caused by increased rentals

&   G S T ? ? ? ?

It was therefore quite worrying that, despite a significant ramping up of Build-To-Order (BTO) launches over the past several quarters to reach new highs in recent years, the demand for new HDB flats has remained as strong as ever.

Nip food inflation in the bud — keep stall rental rates in check

Letter from Huang Lifen

I refer to two earlier letters (“The dirty

world of hawker stall rentals,” March 30

and “Why this hawker can’t afford to maintain

prices”, April 26).

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has

committed to focus on tackling the cost of

living. I hope the measures being taken will

be sustainable in the long term and not just

in the form of a cash handout.

Many Singaporeans eat out regularly.

Hence, the savings from a cheaper meal

would go a long way, especially for the

low-income group.

As I understand it, the Government has

taken pride in sourcing our food supply from

various countries and being effective in curbing

food inflation here. I applaud this strategy.

At the same time, I would like to point

out that it is now time to take on inflation

caused by increased rentals.

While some Members of Parliament

have obtained the agreement of hawkers

not to increase their prices for the next six

months, the latter will be unable to maintain

prices should rentals continue to increase.

I would ask the National Environment

Agency to reconsider the current bidding

system of allocating stalls to hawkers and

allowing them to sublet.

This subletting system is what drives up rentals.

[# B A N  UNPRODUCTIVE  SUBLETTING      MIDDLEMAN  STRUCTURE  #]

In its place, why not define a rental guide — how much a stall’s rental should be in a given location.

Another thing that could be done is to set a selling price for the hawkers to prevent them from overcharging.

Once the rental guide is in place, the authorities should establish a reasonable price guide, taking into consideration the price of their raw materials.

The blast shook neighbouring buildings and shattered their windows. An employee of marine repairs firm Goltens across the road said the ceiling boards of her office began falling off. Over 200 Goltens employees could not resume work due to safety concerns and were released early.SINGAPORE — He met his nephew on Sunday in Serangoon, where he advised the 20-year-old Bangladeshi to adhere to safety rules here.

‘We were disadvantaged by new boundaries, too’

Tan Weizhen

weizhen@mediacorp.com.sg

Mr Chong said the redrawing of the electoral boundaries was one key disadvantage because at least one-third of the ‘real Joo Chiat’ ended up in Marine Parade GRC.

SM GOH  and Tin P L  frOm  DEFEAT ? ? ? ?

I wondered how leaders would react: Chuan-Jin

But PAP MP felt that call for ruling party to change was something that needed to be said

Teo Xuanwei

xuanwei@mediacorp.com.sg

That was why Brigadier-General (NS) Tan Chuan-Jin was the first among the People’s Action Party (PAP) cadres to explicitly state, at his May 4 lunchtime rally at UOB Plaza, that the ruling party has to change in order to retain the “moral authority” to lead.

It was at this same rally that the Prime Minister surprised many with his apologies about the Government’s shortcomings.

“When I crafted my speech, I did wonder how the party leadership would take to it,”

the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (GRC) MP told

After some pondering, he went ahead with it. “It was something I’ve expressed all along even during my interviews to enter politics in mid-2008, I had given my feedback (that the way the party does things had to change) frankly. So with the best of intentions, I felt that it was something that needed to be said,” he told

A transformation within the PAP has become a buzzword in the aftermath of the ruling party’s loss of Aljunied GRC. Despite the incumbent team, led by Foreign Minister George Yeo, pledging to drive the change from within if re-elected, voters eventually plumped for the Workers’ Party’s team.

For BG Tan, 42, the signals of public “frustration, angst perhaps” against the Government’s perceived lack of consultation or high-handedness were evident to him even when he was being considered for candidacy.

“Obviously you hear it from friends, family, so that was something I was very conscious of,” he said.

When I decided to come in, I was quite clear in my mind this was not a trivial matter ... it cannot be business as usual ... the way we did things needed to be adjusted.

Brigadier-General (NS) Tan Chuan-JinSINGAPORE — To this Member of Parliament, political leadership boils down to one simple mantra: Do what is right.Today during an interview after his first Meet-The-People Session on Tuesday.Today.

Eric Tan quits Workers’ Party

WP decides to give seat to rookie Gerald Giam

‘Many remain hurt by MM Lee’s remarks’

Leong Wee Keat

weekeat@mediacorp.com.sg

“You need only ask the Malays and Muslims in Singapore — many were hurt by those remarks and remain so”.Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going,

Mr Zainul, who was a member of the PAP Aljunied GRC team which lost the General Election (GE), made this point to “show how easily the knots of racial harmony in our community can unravel”.

“Integration does not only mean living in harmony.

There must be equally opportunities for all ... No Singaporean must ever feel alienated, or worse, marginialised,”

he told reporters yesterday.

Asked about the timing of Mr Lee’s remarks, which were published in the book

Mr Zainul pointed out the remarks had been made two years ago but as the book was only published earlier this year, he acknowledged:

“So in that sense, (the) timing was bad for the GE.”SINGAPORE — While Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew felt that his remarks about Malays, Muslims and integration did not affect the Malay vote for the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Zainul Abidin Rasheed said yesterday: