Of Niches and Seng Kang West

Re: Breaking: PAP surrender! Fernvale residents win!

Leckmichamarsch said:

NO excuse whatsoever for HDB big wigs NOT to know or see further than their noses......... are are paid handsomely for doing their jobs and they screwed up so badly....... nobody in HDB thot it improper to hv tender opened and awarded to commercial setup for something so sacred? Even the children in street know it stinks ie not proper but HDB did not know or was hoping that the public does not notice!!
Will the CEO of HDB be asked to resign to become deputy CEO of

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For 50 years, the PAP has pushed through what ever useless policies and decisions they want. they are so used to it, they know no other way. They have no idea what is a proper political dialogue with the voters and rely on mysterious surveys and polls for their decisions. The advent of the internet and social media is the only thing that torpedoed this whole deal for Lam Par min.

Re: Breaking: PAP surrender! Fernvale residents win!

LEGEND said:

This episode has also taught the residents a lesson. Remember what Lam Par Min did when they needed him the most.

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Lam Par Min, went the way, where the TRUFFLES was offered for Lunar New Year, he doesn't want the Japanese Shitake ones ...that is low class....bend where the pot of gold is....btw is he a Leprechaun? In this case...bend where the Goh is ...ha ha ha ha

Fernvale - presstitude tries to make strong case defending PAP

IT'S not every day that a Parliament sitting starts with a Minister admitting to a mistake.

But if there is one key takeaway from yesterday's session in the House, it is the danger of assuming that things never change.

Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan illustrated this principle twice in the first 20 minutes of the sitting - first when he admitted that flawed assumptions were behind the authorities' decision to award a site for a Chinese temple in Sengkang to a commercial entity that had plans to build a columbarium; and then when he unexpectedly promised to "unwind" the situation and return to the original purpose of building a temple on the land.

News of the columbarium angered nearby residents, who worried about the columbarium's impact on the value of their homes, and signed an online petition to block its construction.

Yesterday, MPs Seng Han Thong (Ang Mo Kio), Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon) and Lee Li Lian (Punggol East) also questioned why the Government allowed non-religious entities to bid for land meant for places of worship.

But Mr Khaw explained that his ministry had not, in fact, intended to award the site tender to a purely for-profit company.

But the authorities erroneously presumed - based on "20-odd years" of past tenders - that only religious organisations or their affiliated companies would ever bid for land zoned for religious use.

It was only after the HDB awarded the site that it realised the winning tenderer, Eternal Pure Land (EPL), had no religious affiliation, he said. The company is wholly-owned by Australian-listed funeral services firm Life Corp.

As Mr Khaw fielded questions on the HDB's due diligence, a picture emerged of tender procedures based on outdated expectations.

"For a quarter of a century, we (have never had) a for-profit company taking part in such temple tenders, therefore (that) never crossed the mind of the officials evaluating the tender," he said.

"Times have changed and some of our tender procedures have not caught up with time."

But for those who might have made another assumption - that having already awarded the tender, the Government would go ahead with letting EPL build its columbarium - Mr Khaw had a further surprise in store.

He assured MPs that the construction of the columbarium would not proceed, and revealed that his ministry is considering imposing stricter rules on tenders for land meant for religious use.

Feedback from temples and churches who have lost to bidders with smaller congregations but deeper pockets - some of whom have foreign links - triggered a review of the tender rules, he said.

Such retractions are not often seen in Singapore's political landscape. But then Mr Khaw is not a politician who shies away from admitting mistakes.

In 2010, as Health Minister, he apologised for a shortage of hospital beds - again the result of outdated assumptions, this time of bed supply and demand.

In the case of the hospital bed crunch, as in the case of the Sengkang columbarium, it is gratifying that the Government took responsibility for the situation and moved swiftly to improve it.

In fact, this flexible and responsive attitude may be the only way to navigate the problem of flawed assumptions, which are almost certainly still lurking in the corners of law and policy in fast-changing Singapore.

More of these lapses are likely to come to light as each generation of Singaporeans grows up with different priorities, as online and social media transform the speed and vehemence with which citizens react to situations, and as high business costs send companies looking for loopholes to exploit for an easy profit.

