Forum letter - Let public housing policy return to basics

The following is a letter published in The Straits Times on 31 Dec 2012. It echoes my thoughts about the public housing situation in Singapore.

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IT IS not enough to suggest that developers should observe the intent and spirit of the executive condominium (EC) housing scheme.

If developers play by the rules to maximise profit for shareholders, then they cannot be faulted.

The real problem lies with the rules and the overall public housing policy, which is supposed to be about providing affordable public housing to the masses. Over the years, the original intent and spirit of our public housing policy has been adulterated by variousinitiatives such as ECs, the Design, Build and Sell Scheme, the privatisation of HUDC flats, the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme and so on, that have not only raised the prices of HDB flats but those of private properties as well.

It is time for a total review of our public housing policy and a revamp that will take it back to its original intent, particularly in the light of our growing income distribution gap.

I suggest a return to the single-mindedness of affordable public housing and the building of better Build-To-Order flats.

The income ceiling could be raised to include those who can qualify only for ECs.

It should not be the Government's business to help HDB owners speculate in the open market.

In fact, one-, two- and three-room HDB flats should be made very affordable and be non-transferable, with a sell-back scheme to HDB for the balance lease. These flats should have a shorter loan repayment period of 15 to 20 years.

As family sizes are getting smaller, this could address the essential housing needs of the lower income group for life.

If their financial situation improves, they can then choose to upgrade to a bigger flat or private housing.

This scheme will ensure better moderation of prices at the top, and will also serve as a fallback plan for the less well-off or those wishing to downgrade.

Yeow Hwee Ming

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Thoughts on public housing

Disclaimer: This article is not directly about the public housing situation in Singapore. Rather, it is about public housing in general, and can be applied to any small country.

Why is cheap public housing important to a small country (such as Singapore)?

In any economy, there will be an income divide. There will be high-income earners and low-income earners. In a small country, where land is scarce, land prices are naturally going to be high. Housing, if left to market forces, will thus be high and low-income earners will have challenges finding a place to stay.

In larger countries, this is not a serious problem. Low-income earners can live further away from city centres, where housing prices are lower and thus more affordable. Yes, it is more inconvenient since they will need to commute longer, but at least they can afford a place to stay.

Not so in land scarce countries. Low-income earners in such countries cannot simply stay further from city centres; such a place may not even exist if the country is small enough. Everyone will then need to share the small piece of land, and in order to give low-income earners a place to stay, cheap public housing is necessary.

In such small countries, the aim of public housing would then necessarily be to provide cheap housing to accommodate the low-income earners. It is about giving them a place to stay. It is not about investments, it is not about profits, and it is not about luxury. It is about keeping people off the streets. Distribution of income, in this case, comes about because high-income earners will be paying more tax, of which a portion would go towards subsidising the building of cheap public housing, benefiting the low-income earners.

A portion of the housing market would still be left to market forces, of course, to cater for those who can afford them. But strict measures will need to be in place to prevent people from profiteering from the cheap public housing. After all, the aim of public housing is to provide affordable housing to those who would otherwise not be able to afford it if prices are left to market forces.

Another article about public housing, though not directly related to this post:
ECs: Why so unfair?

Christmas present 2012

And the kid woke up to Christmas, to find that Santa Claus brought him the present that he was asking for! You can see his letter to Santa, and the big cuddly Elmo that Santa gave him.

Merry Christmas!

Class gathering

Our first class gathering after 22 years!

Okay, some of us met up over the years (either because we subsequently attended the same school, or over work) but for some, it was the first time we saw each other in 22 years.

And we had our form teacher, Mrs Boey, gracing the occasion too!

It's great to be able to meet up after all these years. We really need to do this more often!

The three prefects (the fourth one, we didn't manage to contact her).

The end of the world?

So the Mayan calendar is ending today... so does that mean it is going to be the end of the world?

Maybe we will freeze to death... it is, after all, the winter solstice. We are furthest from the sun today.

The Chinese calendar loops every 60 years. Things are a cycle. I think the Mayans also treat life as a cycle, and the end of the calendar is the start of a new one. Only when we view things as a linear progression (instead of as a cycle) will we start to panic when things are coming to an end.

So is life a cycle, or a straight line?

New tablet... or rather, first tablet

Got a new tablet... my first tablet. The Acer Iconia Tab A210, with wi-fi (no 3G connectivity). Not really for myself, rather, more for my kid who has been playing with our phones. Didn't want him to strain his eyes looking at small screens. So far, it seems to be value for money. Only shortcoming is that it only has a front camera, so it works for Skype, but not for photos (though you can still try to take photos with it...)

Bravo zulu, RSS Intrepid!

Welcome home, and bravo zulu, RSS Intrepid, for doing Singapore proud!

12 12 12

12 December 2012... 12/12/12... the last repeating date for the century.

Upgrading Linux Mint 13 (Maya) to 14 (Nadia)

It was not announced, but I have actually moved away from Fedora to Linux Mint, because Fedora 15 uses Gnome 3 and I really can't get myself into that. Linux Mint comes with MATE, which is based on Gnome 2, something that I am used to. I started out with Linux Mint 13 (Maya) and recently, upgraded to Linux Mint 14 (Nadia).

