Today marks the end of the road for the four iconic rainbow-coloured blocks at Rochor Centre.

The blocks, which have been around for 39 years, are to make way for the 21.5km-long North-South Expressway.

On Nov 15, 2011, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) announced the acquisition of the four blocks at Rochor Road.

When The New Paper visited Rochor Centre yesterday, retiree Lee May Eng, 71, was still in the midst of packing her belongings.

Madam Lee and her husband have lived in Block 4, which is red, since its construction.

She said in Mandarin: “There are just so many things to move and I recently suffered a hand injury, so it is difficult for me to pack my belongings.

“I also feel very reluctant to move out of my home.”

When TNP visited their home, there were still several framed photographs on the walls, and appliances like television sets, cabinets and fans strewn across their living room.

Retiree Chng Seng Zeok, 67, who lived in Block 2, which is blue, was collecting the last of her belongings.

She was pushing a trolley containing all her gardening tools, such as bricks for her potted plants.

Madam Chng said she had moved out last month, along with most of her neighbours.

Drink stall owner Halilur Rahman, 60, a father of four who lives in Block 4, said: “This is the place where I saw my daughters get married, have children and buy their own homes.”

He has arranged for movers to move his furniture today.

He added: “We, old people, have to do things slowly and cannot go too fast.”

Student Chan Yuk Chun, 14, recalls the spacious void deck on the fourth storey.

He said: “My family would take me there and we would chase pigeons. We would always go to the area around OG to buy ice cream.”

A HDB spokesman told TNP that almost all the 567 households have collected keys to their replacement flats.

And nine out of 10 households have chosen a replacement flat at Kallang Trivista at Upper Boon Keng Road.

The spokesman added: “Another 28 households have selected a flat elsewhere.

“The rest are not taking up a replacement flat with HDB.

“To date, most of the households have returned the keys to the Rochor units.

“For those who are unable to move out by the end of the year and requested an extension, we have considered their individual circumstances and will continue to work with them to vacate the unit as soon as possible.

“For security reasons, we have advised the remaining residents to move out soon.”

myklim@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Dec 31, 2016.
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Pinnacle@Duxton dominates Housing Board’s million-dollar resale flats this year

The number of million-dollar Housing Board resale units reached a record 19 this year.

The majority were from the iconic Pinnacle@Duxton estate in Cantonment Road, according to figures from property portal SRX.

The most expensive flat sold was a five-room unit for $1.12 million at Pinnacle@Duxton, which saw 11 transactions pass $1 million, the HDB website shows.

The other properties that joined the million-dollar club were in the central and mature estates.

Among them were several flats in City View@Boon Keng and Natura Loft in Bishan, which reached the five-year minimum occupation period (MOP) this year.

A unit at Clementi Towers, the first HDB project to be integrated with a mall and a bus interchange, was sold for $1,005,000 in August.

Last year, there were 12 transactions exceeding $1 million island-wide.

The lucrative deals this year were made against a slowing economy and softening property market.

Experts point out that these million-dollar resale flats were the minority and located in prime locations that will always fetch a premium.

In light of other highly sought-after HDB launches in recent years, will there be other “gold mines” like Pinnacle@Duxton in future?

International Property Advisor chief executive Ku Swee Yong thinks that new developments at Bidadari and Dawson could hit the $1-million mark after reaching the MOP.

He said: “The projects at Dawson won significant design awards.

“Looking at the exterior of the flats, it is definitely not the typical HDB project.

“Bidadari is a new town, but it is located near MRT stations.

“The estate’s garden-like landscaping and proximity to good schools will also add to its value.”

But SLP International executive director Nicholas Mak thinks it is unlikely the other HDB estates will churn large profits like Pinnacle@Duxton.

“Location and supply determine high prices,” he said.

“It is unlikely that there will be another HDB development near Pinnacle@Duxton, so that is its strongest selling point.”

In an interview in October, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said the Government is considering ways to tighten resale conditions for public flats in the downtown to mitigate the “lottery effect”.

He mentioned possible measures – a longer MOP, shorter lease, or higher resale levy.

Most experts are in favour of taxing the profits.

For instance, PropNex Realty chief executive officer Ismail Gafoor suggested a fixed levy on flats sold above $700,000, or something similar to the seller stamp duty.

Alternatively, Mr Ismail suggested that HDB sell these flats at higher prices based on the demand of the location but warned it could be criticised as elitist.

He added: “It is public housing after all, so it is not ideal if prices are too high.”

Also read: Jurong West, Sengkang and Tampines popular among HDB buyers

linheng@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Dec 31, 2016.
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The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) will learn from last month’s seizure of nine armoured vehicles by the Hong Kong authorities and has changed its practices to better protect Singapore’s military assets, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen yesterday.

Meanwhile, all levels of government had been working hard over the past two months to get the Terrexes returned to Singapore, “quietly and out of the limelight where it is more effective”.

He wrote in the Facebook posting that more details would be provided during the next Parliament sitting, which is scheduled for next month.

On Nov 23, Hong Kong customs detained nine Terrex vehicles that were on board a container ship, which was in transit in Hong Kong.

They were being shipped to Singapore following an SAF military exercise in Taiwan.

According to the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong customs impounded the shipment because vessel owner APL failed to provide appropriate permits.

Dr Ng said of the incident: “For most Singaporeans, Mindef and the SAF included, the detention of our Terrexes by Hong Kong authorities was a low point in 2016 from the defence perspective.”

While the Terrex incident has been upsetting to many, Dr Ng called for the issue to be viewed in its proper context.

‘ISSUE NOT A THREAT’

“The Terrex issue does not pose an existential threat or even a potential threat as say, terrorism does today.

