An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:
The recent revelation that the government is allowing a Chinese temple to be built next to HDB BTO flats in Sengkang West, housing a columbarium, has caused an uproar among the future HDB residents there.
In an effort to soothe the residents’ anxieties, MP Lam Pin Min conducted a town hall meeting with the residents yesterday (4 Jan). However, more questions were raised during the dialogue session.
In particular, as reported in the media, residents were asking why a profit-oriented company was allowed to bid for the development of the Chinese temple cum columbarium.
“We should reserve these lands for our religious organisations”, said resident Alex Tan, “If our religious organisations were to compete with a private entity, in a few years’ time we may find our temples and churches priced out of the market. If a Buddhist temple needs to find new land, they may not be able to do so because private companies are bidding higher prices than what a not-for-profit organisation can pay.”
Another resident, Adrian Choo, said, “Dr Lam, thanks for sharing. But could you please comment on how proper it is for a corporation to tender for a religious site? I would be dismayed if, say, for a church site tender, a private company outbids other churches just for the land, as the company would have access to more resources than a not-for-profit religious body.”
Yet another resident Ms Goh said that she felt “cheated”. She cannot understand why a temple facility is being tendered out to a for-profit organisation and not to a religious or non-profit organisation. In her opinion, a for-profit organisation will definitely seek to maximise profit and it is not known what other expansion plans it has in the future.
Chinese temple tender awarded to company set up after tender called
In the last few days, TRE readers have been sending in related information about the company which won the bid to purchase the land parcel for developing the Chinese temple cum columbarium.
The following tender result from HDB’s website shows that...
http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/01/06...tender-called/
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06-01-2015, 04:20 PM
Temple saga: Firm set up 16 days after tender called