It is no longer safe to take for granted that events will turn out a certain way, just because they always have. Regular reviews of policies and an attentive ear to feedback will help policymakers keep up to date.

And when something goes wrong, it is nice to see that our politicians are willing to admit to problematic premises and correct them quickly, as Mr Khaw did.

But avoiding a culture of assumptions would reduce their need to do so in the first place.

[email protected]

MP Lam Par now sings different tune, but still talk cock

FUTURE residents of Fernvale Lea were mostly relieved after being told that the building of a commercially run columbarium close to their new homes will not be happening now.

But some were still uncomfortable with the idea that the eventual Chinese temple in the estate might still include a resting place for the dead, if its trustees decide to include niches for ashes.

Since last December, more than 1,000 people have signed an online petition to "say no to a columbarium next to our future home". The Build-to-Order project will be ready for people to move into this year.

Some even went as far as to demand a refund from the Housing Board during a dialogue earlier this month with Dr Lam Pin Min, MP for Sengkang West.

Yesterday, it was made clear in Parliament that the site was never meant to be used for a for-profit columbarium, and that the Government is in talks with winning bidder Eternal Pure Land to ensure that the land is used for a Chinese temple.

"With this development, residents' fears should be allayed and there will not be a need to return the flats to HDB," Dr Lam told The Straits Times, adding that many residents had expressed their relief to him.

Ms Josephine Soh, a 29-year-old human resource executive, said: "I was pretty worried about noise pollution that might come from funeral processions. At least a temple just has periodic noise from festivals or big dinner events - usually occasions to celebrate and not something to do with someone passing away."

Sales manager Tan Wei Leong, whose Fernvale Lea flat faces the Chinese temple site, said: "If there really has to be a columbarium, then at least it should not be a commercial one, which will have a lot more niches.

"I hope that the current tender will be void and a religious group will win the bid."

Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan said yesterday that the eventual temple there has the choice of whether to run columbarium services for its devotees. "We cannot make the assumption that (there will be such services)," he said.

But even if there is a columbarium, it is not an uncommon practice. Other temples, such as Puat Jit Buddhist Temple and Nanyang Thong Hong Siang Tng Temple - both in Anchorvale - and some churches already include columbariums.

But that still upsets Mrs Gladys Goh, a 33-year-old order management specialist. She said that she had asked HDB several weeks ago about the possibility of getting a different unit in Sengkang or other estates.

"I wouldn't mind living elsewhere, as long as it is not where, every day, I would walk past a place which includes a columbarium," she said.

Dr Lam, while receiving many thanks on his Facebook page after posting about yesterday's development, was also criticised for seemingly "defending" Eternal Pure Land's plans earlier this month.

He had assured residents that the columbarium would be out of the public's view and will take up, at most, only a fifth of the Chinese temple it will be housed at.

He highlighted the modern look of the temple, which he said will be the first in Singapore to have an automated columbarium. There will be other features to reduce noise and parking issues, he said.

Religious groups yesterday highlighted that sites reserved for places of worship are not meant for commercial entities.

Said Mrs Parvathi Annanth, the chief executive and legal counsel of Sree Maha Mariamman Temple in Yishun: "Land released to commercial entities with no religious affiliation is an invasion of our rights."

The president of the Singapore Buddhist Federation, Venerable Seck Kwang Phing, said land is scarce here and commercial entities should go for sites zoned for those purposes.

Singapore Management University law professor Eugene Tan also suggested that bids for worship sites by joint ventures involving a religious organisation and a commercial firms should be subjected to extra scrutiny.

This is "to ensure that profit- making companies do not use religious groups as a front to make money from a site designated for religious purposes".

[email protected]

Re: MP Lam Par now sings different tune, but still talk cock

It shows that having a PAP MP is useless.

Vote Opposition and Vote for Return Our CPF at Age 55!!!

Khaw's Fernvale response raises more questions from what was unsaid

The exchange that the Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan had with fellow parliamentarians on the Sengkang columbarium issues deserves a closer look, not least because the key thrust of the debate seems to be conveniently lost in headlines that declare, “there will be no commercial columbarium in Fernvale”.

