Indonesian PR wants to own properties in both Indonesia and Singapore to enjoy best of both worlds
March 8th, 2010 | 
Author: Written by Our Correspondent
Though HDB has introduced some cosmetic changes in its housing policies to placate Singaporeans angry at the sky-rocketing flat prices and to entice PRs to take up Singapore citizenship, some PRs still refused to bite the carrot.
Channel News Asia interviewed an Indonesian PR by the name of Vina Mubtadi who is not keen to give up her Indonesian citizenship despite Singapore’s exalted status as a developed nation as compared to Indonesia.
“If I give up my nationality, that means I cannot have a property in Indonesia. But if I stay a PR (in Singapore), although I have to pay a higher price to own a property here, at least I can have a property here and I can also have a property in Indonesia,” she was quoted as saying.
[Source: Channel News Asia, 7 March 2010]
Ms Vina is not alone. There are a number of Malaysian and PRs from other nations who refuse to take up Singapore citizenship in order to enjoy the best of both worlds.
Being a Singapore PR enable them to work in Singapore on a long-term basis while retaining their citizenship will enable them to own properties back in their own country for retirement in the future.
As the Singapore dollar is a strong currency, it will usually bring these PRs a windfall when converted back into their native currencies. Furthermore, they are able to sell their HDB flats for a profit after they leave Singapore.
The lack of differentiation between the immigrants and Singaporeans is becoming a sore point of contention which may cause the PAP to lose votes in the coming election.
Though National Minister Mah Bow Tan claimed that PRs make up only 20 percent of the market and have no impact on the prices, a flat purchased by a PR is one deprived for a Singaporean.
The latest measure to increase the minimum period of residency to three years will only exacerbate the housing shortage and inflate prices as there are now less resale flats in the market.
Singapore PRs should not be allowed to buy HDB flats meant solely for Singaporeans or at the very least there should be a minimum period of residency before they can purchase the flats in the open market.
Existing PRs who own flats should be barred from profiteering from the sale of their flats should they decide to leave Singapore later.
With no opposition in parliament to fight for the rights of Singaporeans, there is nobody to check on the pro-foreigner PAP which has been courting the PRs and new citizens to shore up its flagging support base.
Unless Singaporeans send out a strong signal to the PAP in the next general election, such discriminatory housing policies skewed in favor of the PRs will likely to remain in the near future to the detriment of young Singaporeans who are yearning to own a home of their own.
Posted in Editorial
Public housing should only be reserved for Singaporeans. Otherwise don’t call it public housing. Don’t worry all my family members and friends that I know of have decided boot out the PAP. I am waiting for the count down.
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Dear Singaporeans
For many years, the United Kingdoms allowed in migrants from all their ex-colonies and elsewhere. Many are “economic” migrants but for altruistic reasons, UK also allowed in political asylum seekers, conscientious objectors of all shades and the “religiously persecuted”.
UK has rather lax immigration laws and once in, the migrants set up shop to exploit it. As a result, families and friends end up in UK. It is now a “rainbow” nation. Is this bad? I don’t know as I’m not a “forecaster” and neither am I paid $3 Million to do so…..but here are some very interesting comments from Britons:
a. ‘People come here, get everything they ask, for free, laughing at our expense,’ was a typical observation.
b. ‘We old people struggle on pensions, not knowing how to make ends meet. If I had my time again, would we fight as before? Need you ask?’
c. ‘Our country has been given away to foreigners while we, the generation who fought for freedom, are having to sell our homes for care and are being refused medical services because incomers come first.’
d. ‘I disagree with same-sex marriages, schoolgirl mothers, rubbish TV programmes, so-called celebrities and, most of all, unlimited immigration.
e. ‘I am very unhappy about the way this country is being transformed. I go nowhere after dark. I don’t even answer my doorbell then.”
If the Government isn’t careful, Singaporeans will end up in the same plight. Our population ballooned to 6.3 million (am I correct?) from about 4 million. What is the forecast anyone? I believe there are only about 3 million Singaporeans (born and bred true blue ones). We are swamped.
