COS 2016: Speech by MOS Dr Koh Poh Koon "Working Together for an Inclusive and Innovative City"

Apr 11, 2016

Helping the Low-Income and Vulnerable Households

In his speech, Minister Lawrence Wong quoted from our iconic national song “Home”. He said he says “There is comfort in the knowledge, that home’s about its people too”. I would like to expand on this with the preceding lines – “When there are troubles to go through, we’ll find a way to start anew”. For households who have fallen onto hard times, the Government helps them in various ways. One of these is enabling them to stay in heavily subsidised public rental flats.

Ramp up in Rental Supply

A few Members asked about our supply of rental flats. We have ramped up the rental supply from 42,000 in 2007 to 53,500 now, and it will go up to 60,000 in 2017. As a result, waiting time for a rental flat has reduced significantly from 21 months in 2008 to 4 months today. For those in urgent need of rental housing or any housing, HDB may give them priority allocation for a rental flat, or provide them with Interim Rental Housing while they await their rental flat.

The increase in rental flats is not only about the increase in quantity. We build rental flats in more locations with a better geographical spread and we integrate them within estates by locating them together with homeownership flats. 

These efforts help to promote interaction among residents as Mr Chong Kee Hiong has called for, and ensure that tenants have the same access to amenities that people staying in home ownership flats enjoy. With rental flats in more locations, it is also more likely that tenants can get a flat nearer their preferred location of their choice.

Helping rental tenants to progress to homeownership

However, we should not increase our rental supply indefinitely. Staying in public rental flats should only be temporary for families to rebuild their lives. Mr Lee Kuan Yew said: “my primary preoccupation was to give every citizen a stake in the country and its future. I wanted a home-owning society”. We want to see families in rental flats progress into homeownership. Thus, we provide substantial help such as generous housing grants of up to $80,000 for first-timer families.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked about the supply of 2-room flats to help our rental families to buy a flat. We currently set aside 10% of 2- and 3-room flats in our sales exercises under the Tenants’ Priority Scheme, or TPS for short. The scheme has been open to first-timer rental families. So in 2015, we set aside 411 2-room flats under TPS. This is 8.5 times more than the 48 applications we received that year.

I am happy to announce that we will extend the TPS to second timer rental families, including the Fresh Start beneficiaries that Minister Wong announced earlier. These second timer families in rental flats have the same housing need as first timer rental families. But as second timers, they have a lower allocation quota when it comes to balloting for new HDB flats. Therefore, extending TPS to these second timer families will increase their chances of selecting a flat, and moving on to homeownership. So from HDB’s next sales exercise, second-timer rental families can also benefit from the 10% quota of flats set aside under the TPS. Like their first-timer counterparts, they will be eligible if they have stayed for at least two years in a rental flat, and are applying for a 2- or 3-room homeownership flat.

Taken together, the Fresh Start Housing Scheme and the extension of TPS to second timer rental families are significant measures to help our rental families achieve homeownership again, and to build a more inclusive society.

Helping vulnerable households

I would like to assure Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap and Mr Alex Yam that we review and exercise flexibility on our policies to help vulnerable families and those having problems keeping up with their mortgage.

For those in mortgage arrears, our primary objective is to help them retain their flats. HDB pro-actively engages households on how to resolve their HDB mortgage issues, especially those with loan arrears. For example, HDB may temporarily reduce or defer their mortgage instalments to help their cash flow situation. For those who need more long-term solutions, HDB may help them right-size to a more affordable flat with another HDB concessionary loan if necessary.

We also take a needs-based approach in assessing applications for a rental flat. If an applicant is assessed to have low income, no other affordable housing options, and no family support – in other words, those who are at extremely high risk of having no roof over their heads – HDB will help them.

Even if the applicant does not fulfil some of the eligibility criteria, HDB will exercise flexibility based on their individual circumstances. Together with other agencies and social workers, HDB will hold joint case conferences to find the best way to help them.

