Owners of the Fernvale Lea units - let's call it the Fernvale Lea Group (FLG) - should give themselves a pat on their backs, they actually brought the minister to heel! Without explaining why he decided to overrule his officers' stubborn insistence on the fine print - both the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Housing and Development Board (HDB) had flexed their muscles by issuing a joint statement indicating that the columbarium at a Chinese temple planned in Sengkang will go ahead, despite objections from residents - Khaw Boon Wan made a dramatic U-turn in parliament yesterday, 29 Jan 2015:
“For that Sengkang site we do not want a commercial columbarium and we won’t have one.”
He didn't exactly own up to the mistake - that the Government had awarded a place-of-worship site to a company that was not affiliated to a religious organisation - but merely acknowledged that HDB had awarded the land tender to Australian company owned Eternal Pure Land under the (mistaken) impression that the company was a vehicle for a religious organisation to build and own a Chinese temple. In other words, HDB had shoddy due diligence done on the bidders. Not unlike the oversight of shady dealings in the Brompton Bikes purchase.
Surely the FLG deserves an apology from the pathetic lame duck of a member of parliament, Lam Pin Min, for acting as salesman for Eternal Pure Land, promoting their project as the first Chinese Temple in Singapore and in the region (outside Japan) with a modern automated Columbarium, private viewing booths and E-booking for visitation times. That plus the co-ordinated onslaught from the mainstream media to shame the FLG for harboring selfish not-in-my back-yard (NIMBY) attitudes. At an angry meeting with about 400 affected home owners on Jan 4, Lam actually said that there was no purposeful effort to keep residents informed of the columbarium plans as it was not uncommon for places of worship to house such spaces. Well, Lam And Khaw just provided justification for purposeful effort to scrutinise all government intentions.
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When the elections are over in 2016.
ReplyDeleteThose of you buying any new flats from HDB.
You better learn to read the fine print first.
And set up a facebook page to coordinate among yourself about the fine print.
PAP Millionaires may not be so "flexible" and "understanding" after the elections.
Alternative is to vote Opposition MPs to be your voice in parliament.
Just in case.
If PAP can import Aliens by the millions into Singapore ... just in case
DeleteSingaporeans should also vote Opposition .... just in case.
There is nothing wrong with the car.
It's the driver.
What if there were no opposition to plans for the columbarium? It is a no brainer why there is a serious erosion of trust in our government, they seem to want to take you for a ride.
ReplyDeleteBunch of fraudsters. Is clearly stated in HDB brochure 3 types of anciliary services might be erected based on their websites.
ReplyDelete(a) Place of Worship
These include temples, churches and mosques.
(b) Civic & Community Institutions
These include
buildings like police stations, community clubs / centres, homes for the aged, associations, libraries and museums.
(c) Educational Institutions
These include primary/secondary schools, junior colleges, universities, polytechnics,
foreign and special education schools (e.g. school for the disabled).
So where would they specifically sell you point (1) when clearly only point (2) was indicated?
Lam's defence is complete idiocy. If I sold you a fake Rolex it would be OK because it has the name Rolex on it and it's a watch? He wouldn't complain now would he?
They deserved to be buried in the next GRC colosal fight.
Lam Pin Min is PAP's Jover... - You already signed on the dotted line with the fine print below so take it or foefeit your payment.
Delete官字两个口, 和大官爷们对话,
ReplyDelete真是防不胜防。
The People got to be VERY WARY WHEN DEALING WITH RULERS, FOR THEY SEEM TO BE PRONE TO LAPSES AND ALSO NOT TOO SURE OF THEIR DUTIES TO THE PEOPLE.
patriot
The big question is why did HDB/URA awarded A PLACE-OF-WORSHIP SITE to a foreign controlled company dealing in columbarium, funeral parlours businesses and not affiliated to a religious organisation? Who approved it?
