Editor's note: A.S.S is a platform for readers to express their views on matters close to their heart. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own.
Dear Editors,
I am a senior citizen who is writing not just to express my sheer disdain of the pap government and its pretense of "looking after" the elderly but also to dispel the notion that seniors such as myself only rely on news from mainstream media which is totally untrue. We also read hard copies of "The Hammer" and alternative news sites like yours too.
I was recently coerced into selling my 5 room back to HDB which I had purchased in earlier years as I am in frail health now after suffering a stroke due to stress and genuinely cannot afford remaining payments of the mortgage. HDB threatened to repossess my flat if I am still unable to sell it in the open market which only solves half my problem.
After relocation, I thought I am deemed to be in line with the purported "Silver Housing Bonus" that I later discovered was a fabrication. The catch is in the clause: "After you have $60,000 in your R.A. first"! I was very much taken aback when I learned of this as it was only then I realized I had been cheated by the very government that claimed to "be on my side" and "understood my hardships". If the elderly have managed to amass $60,000 in their CPF accounts with the mere 2.5% interest by the time they reach 55, they would not even need the petty $20,000 to begin with.
Never mind they denied me of this miserly privilege but they now want to deduct $30,000 in "resale levies" from proceeds of my current flat as well. HDB reasoned in a reply to Pasir Ris - Punggol MP that they need to "redistribute" and "allocate subsidies" under a "limited resource" situation. I wonder how can this be when every single legitimate inquiry is swept under the carpet with a blanket "OSA", coupled with a substandard 3 room BTO at Bendemeer Road costing a whopping $369,200?
In addition, the HDB had already confiscated 10% of my daughter's down payment for her HDB flat previously when she was forced to withdraw application on grounds of later assessment on "affordability issues".
What "proper" allocation of resources is HDB blabbering about when it places itself to be in a position of constant profitability, confiscating 1 flat below its market value by $100,000 then marking up that same value when selling it to another. I end by assuring the younger generation of our committed love for your future survival and will do the right thing come polling day. We are unlike parents of the palestinians who place selfish religious needs above their children by putting them in the line of firing, we will put the pap MPs in the firing squad instead!
NCMP J.J. Yee, if your party is serious about winning Pasir Ris - Punggol then your leaders must have the courage to do this first: http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/06/19/parliamentary-oversight-of-our-reti... otherwise, its simply empty talk
Yours faithfully,
Mdm Conceicao