SINGAPORE PARLIAMENT Ridout Road Saga: A Conflict of Interest or An Abuse of Power?

After the last Parliamentary Sitting on 10 May 2023, Singaporeans waited almost two months for the next Parliamentary Sitting on 3 July 2023 for the Parliamentary Debate on Singapore Ridout Road Saga.

Was it even a debate or was it just a show to pacify Singaporeans?

Two ruling political parties' ministers’ monthly rents of $26,500 and $19,000 for Ridout Road bungalows was exposed, thus the government waited for two months to marinate a juicy story to explain how they can get some of the biggest landed properties at the lowest rate in Singapore.

It's easy to practice political apathy, but here are 7 issues to ponder why Singapore birth rates hit record low of 35,605 in 2022:

1. Not house, but houses.

According to the parliamentary debate on Ridout road saga, there are two landed properties involved - 26 Ridout Road and 31 Ridout Road.

The two ministers who are living in the two landed properties have other properties while renting two of the biggest landed properties in Singapore.

As for the average Singaporeans, 2 in 5 homeowners say they face difficulties in paying their home loans: https://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/2-in-5-home-owners-say-they-face-difficulties-in-paying-their-home-loans-survey

2. 26 Ridout Road

The lease for 26 Ridout Road was signed by Mr Shanmugam's wife in June 2018.

The monthly rent was S$26,500 (US$19,590) for a bungalow with a floor area of 856.5 sqm (9,219 sq ft).

This means the rental works out to be S$30.94 per sqm per month.

For typical Singaporeans, median prices for terraced houses in Singapore is $2,199 per square foot according to CBRE: https://www.straitstimes.com/business/private-home-prices-up-32-per-cent-in-q1-driven-by-surge-in-landed-prices-and-more-new-launches

Why are Singapore Ministers paying about $30/sqm when average Singaporeans must pay more than $200/sqm for a house that is not even a black and white colonial bungalow?

3. Extra land

Number 26 originally sat on 9,350 sqm of land, but this was expanded to 23,164 sqm after an adjacent plot of land was included in the property's boundaries.

Singapore Law Minister offered to maintain the land at his own cost after he found it overgrown with vegetation while visiting the site.

Are average Singaporeans also given the same treatment where they can offer to take care of state land and the land will form part of their home boundaries?

Or will Singaporeans have to remove plants even if it's at their own corridor? https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/over-30-plants-removed-from-pasir-ris-corridor-after-complaints

4. 31 Ridout Road

For 31 Ridout Road, rented by Foreign Minister Balakrishnan in October 2019, the rent per sq m per month came to $23.05, for a monthly rent of $19,000 for the 824.3 sqm (8,873 sq ft) property.

The government claimed that they have increased the rent to $20,000 a month in October 2022.

If you think the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore is renting at a more ridiculous price than the Law Minister, do you know that the Law Minister's land was expanded to 23,164 sqm?

Isn't it more absurd that the Law Minister is now renting at $1.14/sqm?

Which is only $0.11/sq ft?

5. Home improvements

Singapore law Minister said he spent over $500,000 on home improvements, including paying for the car porch and planting several trees.

He said: “The money that I put in, I knew that I would not benefit from it after my lease is over – it would all go back to the State. That is the deal when one rents a black-and-white, and I knew that.” https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/shanmugam-says-he-rented-ridout-bungalow-ahead-of-family-home-s-sale-did-not-make-money-from-rental

However, isn't that the case for all Singaporeans who are staying in public housing known as HDB under the Housing & Development Board statutory board?

If Singaporeans were to renovate their homes, will they be able to get the money back when their lease is up, or will it all go back to the State?

6. Ministers' homes VS HDB

There are more Singaporeans talking about 26 Ridout Road, as compared to 31 Ridout Road.

Are they discussing if he is the Law Minister or is he the Law?

Or are they wondering why is the Law Minister paying S$26,500 (US$19,590) for a bungalow with a floor area of 23,164 sqm?

A 3 room HDB in Singapore has an area of 60 sqm, do you know that the house that the Law Minister is living in can build at least 400 units of homes for Singaporeans?

Or maybe even more since the government is now promoting smaller houses such as 2 room HDB or 2 room Flexi?

Given that fact that HDB are 10 to 40 levels, wouldn't the house that the Law Minister is now living in be able to accommodate more than 16,000 families?

7. Vacant for more than four years

According to the Singapore government, the 26 Ridout Road bungalow had been vacant for more than four years since December 2013 before it was rented to the Law Minister in June 2018.

So why didn't the Singapore government reduce the rental according to the common sense of supply and demand?

Given the fact that the Law Minister is now paying $1.14/sqm or only $0.11/sq ft, why are average Singaporeans paying multiple times more for public housing?

The most hypocritical part is when the Law Minister told people not to disturb his son? https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/claims-about-son-being-involved-in-ridout-road-affair-utterly-false-and-defamatory-shanmugam

Yet the Law Minister own statutory board - the Attorney General Chambers continued their 11 years of political persecution by demanding a mother of three who was one-month postpartum to raise SGD$22,504.90 on behalf of five Singaporeans.

As of July 2023, the Attorney General Chambers has collected a total of SGD$11,703.00 and there is still a short fall of SGD$10,801.90.

You may make a $1 fund contribution to POSB 279-12328-0 (PayNow +6581207465) or simply share about such political persecution in Singapore to raise awareness on the abuse of power.