Also not helpful is what I can only best describe as a serious misrepresentation of the concerns brought up by residents about the columbarium, which some media outlets put it rather simplistically as they “did not like living next to a columbarium, felt their property resale value would be affected, and did not like how a religious site was given to a commercial entity.”

Mr Khaw’s responses in Parliament yesterday can basically be distilled into three key points: The tender with for-profit company Eternal Pureland Pte Ltd (EPL) to build a temple on land for non-profit purposes will continue; MND acknowledges that the land was meant for non-profit uses, and is “in discussions with EPL” to build a temple rather than a “commercial columbarium”; and there are serious gaps in the MND tendering process, which will be reviewed.

Is MND’s approach to the whole issue sufficient in answering the concerns of the residents directly involved, and the confidence in the public about MND’s ability to deal with such

Concerns of the residents, misrepresented?

First, the portrayal of how residents reacted to the whole issue had stuck with the not-in-my-back-yard formula – that they did not want the columbarium because it affects them personally. Even Mr Khaw could not resist saying:

“But I can understand some of the residents’ unhappiness because of this indication that there will be a commercial columbarium cropping up in their neighbourhood. So I think those concerns are legitimate and reasonable.

We all make a strong distinction between a commercial columbarium and an incidental columbarium service which is provided by temples and some churches.”

A closer read of the open letter from the residents, sent to the Minister himself, would reveal that their concerns are nowhere near this NIMBY hypothesis. Concerns about the devaluation of their property never entered the letter.

Instead, what we see are their concerns that the award of the tender to a commercial company would set an unfortunate precedence for unfair competition between for-profit businesses and non-profit organisations. They also took issue with how the Housing Development Board “hide critical material information under ultra-fine prints and vague uncertain phrases” in what they see as an attempt to inflate the price of the property by being opaque with the full details.

They made a call for HDB to effectively and unconditionally cancel their deal for the homes they have paid a deposit for, or to cancel the tender to EPL in favour for more non-profit purposes.

In his reply, Mr Khaw never addressed these issues directly. In fact, we are to understand that EPL would continue to be the valid tenderer for the temple/columbarium project, with Mr Khaw suggesting that the move will be from a “commercial columbarium” to an “incidental columbarium”.

There will be no lack of raised eyebrows for this preposition. Assuming that a for-profit entity would even entertain doing things in a non-profit way, such a “middle path” as Mr Khaw would likely call it lends itself to issues of drawing very thin lines on what a for-profit entity might be permitted to do as a non-profit outcome.

Why would anyone have faith that MND and HDB would be able to draw those lines, given that the current situation was a result of the agency “just assuming that it must be a company affiliated to some religious organisation”? Who would police EPL? Why not start on a clean slate to eradicated such ambiguity, rather than offer any opportunity at by-passing the rules?

MNDLoopholes in tendering process just about “catching up with times”?

In fact, MPs Lee Li Lain and Baey Yam Keng both identified that this lack of due diligence on the part of the tendering agency needs to be checked and amended, not just for MND but also for future tenders which involve land use.

Unfortunately, Mr Khaw made two statements that would have most baffled, if not question the capacity of MND and its statutory boards to do it right again:

“I think one takeaway for me from this episode is that times have changed and some of our tender procedures have not caught up with time.”

“Their (EPL’s) plans and our plans do not coincide.”

It is only right that Mr Khaw should call for a review of the tender processes, which he did. But beyond demanding for accountability by calling on MND to follow up and reveal the eventual results of the review, what we should be concerned about is how MND seems to have taken a flippant attitude towards the whole matter.

That EPL’s commercial intention for a non-profit site was allowed to pass because they “made the highest bid”, as Mr Khaw has admitted, speaks volumes about the government’s approach towards tenders, particularly those for land use.

So one might wonder what Mr Khaw meant when he said that the review would “tighten tender rules to achieve MND’s planning objectives”. A holistic approach would necessarily need to consider matters of transparency, not just for how the tendering agency can be accountable to the people by building in more specific tender requirements, but how bidders need to disclose their interests and business affiliations.

