Issues in Telok Kurau

Posted on 10 Jul 2012 | Comments Off on Issues in Telok Kurau

Telok Kurau used to be a peaceful residential neighbourhood, but it now faces several issues.

Firstly, it is now a popular area for student hostels, and students have been disrupting the peace in the wee hours, chatting loudly as they sit along pavements outside the private houses and playing music as they walk to their hostel and Telok Kurau Park.

The hostel at Joo Chiat Place has a guardhouse to control the inflow and outflow of students, but the problem persists.

With several en-bloc developments and now three hostels, the population in the area has increased, the valuation of homes here are lower than in surrounding areas and there is even traffic congestion at noon.

Secondly, there is a legacy problem with Joo Chiat Place. All the other parallel lanes are named Lorong (insert alphabet) Telok Kurau, and postmen, courier services and food delivery services get confused. There should be an alignment of road names.

Thirdly, it seems only half of the drains in Telok Kurau are covered, and this is an area with high incidence of dengue fever. All these issues have been raised to the various authorities, yet the situation has not changed.

From Andrew Kwan

Source : Today – 2012 Jul 10

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Allow singles to purchase HDB flats early

Posted on 10 Jul 2012 | Comments Off on Allow singles to purchase HDB flats early

I refer to the report “Luring the stork” (June 29).

The policy of not allowing singles to apply for Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats needs revisiting.

This pro-family policy may put the Government on high moral ground, but it impedes those who want to prepare their love nest earlier.

Since the Government’s commitment is to give all Singaporeans a chance to own a home, then it should not matter when the Singaporean chooses to have it.

Allowing singles to book an HDB flat early is a pragmatic approach to handle both the housing and procreation issue.

It allows the housing planners to manage the demand and supply of flats.

As it takes three to four years before a flat is ready, singles would still need to wait.

When a couple decides to get married, it also takes them that long to get their love nest up.

What do they do in the meantime? Delay their marriage or stay with their parents?

By the time they get their flat, they would have lost the urge to procreate as repayment and renovation costs start to stack up.

Allowing singles to buy a flat early would allow them to be more conscious of their savings, as it means that their financial commitments are spread out better.

We should learn from the animal kingdom. For many species, the lure of procreation depends on how well the nest is prepared. The females would look for the best nest before making such a commitment.

Humans are similar. A woman would find that a man with a decent home is a sign of stable commitment.

From James Koh Lee Meng

Source : Today – 2012 Jul 10

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