The recommended way to upgrade from Maya to Nadia is actually by backing up your files, doing a clean install of Nadia, and then copying the files back. But I am kind of used to Fedora's way of upgrade, so I tried something else.

I used apt to upgrade from Maya to Nadia. This is NOT the recommended method, but so far, it works. Got the instructions from here.

First, you have to edit the source list to point to Nadia repositories.

sudo gedit /etc/apt/source.list

Using the text editor, replace all instances of maya with nadia, and all instances of precise with quantal. Then save the file.

Then, update the database and do the upgrade itself.

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

If you are asked about overwriting of configuration files, I usually answered 'Y' but you may want to decide which files to overwrite and which to keep. I chose to keep the old grub configuration file, so I had to use Start-up Manager after the upgrade to point to the new kernel.

When the upgrade is done, run apt again to make sure that all the packages are updated.

sudo apt-get upgrade

Then, reboot the computer. 

When logging in, remember to choose a session (I used MATE). I heard that if you don't and try to log in using "last session", you will end up with a blank screen.

For me, the DNS list was messed up somehow during the upgrade, so I had to fix it. If you have the same problem (cannot connect to Internet), try this.

sudo dns-fix

That worked for me.

Good luck!

All bottled up...

Lots of things,
all bottled up.
Stressed,
no escape.
Things I want to say,
yet I cannot.
Boiling point,
steam builds up.
When will it all,
just blow up?

Saying goodbye is basic courtesy

No one will stop you if you want to leave, but at least say goodbye. Don't leave without saying a word. It is basic courtesy. It shows that you respect the person(s) who you are walking away from. It would be good if you share your reason for leaving, but no one will press you to share if you do not want to.

Leaving quietly tells people that you either want to hide the reasons for leaving (which means you are not brave enough to own up to and defend your decision) or that you don't respect them enough (they are not worth the time for that simple goodbye). Neither reason makes you look like a person of character.

Japan trip Oct 2012

We took a short break in Oct 2012 to visit the in-laws in Japan, including a trip with the wife's parents and her sister's family up to Lake Yamanaka and Mount Fuji. It was nice visiting Japan just as autumn starts, with the changing of the colours of the leaves.

We visited this radar dome, no longer in use, which used to be at the top of Mount Fuji. It was used to track typhoons, and after being in service for 35 years, it was retired and shifted to a nearby town at the foot of Mount Fuji.

We also visited this place near the foot of Mount Fuji, which has spring water from Mount Fuji. Look at how clear the spring water is.

No wonder people would want to use the spring water to make soba noodles. This waterwheel is used to pound soba into flour.

The kids decided to help the locals, trying to cart around a full cartload of corn.

There were quite some swans swimming around on Lake Yamanaka, and the kids tried to feed them.

We also went to this place called Kidsland (こどもの国) where the kids enjoyed themselves, feeding the animals, riding horses and even a chance to walk a goat.

And with Halloween so near the corner, there are pumpkins everywhere!

Here's the kid trying to lift up a pumpkin that is probably heavier than him.

Views of Mount Fuji in autumn

Recently, we went to Japan, and took a short trip to Lake Yamanaka (山中湖, which literally means "lake in the mountains") and even a short drive up to the fifth stage of Mount Fuji. Here are some photos of Mount Fuji in her autumn colours.

Here is Mount Fuji with Lake Yamanaka in the foreground.

There were quite some swans swimming around on Lake Yamanaka.

As we were driving around the foothills, we came to this nice plain. It is actually a military exercise ground.

Here is Mount Fuji, peeking out from the trees as seen from the second stage.

Here is how Mount Fuji looks when you are at the fifth stage, about halfway up the mountain.

A nice view of Mount Fuji surrounded by colourful autumn leaves.

After the Rain 雨あがる

I watched this film while on a red-eye flight, and didn't regret any minute of it. It is about a wandering samurai (known as ronin) who is actually a master swordsman, but at the same time a very good-natured person. Thus, he can't seem to stay long at a job, since extreme good nature and extreme expertise don't really mix very well. As mentioned by someone in the movie, when someone asks with concern if you are alright after defeating you, it seems like he is playing with you. People take insult when none was meant, simply by his overly good nature.

But does that mean we should change ourselves just so others can accept us? When the masterless samurai was denied employment for an enfringement in code of conduct, his wife puts it best by saying, it is not about what he has done, but why he did it, that really matters. A lord that cannot see beyond what he has done to try and understand why he has done it, is not worthy of his service.

It is a reminder to myself, that even as I improve myself, I must not lose sight of what I am aiming for, and what I am myself.

The aim of education

So what is the aim of education?

According to Dictionary.com, education is "the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life."

Education in Singapore seems to be focused on preparing people for life in Singapore, providing them with a foundation that they can use to find a job and work to feed themselves. It is geared towards producing workers, people who can leave the education system and straightaway contribute to society as part of the workforce.

However, is that all that education should be? Should it not be more? Should not education be about providing our people with the foundation for them to be able to make their own choices in life? Education that provides society with a ready workforce may enjoy a certain peak performance in the short run, but an education that teaches people to make choices broadens the learning-experience base, allowing that society to achieve a higher performance peak in the long run. So should we be looking at short-term gains, or do we aim for sustainable success in the long run?