ReplyDeleteKBW's analogy and explanation:
DeleteMr Seng [Han Tong] will know a very popular Chinese opera, Butterfly Lovers, or Liang Zhu. It describes the period of old China when girls, unfortunately no matter how talented they were, were not allowed to join schools. So there was this very young, beautiful, talented young lady, Zhu Yingtai, who wanted to study, so she disguised herself as a boy and succeeded in attending the school for three years.
"People just assumed that girls won't turn up, and because they made the assumption, they discovered it only later and (asked) 'why didn't you know'. So they thought this one looked a bit girlish - but it turned out (she was) a girl.
"So it's a similar situation here, that the officers assessing the tender just assumed that it must be a company affiliated to some religious organisation. And because (Eternal Pure Life) made the highest bid, it was awarded to them."
Like Brompton case, it is not negligence on the part of officer. But err..does it explain why URA & HDB stand by their earlier position then?
It was never their negligence.
DeleteOnly the residents' belligerence.
Will there be a mistake if Khaw did not fess up?
DeleteClearly either he is trying to bluff us or if not, he is saying those HDB officers involved are really a bunch of idiots ?
DeleteIn any recommendation for any Govt tender award, there is always a criteria checklist where each tender will be checked against and any potential disqualification will be listed in the tender report.
The Minister is now actually admitting that someone in HDB did not report this disqualification in his/her recommendation for award ? Why don't he release the Tender Report to support that his claim is correct ?
If someone omitted such an obvious disqualification, this alone would be sufficient cause to call in the Anti-corruption Agency to investigate the matter, isn't it Minister ?
Well, at least in this case, Khaw did the right thing to admit they were wrong and back-peddled.
ReplyDeleteThe same cannot be said of that MP who, instead of representing his constituents, took side with the URA/HDB/Businessmen. Now that Lam guy has his Lam Pah squeezed.
We should "lam" him out in the next election. Then he can go and earn his million $$$ in the private sector. He cannot speak well and appeared unsure of himself in parliament. Lack of confidence or conscience telling on him??
DeleteSeems someone (Illustrous Member of Paw Lan Par in the Parliament) will not get some "commission/favors" after all for trying to "help" others instead of the people of singapore.
ReplyDeleteReally nuts these self service deluded idiots...dun understand how come Ah Loong can stand these people who keep screwing up for him in his parliament...zzz
Ah Loong and his administration let in all the trash in the last 10 years. And now has the audacity to say there is now too much trash left behind in Laneway festival ...he should go have a look at the Bandwagon and Laneway facebook sites with photos of mostly the types of party attendees, then come and lecture us lah.
DeleteIt was his father who said these quotes :'
"You see the worksite – 60 to 70 per cent are non-Singapore workers. They work harder, they take greater risks. What they earn here is two to three times what they earn in their own country. But we carry a social load. They dirty the place, they were not brought up in our schools, they litter. It’s a problem.
And if you take too many, then instead of our values being superimposed on them, they will bring us down to their values because it’s easier to be untidy, scruffy, dirty, anti-social than to be disciplined, well-behaved and a good citizen."
In fact, why shame on Singapore/reans? Why not shame on the f'king Organizers?! >You mean there is pre-set up but no post-clean up? Good lah, NEA should just step in and tell them to stop feeding the rats!!! Who gave the go -ahead in first place?
I think festival must get approval from MND national parks board, correct? So it comes back to Khaw's Ministry again, tio bo?
DeleteLau Goh said SIN city is now Garbage city, he must reflect upon his lliberal third-worlders immigration policy lor. Then maybe the people on the job is all very garbra now. Rats, haze and garbage index have all gone up, but all they ever cared for was their eyes on the GDP for bonus.
Huat ah!! Go, go, go 6.9m!!
Lau Goh is a has been. He doesn't even know he's talking nonsense. Probably the million $$$ has got to his brain. In any case he was the one who started the down slide of everything in Singapore. LKY liked him because he is obedient (like monkey see, monkey do :-)
DeleteI don't know what is the outcome of Khaw's prayers and meditation. But if he needs clue, maybe just heed GCT's advice, invite Eternal Pure Land to go into commercial garbage disposing business instead. Garbage city may become Pure Land city, and everyone gets their swiss standard of living.
