home parliament쐽
and prefer to head to the parks.
Al-Jazeera report on
homeless misleading
Couple in news clip
refused to accept
shelter, says minister
BY CAI HAOXIANG
THREE weeks ago, Arabic news net-
work Al-Jazeera aired a programme al-
leging that a homeless couple in Singa-
pore were forced onto the streets be-
cause of government policies.
In Parliament yesterday, Communi-
ty Development, Youth and Sports
Minister Vivian Balakrishnan outlined
the facts and rebuked the Qatar-based
channel and “irresponsible websites”
for spreading falsehoods online.
The news clip, posted on
Al-Jazeera’s website on April 5,
showed a homeless couple living in a
tent.
It said the couple, both of whom
were previously married, were home-
less for some two years. They lost
their homes in divorce proceedings
and were ineligible to rent new homes.
Still no word of World
Cup broadcast bid
BY JEREMY AU YONG
HOPES of securing World Cup broad-
cast rights still hang in the balance,
with all parties locked in negotiations.
Acting Minister for Information,
Communications and the Arts Lui
Tuck Yew said this yesterday, in what
is becoming an almost weekly update
on the impasse. He was asked about it
two weeks ago while on official busi-
ness in Cannes, France, and again a
week later while on a community visit
to Punggol.
In Parliament yesterday, it was the
turn of Ms Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio
GRC) to pose the question. In re-
This is because under Housing
Board rules, a person is ineligible for a
heavily subsidised rental flat if he has
sold a flat in the last 30 months.
The English-language clip was ti-
tled Homeless In Singapore: Govern-
ment Policies Force Some Onto
Streets.
Dr Balakrishnan, asked by Nominat-
ed MP Viswa Sadasivan about the
plight of the homeless living on the
beach, said ministry staff located the
couple and established the facts.
“Unfortunately Al-Jazeera did not
bother to check the facts. The facts
tell a very different story,” he said.
The man sold two subsidised flats
he bought from the HDB and another
he bought on the open market and
made a “tidy profit in excess of
$224,000”, he disclosed.
The woman also sold her HDB flat
but co-owns a resale flat with her
ex-husband. It was to be sold after the
divorce, but they have not done so.
When she sought a rental flat, the
HDB said there would be a problem
getting one as she still co-owned a
flat, Dr Balakrishnan explained.
sponse, Rear-Admiral (NS) Lui said he
understood the anxiety of soccer fans,
and acknowledged that time was run-
ning out for SingTel and StarHub to se-
cure the broadcast rights to the tourna-
ment that begins on June 11.
He noted that even if the joint bid
was successful, the two pay TV opera-
tors would need time to arrange for
sponsors, advertisers and subscription
packages. He said: “So we are, I guess,
into injury time and the referee is
putting whistle to mouth. But I have
received no final word as to the out-
come of the negotiations that are still
being carried out.”
If any deal is struck, he said, both
THE STRAITS TIMES WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28 2010 PAGE B10
What’s more, she still receives fi-
nancial aid from the South West Com-
munity Development Council.
Yet the couple in the clip were of-
fered a place in a shelter. But they re-
jected it along with other offers from
social workers and his ministry.
He said: “This is a clear example
where a foreign media has failed to as-
certain the facts. Even worse, some ir-
responsible websites have gone on to
fuel these falsehoods by circulating
these widely on the Internet.”
He then threw down this challenge:
“Now that the facts are out, let’s
see whether these people who’ve been
propagating falsehoods have the cour-
age and honesty to set the facts right.”
Dr Balakrishnan said homelessness
was a complex problem and that there
were no easy or popular solutions.
Asked by Mr Sadasivan why people
turned down offers and stayed in “ab-
ject conditions”, he said it was be-
cause the offers came with conditions
such as discharging responsibilities to
their family and getting a job.
But some regard these require-
ments “onerous and rather intrusive”
Workers putting up a poster for this year’s World Cup, starting on on free-to-air tel-
June 11, in Johannesburg. SingTel and StarHub have yet to secure
broadcast rights to the event. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
SingTel and StarHub subscribers will of StarHub, SingTel and MediaCorp’s
be able to catch the games, alleviating networks should ensure that all view-
worries of those living in areas not cur- ers will be able to watch World Cup
rently covered by SingTel’s mio TV.
The squatters in parks and beaches
almost always have had options.
They could have homes, but have
domestic problems; or enjoyed subsi-
dies when they bought a flat, but sold
it or their second or third flat, spent
the cash and ran into problems.
The situation has led some to resort
to “emotional blackmail”.
They go to MPs and say: “If you
don’t give me this rental flat, if you
don’t write this letter strongly
enough, if you don’t scold National De-
velopment Minister Mah Bow Tan
loudly enough, I’m going to sleep on a
void deck and I’m going to invite the
press to come and take pictures, and
I’ll put pressure on you.”
Added Dr Balakrishnan: “We must
not become callous to this. I still view
every person without a roof over their
head as someone who needs help. But
we must be very careful as to how we
deliver the help. Yes, our help does
come with strings, but our strings are
ultimately to put the person back on
his own two feet.”
On whether Al-Jazeera was taken
off SingTel’s mio TV this month be-
cause of the report, Acting Minister
for Information, Communications and
the Arts Lui Tuck Yew said such talk
was unfounded.
Citing an April 16 news report, he
noted that Al-Jazeera said the decision
was a mutual one. Its contract with
SingTel was ending and, given the low
number of subscriber households,
Al-Jazeera said it decided to “look into
other avenues for broader distribution
and accessibility in Singapore”.
haoxiang@sph.com.sg
The SingTel
pay-TV service is
available to 97
per cent of
homes.
The telco has
committed
making it availa-
to
ble to all homes
by the end of Ju-
ly.
In addition,
Mr Lui said a suc-
cessful deal
would also mean
that some match-
es will be shown
evision.
He said: “The
combined reach
2010.”