Unfortunately, letting EPL proceed with the project, regardless of any new terms and conditions imposed by MND, will continue to be a sting in the hide of the whole issue. It is emblematic of a system that penalises citizens, even if unintentionally, because it is unable to distinguish between social and commercial interests.

http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/201...ncerns-about-the-sengkang-columbarium-tender/

Re: Fernvale - presstitude tries to make strong case defending PAP

Confuseous said:

... But the authorities erroneously presumed - based on "20-odd years" of past tenders - that only religious organisations or their affiliated companies would ever bid for land zoned for religious use.

It was only after the HDB awarded the site that it realised the winning tenderer, Eternal Pure Land (EPL), had no religious affiliation, he said. The company is wholly-owned by Australian-listed funeral services firm Life Corp.

As Mr Khaw fielded questions on the HDB's due diligence, a picture emerged of tender procedures based on outdated expectations.

"For a quarter of a century, we (have never had) a for-profit company taking part in such temple tenders, therefore (that) never crossed the mind of the officials evaluating the tender," he said.

"Times have changed and some of our tender procedures have not caught up with time." ...

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ridiculous! ...

all dey needed 2 do was 2 specify ze requiremen in their tender specs ... n dey never did n now dey brame coys ...

he craimed "For a quarter of a century, we (have never had) a for-profit company taking part in such temple tenders" ... wonder he really checked it thouiroughly or iz juz another of his big=mouth craims ...

Re: Fernvale - presstitude tries to make strong case defending PAP

po2wq said:

ridiculous! ...

all dey needed 2 do was 2 specify ze requiremen in their tender specs ... n dey never did n now dey brame coys ...

he craimed "For a quarter of a century, we (have never had) a for-profit company taking part in such temple tenders" ... wonder he really checked it thouiroughly or iz juz another of his big=mouth craims ...

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Translation: for 25 years, the cuntry has been on auto pilot. We just pay high salaries to civil servants, give bonus on KPI which are revenue generating and viola - millions for me again.

Re: MP Lam Par now sings different tune, but still talk cock

He is just another piece of shit, defending Khaw, sitting on the side of the developers and now suddenly, he sees the light!

Was Khaw lying? How did HDB conclude EPL is a vehicle for religious org?

Yesterday (29 Jan), replying to MPs’ questions on the recent Sengkang Chinese Temple saga, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said religious organizations are invited to bid for sites zoned for Places of Worship (PW).

As some religious organisations form companies to enable and facilitate their ownership and development of such PW sites, companies are also allowed to bid.

“The assumption is that only companies affiliated to religious organisations would participate in such tenders,” he told Parliament.

“Since 1991, 7 sites have been won by companies, all affiliated to religious organisations.”

With regard to the recent case of Chinese temple site in Sengkang, the winning tenderer, Eternal Pure Land Pte Ltd (EPL), is a company without any religious affiliation.

Mr Khaw said, “We now understand that the winning tenderer for this site, Eternal Pure Land Pte Ltd (EPL), is actually a private company without any religious affiliation. From what we know, the plan of the company is to run a commercial columbarium on the site. This is not in line with our plan for the PW site.”

Mr Khaw confirmed that the Sengkang site is not intended for a commercial columbarium.

“HDB awarded the site to EPL, under the impression that the company is a vehicle for a religious organisation to build and own a Chinese temple,” Mr Khaw further explained.

“We will ensure that the land is restored to the original plan of a Chinese temple,” he assured.

Why HDB doesn’t know EPL is a subsidiary of public listed company?

The million dollar question is, what gives HDB the impression that EPL is a vehicle for a religious organisation?

HDB can easily check through ACRA that EPL was only registered on 12 June 2014, 16 days after the land parcel tender was called by HDB on 27 May 2014 (‘Temple saga: Firm set up 16 days after tender called‘). Furthermore, it lists its principal activities as:

FUNERAL AND RELATED ACTIVITIES (INCLUDING EMBALMING, CREMATING AND CEMETERY SERVICES, UPKEEP OF CEMETERIES), SALES OF BEREAVEMENT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

The company’s 100,000 shares are wholly owned by SFS Care Pte Ltd, which, in turn, is wholly owned by Life Corporation Ltd (Life Corp), a company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). All these information can be found on ACRA.