And the SAF must not lose focus or allow that one issue to dominate all else,” said Dr Ng.

“We are a sovereign and independent country, and we will chart our own future.”

Summing up his thoughts on 2016, Dr Ng said there were significant achievements that have strengthened Singapore’s security.

He said relations with countries like the US, China and India are “fundamentally strong and healthy” and defence ties with other countries are growing.

Singapore also signed a landmark agreement with Australia to provide more space and time for the SAF to train, he added.

This article was first published on Dec 31, 2016.
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Those living in HDB flats in Jurong West, Sengkang or Tampines are living in one of the most “popular” towns in 2016.

There were 1,356 resale transactions in Jurong West, 1,332 in Sengkang and 1,281 in Tampines this year, according to property portal SRX.

There were 15,801 resale transactions from January to September. Year-on-year, HDB resale prices have fallen 0.7 per cent from November 2015. Prices in mature estates rose by 0.7 per cent from November 2015 while prices in non-mature estates fell by 1.8 per cent.

Four-room flats were the most commonly sold. Over 700 four-room flats were sold in Sengkang between January and November while an average of 540 such flats were sold in Jurong West as well as Tampines.

HDB statistics show the median price of a four-room flat in Jurong West, Sengkang and Tampines in the third quarter was $390,000, $420,000 and $428,000, respectively.

Experts say these large neighbourhoods mean the transaction volume would be higher.

ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim said: “Flats in Jurong West are slightly cheaper than Jurong East but it’s still located close enough.

Jurong East is highly sought after due to the High Speed Rail and its positioning as the second CBD.

“Tampines has always been popular as the east’s regional hub. The infrastructure at Sengkang has started to fall into place although the large number of transactions could be due to more flats reaching the minimum occupation period.”

linheng@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Dec 31, 2016.
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The recent spell of cool and cloudy weather may have given a different impression, but 2016 will go down as the hottest year since Singapore started keeping temperature records in 1929.

The latest update from the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) yesterday shows that 2016 has been the hottest year on record in Singapore – and globally.

As of Thursday, the mean annual temperature recorded at the Changi climate station, which is used as a reference station, was 28.4 deg C. This surpasses the current record of 28.3 deg C set in 1997, 1998 and 2015.

“Temperatures soared in the first half of 2016 due to the effects of a very strong El Nino,” said an MSS spokesman, referring to the weather phenomenon associated with prolonged warmer weather in this part of the world.

“The temperatures remained well above the long-term average for the rest of the year.”

New monthly records for the hottest January, April and August were also set this year.

The warming did not just break temperature records, but it also caused the longest coral bleaching incident in Singapore, more severe than two similar incidents in 1998 and 2010.

All three coral bleaching incidents occurred during El Nino years. Corals depend on symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae for food. Bleaching occurs when abnormally high sea temperatures cause corals to expel the zooxanthellae living in them, turning them white.

Associate Professor Koh Tieh Yong, a weather scientist at SIM University, said the El Nino event – which straddled this year and last year – is the third strongest since 1950.

Thankfully, the El Nino effect in Singapore waned in the first half of the year, said research scientist Erik Velasco from the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology.

He added that earlier forecasts had suggested that El Nino would continue into the dry season from June to September, when Singapore traditionally experiences haze caused by forest fires in Indonesia.

“Luckily, it didn’t… and we got away from the haze,” said Dr Velasco, who studies climatology in urban environments.

Singapore enjoyed relatively haze-free skies this year except for one day of haze on Aug 26, when air quality hit unhealthy levels for the first time this year.

A comparable El Nino event has not been flagged for 2017.

But Prof Koh said: “Long-term climate change is happening slowly but surely over Singaporeans’ lifetime.”

The weatherman also said rain is expected for the first two weeks of the new year, although it is likely to be less intense than in the past two weeks.

Thundery showers are expected mostly in the afternoon on five to seven days over the next fortnight, and could extend into the evening on a few days. However, the rainfall for the first half of January is expected to be slightly below normal, said the MSS.

This article was first published on Dec 31, 2016.
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Following the announcement that private security firm Certis Cisco is looking to recruit Taiwanese nationals to fill the need for auxiliary police officers (APOs) in Singapore, the company has come forward to dispel speculation that it is paying foreigners more than locals.

APOs are trained in areas such as handling arms and counter-terrorism. They can also be deployed to various sites such as immigration checkpoints to manage traffic and crowds, and conduct security checks on people, belongings and vehicles.

In a press release to the media, a company spokesman said: “Certis Cisco would like to state categorically that (it) offers a higher salary package to Singaporean APOsas compared to the Taiwanese.”

Earlier this week, the company confirmed reports that it was looking to hire 120 Taiwanese nationals for its force here and would start recruitment in January.

Certis Cisco currently employs more than 3,500 APOs, all of whom are Singaporean or Malaysian.

An advertisement for the role on a Taiwanese job portal said that successful candidates will get a monthly salary of NT$60,000 (S$2,700) and a S$4,000 bonus. They receive S$2,000 upon joining and S$2,000 upon completing the two-year contract.

In comparison, Singaporean APOs are offered a bonus of $15,000. They receive $5,000 upon joining and $10,000 when they complete a three-year contract.

Singaporeans with three O-level passes can qualify for appointment as corporals while Taiwanese must possess recognised university degrees to be eligible for the same rank.

The basic salary for Singaporean and Taiwanese corporals is also the same, at $2,575.

Additionally, a Singaporean APO with National Service experience will also have an NS allowance.

The spokesman added: “We are a Singapore company and we will hire qualified Singaporeans first before we explore alternate sources to beef up our manpower resources.”

This article was first published on Dec 30, 2016.
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