I am sure the Minister for Community Development will, on their behalf, take up their case and ask the Government and Cabinet to extend this scheme to them. HDB provides this scheme, on behalf of the Government, and extends it to the community leaders. It is not that the HDB is doing itself a favour by looking after this group.

Mr Chiam See Tong: I am sure the Minister is aware that there are letters of complaint from his own Citizens' Consultative Committee members and so forth that they themselves are dissatisfied because, amongst them, some of them are given priority whereas others are not. It would be more so ---

Mr Speaker: Order. Mr Chiam, are you making a speech? Could you ask your question?

Mr Chiam See Tong: Yes. The question is: Is it not so that those who have given almost their whole life to charitable work are dissatisfied? Even within his own grassroots organisations, there is already dissatisfaction. My question is: Is it not so that those who have given their whole life to public service are not given this priority?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Let me assure the House that implementation of this scheme is done in a fair and equitable way. All those who have served three years in the various grassroots organisations as a committee member are eligible for this scheme. They approach their Advisor if they want to make use of this scheme. This is not a big scheme. So there is no need to make a song and dance out of it. Just to give Members an example. Not only is the number of flats very small - 745 flats over five years - but also the number of grassroots leaders who makes use of this scheme is, in fact, very very small. Less than 6% of the grassroots leaders have actually applied under this scheme. So 94% of all the grassroots leaders do not make use of it. They are not unhappy and complaining, as pointed out by the Member. People work for their community and they gain satisfaction from it. If they want to continue staying in the area and want to apply under the scheme, they can apply through their Advisors and all are treated fairly.

Mr Chiam See Tong: The percentage of 6% of grassroots leaders who had applied is not an issue. The issue is that there is dissatisfaction even within the 6%, ie, those who have not got them. I know it because I had received letters which were carbon copied to me.

Mr Speaker: What is your question, Mr Chiam?

Mr Chiam See Tong: The Minister has not answered my question. I said that even within his own group, there is already dissatisfaction.

Mr Speaker: Order. Mr Chiam, are you asking a question? If you have no further questions, could you resume your seat?

Mr Chiam See Tong resumed his seat.