GE2025: PSP makes assertions with ‘little regard for facts’, says PAP’s Desmond Lee on claims he remained silent on housing issues
In his rebuttal to the Progress Singapore Party's chief Leong Mun Wai, National Development Minister Desmond Lee said that he had spoken on housing issues at a rally, in his party manifesto and to the media.
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SINGAPORE: Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said it was concerning that the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) is making assertions with “little regard for facts”, after the opposition party’s chief Leong Mun Wai claimed that Mr Lee had remained silent on housing issues.
In a statement on Wednesday (Apr 30), Mr Lee said: “It is indeed a matter of concern when the PSP makes assertions with little regard for facts. I would like to urge the public to consider the facts and concrete plans that each side has presented when making their choice during this General Election.”
On Wednesday morning, Mr Leong spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a walkabout on Jurong West Street 91, claiming that Mr Lee – who is the anchor candidate of the People’s Action Party (PAP) team contesting in West Coast-Jurong West GRC – had yet to respond to several policy questions raised by the opposition party.
Among other housing issues raised, Mr Leong said that Mr Lee did not address concerns about the rising cost of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats, lease decay and the lack of lift upgrading for certain flats in Singapore.
On Wednesday, Mr Lee said that these claims were “untrue” and urged the public to consider the facts from both sides, adding that he had addressed national housing issues on “multiple occasions” throughout the campaigning period.
These included the launch of the West Coast-Jurong West GRC manifesto on Apr 23, another occasion when he spoke to the media last Friday, and his rally speech last Sunday.
At the launch of the West Coast-Jurong West GRC manifesto on Nomination Day, Mr Lee and his team outlined the party's achievements, including converting roads into Silver Zones and Friendly Streets to enhance safety for seniors, as well as implementing the Home Improvement Programme for public housing.
Speaking to the media on Apr 25, Mr Lee highlighted efforts to reduce the non-selection rate among home buyers and that there was a “determination” to support different groups of Singaporeans in achieving home ownership.
On Wednesday, he said: “Prior to the election campaign, the topic of housing has also been extensively debated in parliament.”
He added that during his rally speech on Apr 27, he acknowledged concerns that Singaporeans have about housing, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic had caused the “worst construction crisis” in decades, leading to high demand in flats and, in turn, higher housing prices.
During the rally, Mr Lee said that his team had spoken to residents over the past five years and had heard their aspirations for good jobs and homes as well as concerns over cost of living.
“I assured Singaporeans that we have completed building all the homes that had been delayed and significantly ramped up the supply of new housing,” said Mr Lee.
He added that the housing market “will stabilise” and that the government will be able to offer more affordable homes under the Standard, Prime and Plus framework.
Mr Lee said that the government is also exploring more public housing options for higher-income young couples and singles.
“These are topics that PM Lawrence Wong has spoken about and public housing is a part of the PAP national manifesto,” Mr Lee said.
The PAP manifesto outlines plans to build 50,000 new flats over the next three years and increase the supply of homes with shorter waiting times.
It also intends to keep flats in prime locations such as Kallang-Whampoa, Bayshore and Mount Pleasant accessible to more applicants, while rejuvenating older HDB towns through the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme, or VERS.
Mr Lee added: “We are clear about our commitment to keeping housing affordable and accessible for Singaporeans, through the ramping up of supply and cooling measures where necessary.”
PSP'S RESPONSE
Commenting on Mr Lee's response, Mr Leong said on Wednesday evening that the minister did not provide any new information during those times when he claimed to have responded and that the issues were also not resolved in parliamentary discussions.
“In an election campaign, I think all parties have a responsibility to tell the voters what are we offering,” he told CNA at Ayer Rajah Food Centre before interacting with the dinner-time crowd on his party's walkabout.
Mr Leong said that PSP has been clear with its proposals, but the government has not.
"They seem to have adopted an 'oh, we see what we can do' attitude," he continued.
The government owes Singaporeans a "more concrete plan" beyond ramping up supply and waiting for prices to stabilise, he added.
"How can we not allow HDB flats in the future to repeat this kind of big increases over the last two, three years?" he asked, referring to higher housing prices.
On the waiting time for HDB's Build-to-Order (BTO) flats, Mr Leong said that the government cannot keep blaming the delays caused by the pandemic.
"Is there a necessity to adjust the BTO system?" Mr Leong suggested.
Regarding the lease of HDB flats, he noted that Prime Minister Lawrence Wong first brought up the issue several years ago and that Mr Wong and Mr Lee have the responsibility to tell Singaporeans what the solution is.
Earlier in the day, Mr Leong said that the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) and VERS no longer work for residents, given the unhappiness in 2022 over the SERS exercise in Ang Mo Kio.
"Does it alter the applicability of VERS? Is VERS dead or not? Tell the people," Mr Leong added.
Repeating his call for solutions to high flat prices, long waiting times and "lease decay", Mr Leong said: “I think the prime minister and minister owe Singaporeans answers to these questions during this election campaign.
"Because Singaporeans will be thinking of these questions when they are casting their vote on May 3."
Mr Lee’s teammates in West Coast-Jurong West GRC are Mr Shawn Huang, Mr Ang Wei Neng, Ms Cassandra Lee and Dr Hamid Razak.
Come May 3, the team will go head-to-head with a PSP team made up of the party’s chairman Tan Cheng Bock, secretary-general Leong Mun Wai and first vice-chairperson Hazel Poa, as well as Mr Sani Ismail and Mr Sumarleki Amjah.