DeleteOnly WP do a "dramatic U-turn", or in Ah Loong parlance, a flip-flop. The PAP only flops, and nearing election time, just do a shift or a tai-chi, as in the rats at Bukit Batok case. Wouldn't surprise me if they put the blame in the columbarium brouhaha to a deficient tender process. I am sure the opposition would love a debate with the PM on this. Please don't flip-flop or chicken out on your own words about having "robust and open debates"!
ReplyDelete"HDB had awarded the land tender to Australian company owned Eternal Pure Land under the (mistaken) impression that the company was a vehicle for a religious organisation to build and own a Chinese temple."
ReplyDeleteSo URA and HDB officers apparently surfing the internet during office hours for porn, simple due diligence on the internet would immediately have eliminated them, had these same officers not been bending over to commercial reasons. Those still trying to make a quick buck thru PAP connections with $1 companies will just have to try harder, harder, harder (ooo la la! harder is good)
Don't laugh hor, when I mentioned Sengkang "columbarium" to our neighborhood Ah Seng, the reaction was the only "columbian" he heard about was Man Utd star Falcao. So HDB oppicers can claimed they never dug their ears, just like Khaw now making excuse they made same mistake as Chinese empire never check whether Mu Lan had a penis! Paid a million, what the fcuk is the MND's sperm sec and all his scholars still keeping his job? If not for the coming elections, can the people ever over-power a civil service totally unaccountable ready to bull doze anything into the masses' throat? Its not just political, its the rot in the civil service that is wrecking the nation, PAP cannot tame these mandarin monsters anymore.
ReplyDeleteThe Country has gone to the Rats!
ReplyDeletepatriot
Send in the Pied Piper of Hamelin
DeleteThe Pied Piper of Mai Hum's Land?
DeleteRat Song:
"There must be a couple more million,
And more are coming every day,
..........
We must find a rat solution,
Or there'll be no room left for us,
Or there'll be no room left....
for... us...."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuuAZH4C-lY
The excuse for not voting opposition has always been: 'I not impressed with opposition candidates laeh'. Now Dr Lam has a most impressive CV, an old boy of ACS/NJC/NUS med school, and a super eye surgeon just like the budget busting rat-shy no-ponding Vbala. So are the "sengkang pap voters" and other silliporeans now most impressed by his defence of Life Corp columbarian? Too bad, I for one would have been quite happy to see the thing built, just to remind folks everywhere what an impressive CV usually mean in this red dot. CVs are good for connections, making big money out of the taxpaying sheeples.
ReplyDeleteWow, the repent season starts early in this election cycle. Who is going to be the next cry baby?
ReplyDeleteLam will be among the chosen 24 - to quit. lol
“For that Sengkang site we do not want a commercial columbarium and we won’t have one.”
ReplyDeleteWhy did he qualified the columbarium with commercial? Is he saying there will be a columbarium, a religious columbarium, or any non-comerical one?
No, you are wrong. EPL still has the tender. Khaw still honours the tender to EPL. He is saying that he will try to find a solution to discuss with EPL to build a non-profit Chinese Temple instead. That means many things will happen behind the scene.
ReplyDeleteThe thrust of the people's concern has not be tackled. It has been circumvented.
This tender, if allowed to proceed, will set a precedence for fund-rich profit-making commercial business organisations to compete against the non-profit religious organisations which are usually not fund-rich and registered under The Charities Act.
If Khaw has admitted that this has been a mistake. He should rectify it by voiding the tender and call for another tender. He should not be so eager and persistent to carry on with procedding with this particular tenderer EPL.
There are rumours that some big shots sons are sitting of the Board of EPL or its parent company Life Corporation. This we cannot confirm but can be verified by Khaw and his Ministry.
We can only leave to MND to do due diligence into the background of the company concerned and if there appears to be some conflict of interests or uncomfortable connections going on, this should be stopped immediately.