I now learn Mandarin to be able to converse in order buy my food and drinks at the hawker’s centre. What’s next? Our manners and social graces have now been compromised. Spitting is back. Loud talking, shoving and pushing, not giving up the seat in the MRT ad buses to someone who needs it more, etc.
We had a uniquely Singapore culture e.g. Peranakans and Eurasians, foods, patios English or “Singlish”, “Pasar Malay” etc. that Singaporeans understood and found common refuge but sadly these are competing with the ways of the migrants and in MY country. Signs of the times!
Do we really want all these?
Regards
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Hello writer……..
In the case of a Singapore citizen + Australian PR, do you encourage our comrade to denounce his Singapore citizenship to become fully Australian?
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They should have known long ago that PRs staying here for long periods have the best of both worlds. PRs are not stupid to give up their citizenships as they can retire comfortably in their own homeland. So the government need to come out with regulation for them to take-up citizenship after staying for a certain period of time (say 5 years).
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Being singapore PR / citizen comes with valuable privileges that these foreigners don’t appreciate. the privilege to learn how to use singapore assault rifle, and how to survive in the jungle unaided.
What’s so good about being malaysian or indonesian citizen, I don’t understand?? All they get to do is invest in Singapore property, which appreciates in price, converting from Singapore currency which appreciates in value, double windfall to bring back to home country where life is safe and comfortable and cheap and no Singaporean army would dare do anything to you so you don’t need to learn how to use Malaysian Assault Rifle or Indonesian Assault Rifle.
that’s why these people fare so poorly when left alone in Pulau Tekong or Pengkang Hill. sigh, don’t know how to appreciate the grass and birds and mosquitoes.
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How ironical can it be.Indonesia with thousands of island barren and bigger than Singapore and landmass millions of square miles restricts foreigners from owning properties.
Here a little RED DOT named by an ex-President of Indonesia welcomes all to our shores with rights to purchase home and land with only a PR status.
What the FUCK is happening to our Country a place not for old and poor People that sacrifice so much and yet have so little.
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I would too, wouldn’t you?
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That’s why we must help give them a chance to invest in our property, otherwise we will prosper and they don’t have a chance to share.
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JJ Poh on Mon, 8th Mar 2010 9:20 am
“In the case of a Singapore citizen + Australian PR, do you encourage our comrade to denounce his Singapore citizenship to become fully Australian?”
Land is scarce in Sg, not in Australia. Comparing Apples to Oranges, IB dog?
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There should be an expiry date for Permanent Residency, like in other countries.
We don’t want permanent free-riders here.
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This is a fundamental flaw in the system that MIW is unwilling to patch. If PR & foreigners do not buy or rent public housing, prices will rise too slowly. If prices rises too slowly, it is a bad news for MIW. The most glaring reason is that we don’t have a good social safety net and our pension is locked in the public 99 year lease flat. Given GIC & Temasek Holdings poor performances, there’s really little real monies left for the country’s pension payout. Have you folks considered that if all of us were to ask for CPF withdrawal today, even without claiming interests, there is not enough monies to pay us what is rightfully owed to us even when they convert their non liquidity assests to some form of monetary value. So this is it, a numbers game being played in the air. Bad PRs and foreigners continue to prosper on us and we continue to suffer, be depressed and displaced by them. A cycle of great suffering for us folks who grew up here and had sworn our allegience to this country.
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other models of countries that enjoy freeloaders contributing big bucks to economy = the tiny oil states of the gulf (dubai etc), tiny city states of europe (liechtenstein)
the difference is that only singapore make own people do NS to protect the assets of these freeloaders. the other countries no need to trouble their own people.
aiyah increase productivity lah, then half the guys can do NS, the other half can take a break. who ask us born in this country, our vote is useless cos before we vote, our constituency change before our eyes.
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I’m not surprised with the CNA report. I have already known this type of PR attitude since 1990. I’m only surprised that CNA editor allowed the PR quotation to be reported.
Btw, that CNA article also revealed that already 16 out of 162 HDB neighbourhoods will be affected by the new PR quotas. This is glaringly evidence that there *are* foreigner enclaves among HDB estates, and a slap in the face to PAP. PAP ministers kept on insisting before that there is no such enclave problem.