This means that EPL is ultimately controlled by a public listed company (Life Corp), whose purpose is to maximise profit returns for its shareholders. How can a profit-driven public listed company be a religious organization, whose purpose is obviously not for profit?

Also, after the tender was awarded to EPL in July last year, HDB must have a number of meetings and engagements with EPL for the next 6 months. In fact, in the town hall meeting organized by MP Lam Pin Min with the angry Sengkang residents on 4 Jan this month, officials from HDB, URA, Life Corp and Dr Lam were all sitting on one side. During all these while, the government doesn’t know that Life Corp is a public listed company and not a religious entity?

Is this a careless mistake on the part of HDB or an indication that the people inside HDB are all sleeping?

Or perhaps HDB really knew that EPL and Life Corp are profit driven companies with zero religious affiliation but planned it that way hoping the the public will not take notice?

Whatever is the case, someone in HDB or MND will need to answer for this oversight.

If it wasn’t for Sengkang residents bringing up the matter in the first place, none of these issues will be known. HDB will have continued going about in their quiet way and soon Life Corp will have a full commercial columbarium operating in the midst of a HDB estate.

http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/01/30/how-did-hdb-conclude-epl-a-vehicle-for-religious-org/

Temple saga: Firm set up 16 days after tender called

The recent revelation that the government is allowing a Chinese temple to be built next to HDB BTO flats in Sengkang West, housing a columbarium, has caused an uproar among the future HDB residents there.

In an effort to soothe the residents’ anxieties, MP Lam Pin Min conducted a town hall meeting with the residents yesterday (4 Jan). However, more questions were raised during the dialogue session.

In particular, as reported in the media, residents were asking why a profit-oriented company was allowed to bid for the development of the Chinese temple cum columbarium.

“We should reserve these lands for our religious organisations”, said resident Alex Tan, “If our religious organisations were to compete with a private entity, in a few years’ time we may find our temples and churches priced out of the market. If a Buddhist temple needs to find new land, they may not be able to do so because private companies are bidding higher prices than what a not-for-profit organisation can pay.”

Another resident, Adrian Choo, said, “Dr Lam, thanks for sharing. But could you please comment on how proper it is for a corporation to tender for a religious site? I would be dismayed if, say, for a church site tender, a private company outbids other churches just for the land, as the company would have access to more resources than a not-for-profit religious body.”

Yet another resident Ms Goh said that she felt “cheated”. She cannot understand why a temple facility is being tendered out to a for-profit organisation and not to a religious or non-profit organisation. In her opinion, a for-profit organisation will definitely seek to maximise profit and it is not known what other expansion plans it has in the future.

Chinese temple tender awarded to company set up after tender called

In the last few days, TRE readers have been sending in related information about the company which won the bid to purchase the land parcel for developing the Chinese temple cum columbarium.

The following tender result from HDB’s website shows that the land parcel for the project was awarded to Eternal Pure Land Pte Ltd on 17 July 2014. It had submitted the highest bid for the site (2,000 sqm) at $5,200,988 [Link]. This works out to $242 psf:

The company’s 100,000 shares are wholly owned by SFS Care Pte Ltd, which, in turn, is wholly owned by Life Corporation Ltd (Life Corp), a company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

According to ASX, the directors of Life Corp are [Link]:

Mr Yuen Kam (Chairman)
Mr Simon Hoo (CEO, Executive Director) (i.e. Hoo Kia Wei)
Mr Victor Hoo (Executive Director) (i.e. Hoo Kwok Chye)
Mr Kenneth Lim (Executive Director) (i.e. Lim Chee Kwang)
Mr Voiron Chor (Non Exec. Director)
Mr Samuel Kong (Non Exec. Director)
Mr Mark Benedict Ryan (Non Exec. Director)
The other 2 bidders, Peng Hong Association and Xing Guang Maitreya Society, in all probability do not have the financial muscle to match a public listed company such as Life Corp. A public listed company can easily raise funds through right issues, warrants, bonds etc from the public.

