Senior of Minister of State for National Development Sim Ann has been whacked by Singapore netizens for her flippant reply to a question posed by the Workers’ Party in parliament.
Sim had been preaching about the virtues of VERS, the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme, in which the government would pay a sum of money to owners for their HDB flats that are reaching the end of their lease.
She said this in response to a speech by WP MP Jamus Lim, who had prodded the MND on housing policies and the issue of lease decay.
After her speech, WP MP Leon Perera asked if the government will extend VERS to all blocks of HDB flats in Singapore.
Sim’s one-liner response possibly caught everyone by surprise.
“I am glad of your interest in VERS. Please stay tuned.”
The issue was then left at that.
Singapore netizens have been widely sharing a video clip of Sim’s response, and slamming her for her dismissive attitude towards a question which affects many Singaporean homeowners.
Around 80 percent of Singaporeans live in HDB flats.
Sim stated in Jan this year that the compensation for VERS will “not be as generous” as SERS – the scheme where the government compensates HDB homeowners when it wants to compulsorily acquire their HDB flats.
To date, she has never gone into detail as to the amount of the VERS compensation.