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Actually alot of the Malaysian PRs who returned to Malaysia did not sell their HDB flat. Instead they rented them out to foreigners from China, India, Philippines and Myanmar. So the end result is Mah Boh Tan’s new PR quota has no effect. A HDB flat can still be subleted to a max of 9 foreigners forming an enclave.
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I myself as a PR from Indonesia want to say that once an Indonesian decided to give up on the citizenship, he/she no longer can claim over the properties in Indonesia as the Indonesian govt prohibit foreigners from owning properties in the country. To sidetrack for a moment, the top buyers of private properties in this country is from Malaysia n second from Indonesia, the no one visitor to this country is also from Malaysia.
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enclave is the distraction policy to divert attention away from the real issues of -
a) When will the govt acknowledge that they have imported a humungous number of people, and therefore react suitably by building some homes for them to live in, so that they won’t try to squeeze into homes of existing residents, either through purchase or rental ?
b) Why does the govt perpetuate the myth that rising prices are good for the nation ?
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Hi Guys.. u think the gov really cares abt this matter. They just playing wayang with sporean. We should teach gov a lesson by voting for opposition and hope they will wake-up their idea after the election result..
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“Land is scarce in Sg, not in Australia.” That is the biggest myth the gahmen want you to believe! There is plenty of space in SG except that it is occupied by empty expensive condos built on overpriced land. Look at how empty the Sail is and that was TOP a couple of years ago.
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“Other measures announced include a quota cap of 8% PRs in each block and 5% within each neighbourhood”
So once they turn into citizens, they are no longer bound by this rule?
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■JJ Poh on Mon, 8th Mar 2010 9:20 am
“In the case of a Singapore citizen + Australian PR, do you encourage our comrade to denounce his Singapore citizenship to become fully Australian?”
Your friend should renounce his Singapore citizenship, become fully Australian (if he is qualify to apply for Aussie citizenship) and clear out his CPF money. He could return to Singapore as a foreign talent. The Aussie govt does take care of her citizens. Fair dinkum!
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Although we welcome suitably qualified foreigners to come to Singapore to work and make contributions to our economy, it has to be mutually beneficial, and seen to be so. How I wish that our government has the courage to be firm and fair to foreigners and Singaporeans alike. Singaporeans elected this government to lead them to more good years, not to be taken advantage of by foreigners in employment opportunities, housing, education, national service etc etc. I despise this government if, through their soft strawberry policies, Singaporeans are made to be suckers in their own country.
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both singapore and indonesia should just allow double citizenship. i’ll then definitely take up singapore citizenship right away. i’ve been a PR here for the last 11 years out of my 24 years of life, but there’s no way i will convert my citizenship anytime soon because i already own a property in indonesia, and i will not give that up. in fact i have plans to invest a lot more in properties there as the market is better (obviously because it’s not as developed & stable as here, so with that higher inherent risk, there’s also an opportunity for much higher returns).
regarding that windfall thing: i’ve been living in my current flat for the past 9 years. even if we were to sell the hdb flat we’re living in now at optimal price, the profit earned will only be enough to buy a VERY modest property in jakarta. so please don’t kid yourself about us earning a “windfall”.
except for those who have been here since they’re very young and have no other reason to go back to indonesia, i’d say the following describes our sentiments pretty well: the most ideal situation will be for both country to allow dual citizenship. the next best situation is for indonesia to allow foreigners to own properties & land without any “minimum-value” cap.
unfortunately both situations are pretty unlikely to happen any time soon. so you’re stuck with us. but don’t worry, in the meantime plenty of us will still help singapore developers to absorb many of the new luxurious residential properties, on top of going on shopping sprees here, and regularly having expensive medical check-ups & procedures done here. think of all the good it brings singapore.
and just for the record: my brother took up singapore citizenship as he was much younger when we moved here, feel completely at home here and see no reason to go back to jakarta. he also went through ns and no he did not slack there, going to ocs and thoroughly making the best out of the situation. so please people, don’t let your prejudice & stereotyping ways cloud your judgement.
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