MURALI Pillai, the People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate for the Bukit Batok by-election, yesterday unveiled $1.9 million worth of infrastructure plans for a neighbourhood in the single-member constituency, if he were to be elected on May 7.

The plans – which include covered walkways, ramps, a jogging track and a three-generational park – come under the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme for the precinct at Blocks 140 to 149, Bukit Batok West Avenue 4, where some 640 of the ward’s 12,000 families live.

Mr Murali told reporters at an exhibition on these plans yesterday morning that residents had been surveyed late last year on how the neighbourhood can be enhanced.

But the PAP-run Jurong-Clementi Town Council, which currently looks after Bukit Batok, will only be able to carry out these plans should he be elected, he added.

“This plan we are presenting is a plan by the PAP Jurong-Clementi Town Council. So it’s really up to our residents. We will only have the mandate to carry on if we are returned at the by-election,” he said.

Also at the exhibition were Jurong GRC MPs Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development Desmond Lee and town council chairman Ang Wei Neng.

The May 7 by-election was triggered by the abrupt resignation of PAP MP David Ong on March 12 over an alleged extramarital affair.

Mr Murali’s announcement comes two days after the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, party chief Chee Soon Juan, unveiled four social programmes he planned to roll out if he is elected.

Asked for his take on Dr Chee’s initiatives, Mr Murali said: “I’ve just spoken about the plans I believe Bukit Batok residents can identify with because this came up after a very, very extensive consultation.”

Even so, SDP said later yesterday that they “see the need to consult the residents” before committing so much money into the project. It also said linkways should “not be made into an election issue”.

The SDP had said last Friday if Dr Chee was elected, its programmes would target youth, the needy and elderly, adding that existing social assistance schemes had not gone far enough. Yesterday, Dr Chee reiterated his intention to build community spirit after cycling through the estate.

“We’re going to bring the community together to ensure that people here don’t just live very atomised lives – when they come back from work they don’t just go into their homes, shut the door and that’s it,” he said.

When Bukit Batok was last a single seat in 1988 and 1991, SDP candidate Kwan Yue Keng won 44 per cent and 48 per cent of the vote respectively against PAP’s Ong Chit Chung.

A Bukit Batok resident of more than 20 years, who gave his name as Mr Ooi, a 54-year-old remisier, felt issues like town council management and help for the underprivileged were more important than upgrading benefits.

Private bus driver Pek Yew Seng, 55, who has lived in Bukit Batok for 17 years, is glad for the covered linkways and ramps as they benefit frequent cyclists like himself.

waltsim@sph.com.sg

Get MyPaper for more stories.

With private rents harder hit by sluggish market conditions, it is no longer that much more expensive to rent a suburban condo than a large public flat.

Renting a suburban condo rather than a five-room Housing Board flat could have set you back an extra $1,000 in 2011, on average.

Yet doing so is just $500 more expensive today.

This is based on SRX Property data on median monthly rents for HDB flats and non-landed private residential units outside the central region, excluding executive condominiums.

In 2011, median suburban condo rents ranged from $3,100 to $3,300 each month. For HDB five-room and executive flats islandwide, the range was $2,200 to $2,600.

Suburban condos’ rents have fallen to about $2,700 since the second half of last year. But HDB five-room and executive flats still fetch rents of $2,200 and $2,400 respectively.

Will tenants then switch to condos as the price gap closes?

Experts doubt so, pointing out that median rents do not reflect factors such as flat size. On a per square foot basis, the rental gap has not shrunk significantly.

Condo sizes have been shrinking over the years so tenants today may pay less simply because they rent smaller units, said experts.

Chris International director Chris Koh added that reduced rental allowances for expatriates could also be a factor.

The aggregate data could also disguise other differences such as location, said Suntec Real Estate Consultants director of research and consultancy Colin Tan.

“In a down market, tenants usually relocate from… a less central location to more central location.”

Landlord Ian Tham, 49, is banking on his one-bedroom condo unit’s central location near Dhoby Ghaut MRT. Nearby condo units still fetch rents of $3,100 to $3,200, he noted.

Yet, many potential tenants offer $2,500 or so for his. “Tenants are spoilt for choice now. But I’m not under pressure to rent this out so I won’t accept a bad deal,” he said.

The private rental market is expected to continue facing downward pressure. Experts said supply is expected to rise this year as more condos are completed and HDB upgraders seek to rent out their flats.

However, HDB rents are likely to continue staying afloat, as the pool of potential tenants is larger. “HDB flats enjoy demand from both S Pass and Employment Pass (EP) holders, whereas S Pass holders would probably not be able to afford to rent a condo,” said OrangeTee research manager Wong Xian Yang.

The minimum monthly salary is $2,200 for an S Pass holder but $3,300 for an EP holder.

ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim agreed, noting that HDB rental transactions rose 5.8 per cent in the first three months of the year, to 11,239 units.

This is also up from the same period last year.

“This shows the attractiveness of HDB flats,” he noted.

janiceh@sph.com.sg

Get MyPaper for more stories.