POFMA direction issued to property agent on Ethnic Integration Policy

A property agent has been issued a correction direction order for a video that made false and misleading statements about the Housing Board’s Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP).

On 1 August, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee instructed the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) office to issue a correction order to Mr Shaik Amar for an eight-minute video that the ERA property agent had first posted on his TikTok and Instagram accounts on 24 July, and then on YouTube on 25 July.

The Ministry of National Development (MND) stated that the video was misleading in several ways, prompting the POFMA direction to address two false statements of fact. The first falsehood was that the EIP offers no benefit to ethnic minority households and instead causes them significant financial detriment when they sell their flats. The second was that the EIP was introduced in the 1960s and has not been changed to date.

In the video, Mr Shaik referenced the recent $1.73 million sale of a 45th-floor five-room HDB flat at the SkyOasis @ Dawson development in Margaret Drive, where he also lives. He called the EIP unfair, suggesting that an ethnic-minority flat owner would likely have to “give close to a half a million (dollar) discount to sell their house” due to the Chinese EIP limit.

MND’s Clarification on the EIP

In its statement, MND highlighted that the EIP benefits minorities in several ways. This includes ensuring that HDB sets aside a defined proportion of flats for minority communities in all HDB neighbourhoods through its Build-To-Order and Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises, and the open booking of flats.

“Without the EIP, there will be a significant risk that the proportion of owners from minority communities in much sought-after areas will be much less, even at the point of sale by HDB,” said the ministry. “The EIP, in this way, generally enables more persons from the minority communities to benefit when the flats are sold.”

MND emphasized that focusing solely on the point of resale is misleading without considering that the flat was obtained within the framework of the EIP.

The policy ensures that ethnic minorities continue to own HDB flats in different estates, including highly sought-after ones. Without the EIP, over time, fewer homeowners from minority communities would own flats in such estates, which would be detrimental in several ways, including reducing the likelihood of future owners from minority communities in these estates benefiting from future value increases.

Segregation generally affects minority communities more than the majority, in this case, the Chinese, MND added. “The effects of such segregation are bad and can be seen in many countries all over the world.”

Mr Shaik’s EIP Benefits

MND pointed out that Mr Shaik himself had benefited from the EIP – without the policy, his household would not have been able to select an SBF flat.

During the SBF exercise where he booked his SkyOasis @ Dawson flat, all minority first-timer applicants were invited to select a three-room flat in Queenstown. In comparison, only about 40 percent of Chinese first-timer applicants were invited to select a flat because of the Chinese EIP limit. MND noted that the value of flats at SkyOasis @ Dawson has since “appreciated significantly”.

“In this way, the Government ensures the minority communities are also able to benefit from the increase in value that takes place when a flat bought from HDB is resold at a higher price,” said the ministry.

EIP Adjustments and Assistance Measures

Addressing the second falsehood, MND clarified that the EIP was introduced in 1989 – not the 1960s – to counteract the formation of ethnic enclaves in certain HDB estates. Over the years, HDB has implemented various measures to assist EIP-constrained flat owners, including giving them more time to sell their existing flat if they have purchased another one, and waiving the EIP limits in exceptional circumstances.

In 2022, HDB also introduced the EIP buyback assistance scheme to provide EIP-constrained homeowners with the option of selling their flats to HDB at a fair price, based on prevailing market conditions. To tap the buyback scheme, a household needs to have owned the flat for at least 10 years, and the flat should have been marketed at reasonable prices for at least six months. Those with extenuating circumstances can appeal to HDB for special consideration to waive these conditions.

Flats bought back by HDB through this scheme will be offered for sale through SBF exercises or open booking of flats, and the board will provide a significant subsidy on the assessed market value of the flat in determining the sale price. Where Chinese EIP limits are reached, only buyers from minority communities will be eligible to buy such flats, benefiting from the subsidies like other buyers, added MND.

Compliance with POFMA Order

To comply with the POFMA order, Mr Shaik will have to carry correction notices on his TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube accounts. These notices must state that the video posted on 24 and 25 July contained false and misleading statements and link to the Government’s clarification to let viewers consider both versions and draw their own conclusions.

As of 1 August, Mr Shaik had taken down the clips on TikTok and Instagram, though the video remains on his YouTube account, MND noted. While Mr Shaik had removed the clips on TikTok and Instagram, there is a need to address the falsehoods that may have circulated among the public as a result of the video’s publication, the ministry added.