I wonder where the Straits Times editors and reporters live. Apparently not with the huddled masses in the densely packed public housing estates. Why else should a news report describing the popularity of one housing estate say its residents’ letter boxes are stuffed with flyers from real estate agents every day? I also get them though my neighbourhood is no longer considered a prime location.
I am happy where I am no matter what others think of the place. But some people in Bishan might have gnashed their teeth in indignation at the Straits Times front page report today that theirs is no longer the most popular housing estate in Singapore. It was certainly unusual for the Straits Times to report things are not so hunky dory in at least one corner of Singapore. The bad news is not likely to do any good for property prices in Bishan.
But I must congratulate the Straits Times for letting slip the truth. I don’t mean the news about Bishan but what appeared lower down in the report. It said: "Mr Ismail (a real estate agency boss) noted that the price index is 20 per cent lower than in 1996."
Gotcha! Singapore has not yet fully recovered from the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Why else should the price index be lower than in 1996?
I remember those glory days when a Singapore dollar was worth almost the same as the German mark. Now Germany uses the euro, which is worth three Singapore dollars.
Yes, Germany has an unemployment problem. But economic deprivation is not exactly unknown in Singapore. Ask the cleaners and hawker stall assistants how much they earn — then try to figure out how they cope on such wages.
Even the current economic growth wouldn’t have been possible without a government initiative to reclaim land from the sea, starting a property boom, and business-friendly policies, encouraging foreign investment. But to keep the economy growing, the government is greenlighting projects that were no-go before. Casinos will open, motor racing begin. Now that China has become the workshop of the world, Singapore is trying to become another Las Vegas or Monaco.
Sure, money is flowing into Singapore. Joining rich foreigners are newly minted local millionaires. Plenty are getting rich even from property sales as developers buy out private apartment owners in en bloc sales to redevelop the real estate and make a profit. But there are winners and losers, millionaires and cleaners. They may be living in the same country, but in two very different worlds.
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