As Mr Faisal Manap said earlier, many of these families have multi-faceted and multi-factorial, complex issues. Therefore, we require a multi-pronged, and a multi-agency approach to help them get to the root of the problem. Housing is perhaps one of them – it could be just the surface and the symptom. We want to help them get on with their lives again by solving the problem at its root. As for the 30-month debarment that Mr Faisal Manap said earlier, I think HDB takes a very flexible approach, and will look at this on a case by case basis to make sure that none of our residents are disadvantaged and have no roof over their heads.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah and Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked about how we help single parents with housing. We can do so in a few ways.
a) Firstly, we help them secure a flat through a priority scheme dedicated to second-timer divorced and widowed persons with young children, if they are applying for a new 2- or 3-room flat in non-mature estates. Some Members will know this as the Assistance Scheme for Second-Timers, or ASSIST.

b) Secondly, if they face difficulties paying for the flat, HDB will assess their financial situation and provide them assistance wherever possible. For example, by allowing them to spread out their resale levy in their loan instalments.

c) Thirdly, we can offer them temporary housing at below market rates while they await completion of their flat, under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme or in Interim Rental Housing.

d) Lastly, if they have no housing options and no family support, we will enable them to rent a rental flat.

Helping the elderly

Let me move on to our efforts to help the elderly.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap asked whether we can help elderly flat owners who want to rent out a room to find a tenant. We interviewed about 1,200 elderly flat owners on subletting a few years ago. Among those who did not rent out their flats or rooms, only 5% of those interviewed had genuine concerns about finding a tenant. And in actual fact, tenant-matching is already offered by estate agents and various websites. On HDB’s part, we have made the procedure to rent out a room very straightforward. Owners just need to register with HDB within 7 days of finding a tenant for the room that they are letting out.

Mr Chen Show Mao and Mr Alex Yam asked about the Lease Buyback Scheme, or LBS for short. We enhanced LBS in April last year in a few ways:

a) We extended it to 4-room flats, which is the most common HDB flat type today.
b) We increased the income ceiling from $3,000 to $12,000.
c) We relaxed the CPF top-up required for households with multiple owners.
d) And we gave households a wider choice of how much lease they wish to retain.

500 households have taken up the LBS since it was enhanced about a year ago. This is a significant increase from the average of 160 per year prior to the enhancements.

We will monitor the response to LBS further before considering any extension to larger flat types. But let me emphasise that LBS is not the only option to monetise a flat. Elderly households staying in larger flats, for example 5-room flats, actually have a few options to monetise their flat. Firstly, they can choose to rent out a room, especially if their children have moved out and they have a spare room. Two, they can also move to a smaller flat, if they are a couple with no children staying with them. By doing so, and staying in a short-lease 2-room Flexi flat, they can also benefit from the Silver Housing Bonus which is a cash bonus. Thirdly, for those who have moved in with their children to enjoy mutual support, they can also consider renting out the whole flat. These are all good ways to monetise a flat.

In answer to Mr Chen Show Mao’s question earlier about LBS, I think there are many options other than LBS in which the flat owner can monetise the flat, especially if the flat owner or the elderly couple has the desire to pass the flat on to their children. Monetising their flats in other ways, other than LBS, will be an option for them to consider.

The take up of these monetising schemes is not a numbers game. There is no KPI to meet, to see how many people should monetise their flats. They are options for the elderly to consider to suit their needs. In fact, many elderly today have personal savings and support from their children. They may not feel a need to monetise their flat. Nonetheless, HDB continues to publicize monetisation options through various means, through its website, local media, public talks, and exhibitions and at enquiry booths at community events. Interested flat owners can approach HDB and be given one-to-one advice on how they can monetise their flats based on their individual needs.

Animal Management

Beyond housing, MND also oversees the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), which has a wide scope, ranging from managing animals to ensuring Singapore’s food security.

AVA manages stray dogs, cats and wild monkeys to address feedback on public concerns caused by the animals. AVA's contractors are required to have the necessary expertise, and comply with animal welfare guidelines in handling these animals. I also want to reassure our members that we take all animal cruelty cases seriously.

AVA will investigate feedback on animal cruelty and welfare issues, and take the wrongdoers to task.

Mr Louis Ng has asked about collaboration between AVA and animal welfare groups, or AWGs, on animal-related issues. AVA already does so. For instance, the Animal Concerns and Research & Education Society or ACRES is one of AVA’s contractors for responding to wild animal issues.

