In the lastest development in the dispute between SDP's young democrats the the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), SLA has published a new response on it's Facebook page.
The dispute is over a visit that the young democrats paid to Pulau Ubin residents to find out more about development issues. (Young SDP members visit Pulau Ubin to look into development issues)
The SLA had said that the article published by the young democrats was misleading and inaccurate. (Singapore Land Authority: SDP Young Democrats’ article misleading & inaccurate)
However, standing by their original article, the young democrats had provided clarifications and asked the people decide. (SDP Responds to SLA: Census survey or eviction letter - let the people judge)
Now, SLA released a status on it's facebook page. Read the full statment below:
Singapore Land Authority
The response by Mr Clarence Zeng, writing on behalf of the Young Democrats, relied on a HDB letter dated 12 March 2013 regarding the census survey carried out in Pulau Ubin. SLA has already explained in April 2013, both publicly as well as directly to the affected residents, that the letter was not intended to be an eviction notice. It was wrongly captioned as a clearance scheme for which SLA and HDB had apologised publicly. SLA and HDB officers had also met the affected residents to assure them that the purpose of the census survey was to establish the eligibility of households for resettlement benefits and not to evict them. We are therefore puzzled as to why Mr Zeng insists on making reference to this letter and causing anxiety for the residents.
Mr Zeng also alleged discrepancies between the rent paid by Mr Lim and the previous media statement. The short answer is that Mr Lim was not part of the March 2013 census survey involving 22 households. Apart from these 22 households who are residing on Pulau Ubin without Temporary Occupation Licences (TOLs), there is an existing group of residents/commercial operators (Mr Lim’s family is one of them) who are already on TOLs. Their TOLs are for dwelling, commercial or a combination of both, and of varying land areas and floor areas. Mr Lim is occupying a much larger unit comprising a 2-storey building with a floor area of almost 5,000 sq ft.
Hence, we are at a loss as to the basis for the allegation that the Government is “charging high rents to compel the residents to give up their land”. That said, we do not propose to prolong this exchange. The facts are plain for all to see and judge for themselves.
- http://facebook.com/SingaporeLandAuthority/posts/538155412923060