Paper cannot cover a bursting fire for long..
//EPL still has the tender. Khaw still honours the tender to EPL.//
DeleteYou nailed it right there. Note what Khaw said: "but we will find a way to restore this site to its original intent."
The operative word is "commercial" vis-a-vis "religious" columbarium. Don't be surprised if Khaw appoints a Buddhist priest as non-executive chairman to the EPL board. Hey presto, problem solved.
The other way is to set up a $2 company, with 2 Buddhist directors, each holding 1 share, and outsource the entire operation to EPL. Yup, exactly like A.I.M.
So, in other words, it is now a
Delete"Religious temple with columbarium" instead of a "Commercial columbarium" only?
How does that make it any better for the residents? I thought the whole point is NOT to have the columbarium at all as there was dispute on the brochure transparency?!
Secondly, how could this be a mistaken identity as Khaw puts it. One is a for-profit org versus a not-for-profit org doing the tendering. Why would an officer be so reckless as to omit that mistake? When Khaw says Zhu YingTai has deceived everyone because no one has assumed a woman would show up, then is he implying that EPL is being deliberately deceitful in the tender process? What does EPL have to say? They can sue the gov for not honoring the contract after awarding it, and are they accepting the implication that they are deceiving the authority in this process?
If one party is being reckless in the due diligence, and the other party is being deceitful, then the whole tender should be called off.
If we were to go back to the legal basics, EPL did not submit a BONA FIDE tender because they would not as a COMMERCIAL COMPANY have qualified to tender for the land in the first place.
DeleteOn this basis alone, it would be sufficient to terminate the award without have to pay any compensation.
So if they are trying to circumvent the rules, then I can only conclude that there is foul play involved. Someone should report to the ACA to investigate the matter.
Seriously, PAP would have dugged a bigger grave to bury themselves if they insist EPL is still OK with the project.
In fact the Minister should announce that they are going to forfeit the Tender Bond and any monies paid by EPL for submitting a tender bid on false pretences ?
DeleteAnd the CEO for EPL and parent company should be sacked for bidding for a project when they obviously do not qualify ?
Someone should report to the Australian Stock Exchange for such irresponsible CEO trying to cheat in the tender projects, isn't it and subjecting their respective companies to such commercial risks ?
Heard that GCT's son is a director of EPL, so is the PM's bro-in-law, Ho Sing. You just can't touch these people.
DeleteThey should build the Frenvale Columbarium to remind all Singaporeans about our useless civil service and which side a PAP MP is on.
ReplyDeleteThis government has no ethics, no morals and is losing the voter's trust.
ReplyDeleteIngredients for no support, no vote and no mandate... its on a very slippery slope. Each time they try to get a grip, they fall lower down. The reason is simple:
The philosophy of making money, getting the voter to pay for all services ( medical etc ) the rejection of welfarism in whatever form is now showing its weakness.
Their continued denial that this philosophy cannot work will do them in.
Khaw's speech provide a good clarity why Singaporeans have lost trust in PAP.
ReplyDeleteJialat, PAP will now need to prove to us whether their white uniform is really a symbol of .......................?
ReplyDeletePlease fill in the blanks.
Awarding a tender to a company which does not qualify in the first place.
Next time if you do not qualify for anything, maybe you can quote the above example to ask them why not, since EPL can qualify also ?
There can be a lot of implications.
Can Lack of due diligence be simply NEGLIGENCE?
ReplyDeletepatriot
Look at it this way. They would have been considered negligent if they did not put in due diligence in collecting more money. After all, this is Singapore Inc. "What's wrong with collecting more money?"
DeleteThis is what will be said:
ReplyDelete"Human error.
We have taken the officers to task
We have reviewed and strengthen procedures
The important point is that residents have their wish.
Lets move on.
There are far more serious issues about the economy.
Lets focus on productivity, have better lives, for our children, for our future."
And there will be people who will accept this... strange.