Life Corp says on its website [Link]:

In September 2013, LFC (i.e. Life Corp) acquired a SFS Care Pte Ltd, a premium funeral service provider in Singapore. This signalled LFC entry into the bereavement care industry in Singapore with its new wholly owned company of SFS Care Pte Ltd (commonly known as Singapore Funeral Services).

In July 2014, LFC announced its successful tender of a leasehold land in Singapore for the construction of a Chinese temple with columbarium niche storage facility. The land lease acquired is a strategic move as LFC strives to expand its presence in the enlarged bereavement business in Singapore with the columbarium facility.

The founders of Singapore Funeral Services are Victor Hoo Kwok Chye and Hoo Hung Chye.

In its annual report for the year ended 30 June 2014 [Link], Life Corp announced losses:

It also mentioned that it was in “advanced negotiations” with parties to build a Chinese temple-cum-columbarium structure within the temple:

It also said that the purchase of the land parcel will be financed by a convertible bond:

Company selling niches in columbarium now

In a company disclosure [Link] in November 2014, Life Corp said that Hong Leong Finance has agreed to provide funding of $14,960,000 for the construction of the Chinese temple cum columbarium, after securing the land parcel. The construction financing facility is for 18 months and will be converted to a 7-year term loan on completion of the temple.

Life Corp also said that with the funding arranged, it has started marketing and pre-sales of the niches (spaces) in the columbarium. Take note that Life Corp says that the niches will be marketed as part of funeral service packages:

Ignoring interest charges, the total cost including the land and construction costs will amount to about $20 million for Life Corp. Assuming 10,000 niches, Life Corp will have to sell the niches at $2000 per niche on average in order to break even.

If more companies aggressively bid up the price of such land parcels, do not be surprised that one day Singaporeans will have to pay $20,000 for a niche in a columbarium to house the ashes of the dearly departed.

In any case, after the dialogue with MP Lam yesterday, about 100 residents suggested writing a collective letter to HDB for a full refund of their deposit as they would rather give up their housing unit at Fernvale Link.

It is not known if HDB will allow the residents to back out of their BTO purchase.

http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/01/06/temple-saga-firm-set-up-16-days-after-tender-called/

Re: Khaw's Fernvale response raises more questions from what was unsaid

question 1-- who got who's cock sucked this time?

question 2 - who's cock sucked and who did he vote for?

Re: Temple saga: Firm set up 16 days after tender called

Might as well change the name Fernvale Link to Funeral Link.

Clearly there is pre-meditation to deceive the residents.

Re: Khaw's Fernvale response raises more questions from what was unsaid

Typical SOP when caught with pants down.

Blame the process.
Blame the system.
Blame some junior unnamed staff member.
It is never anyone senior's fault.

Re: MP Lam Par now sings different tune, but still talk cock

Confuseous said:

He is just another piece of shit, defending Khaw, sitting on the side of the developers and now suddenly, he sees the light!

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He is just a spineless mouthpiece; sailing according to the wind! The cheek of him to claim some credit!

Re: MP Lam Par now sings different tune, but still talk cock

KuanTi01 said:

He is just a spineless mouthpiece; sailing according to the wind! The cheek of him to claim some credit!

Click to expand...

What do u expect from a Por Lam Par Bin...

Re: Fernvale - presstitude tries to make strong case defending PAP

Confuseous said:

Translation: for 25 years, the cuntry has been on auto pilot. We just pay high salaries to civil servants, give bonus on KPI which are revenue generating and viola - millions for me again.

Click to expand...

Auto pilot; automatons; auto failures!

Re: MP Lam Par now sings different tune, but still talk cock

MP Lam was sucking the wrong lampar and is now doing damage control to stop the cum dribbling from his mouth...

Re: Fernvale - presstitude tries to make strong case defending PAP

Automorons!

KuanTi01 said:

Auto pilot; automatons; auto failures!

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Re: MP Lam Par now sings different tune, but still talk cock

Lampard pin has no principles or heis spineless