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Building Better Homes for All

26 Jan 2020 2 min read

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Our homes take pride of place as we usher in the lunar new year. We spring-clean and decorate them, and enjoy the warm company of our family and loved ones when they visit.

Many Singaporeans will celebrate the new year in their HDB flats, including in the void decks and multi-purpose halls with their neighbours and friends.

For 60 years since its founding, HDB living has been an integral part of the Singapore story. It’s more than just a roof over our heads. Our HDB flats are places where we bond with our neighbours; where our children across all races and religions grow up together; where we forge a stronger sense of community and a larger family connection beyond our own ties of kinship.

What we enjoy in Singapore is precious and unique. In cities everywhere around the world, there is a chronic lack of access to affordable and adequate housing. This housing gap has caused growing social inequalities, especially amongst the younger generation.

We are fortunate to have avoided such an outcome, thanks to the foresight of our pioneer leaders who set up the HDB in 1960, shortly after Singapore attained self-government.

Today more than 80% of Singapore’s population live in HDB flats, and we are a nation of homeowners. But we are not resting on our laurels. We continue to face our share of new challenges, and our housing policies must evolve with changing circumstances and needs.

The 4G team is fully committed to strengthening our institution of public housing, and making it even better.

We will continue to provide affordable homes for all Singaporeans. All new HDB flats are priced with affordability in mind, taking into account the incomes of our young couples. This is why new flats are cheaper than comparable flats in the resale market. Even if resale prices were to move up, we are committed to keeping new flat prices stable and affordable. On top of this pricing discount, we have recently enhanced our housing grants significantly.

We will step up the programme to renew and upgrade our public housing estates. We are completing home improvements for the older flats, and later this year will commence the upgrading of flats built after 1987. We will progressively redevelop and rejuvenate all existing precincts and towns, to build greener, smarter and more connected HDB estates, with convenient access to our rapidly expanding MRT network.

Beyond our HDB heartlands, we are also embarking on several long-term projects to remake our city. From the Punggol Digital District to Jurong Lake District; from the Tuas Mega Port to Changi Airport Terminal 5; from Marina Bay to the Greater Southern Waterfront – these are all major moves to renew and rebuild our city, and to sustain Singapore’s success for many more decades and generations to come.

The Rat is the start of the Chinese zodiac. It symbolises new beginnings and opportunities to grow. There will be new challenges too, be it economic and job uncertainties, or concerns over the Wuhan virus outbreak. But we are ready and prepared to deal with them. So long as we are united and work together, we can overcome all challenges. Let us usher in the Year of the Rat with renewed confidence and faith, to build better homes and a brighter future for all!

Happy Lunar New Year, and best wishes for good health and happiness to you and your family!

在此预祝大家在新的一年里身体健康、万事如意、有“鼠”不尽的快乐!

Lawrence Wong
People’s Action Party
24 January 2020