AVA also works with SPCA and the Cat Welfare Society on the Stray Cat Sterilisation Programme (SCSP). Under the programme, AVA co-funds the cost of sterilising and micro-chipping stray cats in HDB estates. The AWGs also help to mediate cat-related feedback and manage community cat feeders to prevent nuisance to the community. Animal welfare groups play a very important intermediary role in the community. Going forward, AVA will expand the programme to cover stray cats in industrial and commercial areas, and private estates. With this expansion, we hope to sterilise 20,000 more stray cats. AVA also works closely with animal welfare groups on public outreach regarding animal-related issues. And through the Responsible Pet Ownership Programme, AVA has held roadshows and joint adoption drives with animal welfare groups, emphasising that a pet is for life, and should not be abandoned. AVA plans to collaborate with animal welfare groups to further such outreach efforts.

Besides AWGs, AVA also works with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and Singapore Customs (SC) to clamp down on illegal wildlife trade. AVA also works closely with international partners, such as wildlife authorities in ASEAN countries and Interpol to deter such illegal animal trade. Through these efforts, the number of wildlife trafficking cases has decreased from 23 in 2011 to 12 in 2015.

With the support of these partners, I would like to assure Mr Louis Ng that AVA will remain vigilant and continue to optimise resources to tackle animal issues and animal crimes.

Partnering the Industry to Transform Our Agriculture Sector

Mr Alex Yam spoke about the need to transform our local agriculture sector. Indeed, this sector holds great potential. Climate change, whether it is global warming or irregular weather patterns, is causing greater uncertainties in overseas food supply. At the same time, the world population is growing, projected to increase from 7.3 billion today to 9.7 billion by 2050. Developing countries are also seeing their young people migrate to the cities, leaving less manpower for farming. So there is no certainty that the global food supply will keep up with the growing global demand. We need to raise our local food production to buffer against such uncertainties in the future.

Singapore can carve a niche in urban solutions by becoming a living lab for food production technologies, just like what we’ve done for water recycling and desalination – turning a disadvantage into something we can be proud of.

To facilitate that and hearing our farmers’ feedback, we are reviewing our agriculture policies, including the lease tenure to give farmers impetus to invest in transformative technologies. Through our Agriculture Productivity Fund, we will continue to provide financial support to promising farmers in adopting these technologies. We will create the right environment where our farmers can grow more with less, through the use of technology and innovation.

We envision that farms of the future will make use of integrated vertical and indoor systems, automation and robotics. They will be highly intensive and productive, and operate on minimal manpower.

We are already beginning to see this new breed of farms in Singapore. Just last month, I visited Apollo Aquarium and Sky Greens which represent state-of-the-art urban and vertical farming technologies.

Take Apollo. Apollo Aquarium houses its fish in indoor, vertical multi-tiered tanks. They use less land, yet produce more fish. In a controlled environment, the farm can be monitored and operated remotely, without the risks of uncontrollable environmental factors that can threaten the yield of the fish stock.

Sky Greens is the world’s first commercial vertical farm. Its three-storey high vertical racks can produce about 2,500 stalks of leafy vegetables. This system requires less water, less electricity and less labour, yet produces 5 times more vegetables than traditional farms.

Across the board, local production levels for our key food items such as food fish, leafy vegetables, and hen eggs have steadily risen over the years. In 2015, our farms produced about

a) 5,300 tonnes of fish for food,
b) 11,400 tonnes of leafy vegetables, and;
c) 421 million eggs.

Compared to 5 years ago, production volumes have gone up by 52% for fish, 21% for vegetables, and 10% for eggs.

And we can do more. Netherlands and Denmark employ technologies that are 5 to 6 times more productive than our most productive fish farms, and 2 times more productive than our best vegetable farms. Imagine what we can achieve if all our local farmers employ these technologies! We may become much more self-sufficient in many of our essential food items.

To realise their full potential, besides adopting transformative technologies, there is scope for the agriculture sector to consolidate and to intensify their operations. This will move the needle in production and in their manpower optimisation strategy. We have a mission to achieve that is as crucial as water – and that is to strengthen our food security in an era of global food uncertainty. My Ministry and AVA will make the development of our local agriculture sector a priority for the coming years. Thank you.