RIDOUTGATE will be hyped, the major lift the minor fall and nothing but wind gust.
That’s the last stanza of Ballad Of Ridoutgate, my poem in my blog on Ridoutgate saga, 26 May 2023. With great humility, I quite like it. If you like to check it out, click here
True to form the wind came and blew out through the windows of Parliament House in July. CPIB has investigated, chummy senior minister has investigated, parliament has discussed, tears shed. Nothing to see here. Everything was done aboveboard. The public and parliamentarians alike were lost in a clusterfuck of discombobulated facts and figures.
What the ministers spent, what they added, how much were previous rents, comparative rental rates, how long untenanted, all these are irrelevant. Occam's Razor - when something is too complicated, take the most simplistic view. All one needs to understand is this:
26 Ridout Road
Minister Shan’s bid was $24,500, which was exactly equal to guide rent, what a coincidence. SLA then spent S$515,400 on restoration works. SLA spent another S$172,000 to chop the trees, replant, and put up fencing on an adjacent piece of land. As the land was incorporated into 26 Ridout Road, Shan’s rent was increased by $2,000 to $26,500 to recoup the additional cost.
31 Ridout Road
Minister Balakrishnan’s bid was S$19,000, which exceeded the S$18,800 guide rent. SLA then spent S$570,500 on restoration.
I was terribly surprised two ex-senior counsels in Parliament were unable to see the clarity that this nobody blogger was able to perceive. In my 1 July 2023 blog on Ridoutgate I wrote:
“Had the essential works been carried out before the ministers' bids, would more bids be received from the public and at much better prices? One never knows, and therein lies the ministers' benefits and protests of unfair treatment.”
Now compare to the government terrace houses at Katong, also managed by SLA. These properties have been refurbished and now available for rent.
Prior to being upgraded, the units fetched rents of between S$2,500 and S$3,200. Open bidding transactions after upgrading have been reported between S$5,300 and S$6,800. The increase in rates is more than 100%.
Previous tenants had to vacate for refurbishment. These returning tenants are given lower rates starting at S$4,500 for middle units and S$4,800 for corner units.
It’s a no brainer rental rates of old houses improve significantly after refurbishment or restoration.
The black-and-white bungalows at 26 and 31 Ridout Road should have been restored first and then opened for bidding. Who knows, just like Katong terrace houses, the rents could be 100% more than what the two ministers bid.
SLA followed common sense business practice for the Katong heritage terrace houses. Refurbish first, improve product value offering, then let out at higher prices. For 26 and 31 Ridout Road, the ministers bidded for old bungalow houses, but received fully restored ones. If that is still difficult to understand, the ministers paid for some old junk but took delivery of something new. The government is so out of touch with reality they think Singaporeans are too stupid to see through the farce. All those who still think no advantages were offered to the ministers ought to go Woodbridge for a brain scan.
A parting shout out :
Plato said:
“The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”
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