SINGAPORE – The total revenue collected by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) from state properties significantly exceeds the total maintenance cost incurred, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Law Rahayu Mahzam.

She was responding on March 1 to Progress Singapore Party (PSP) Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai, who had asked about SLA’s management of state properties, including colonial black-and-white bungalows.

Mr Leong had sought more information about state properties, including how many of them were vacant and for how long. He noted that the black-and-white bungalow at 26 Ridout Road was vacant and “in very bad condition” for more than four years before it was rented out.

The rental of state-owned bungalows at 26 and 31 Ridout Road by Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan was the subject of a six-hour debate in Parliament in July 2023.

Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong said then that SLA had acted properly in leasing out the properties at 26 and 31 Ridout Road, and that it invests a significant amount in maintaining such properties, owing to conservation requirements and restoration guidelines.

On March 1, Ms Rahayu said the occupancy rate for all usable state properties was 99 per cent in the 2022 financial year.

SLA’s approach was to make basic additions to ensure that the properties are in a reasonably good condition so that tenants are able to reside in them safely, she added during the debate on the budget of the Ministry of Law, under which SLA is a statutory board.

She said SLA will install modern amenities and facilities for selected properties, where the overall circumstances make it advantageous to do so.

On Mr Leong’s point that state properties should not be allowed to “fall into disrepair and be vacant for years”, Ms Rahayu said it would not be the best use of public resources to always renovate properties to a high standard before a tenant is found.

“This is because the condition of the property will deteriorate if there is no take-up, such as in a poor market. Taxpayer money would have to be used again, to redo some works and carry out additional works, when a tenant is found,” she said.

Ms Rahayu added that SLA has carefully broadened the usage and deployment of its properties to meet the evolving needs of Singapore over time, and that a judicious balance continues to be needed between protecting heritage properties in Singapore and redeveloping them.

Mr Leong later pressed Ms Rahayu on the total rental income and total maintenance cost attributable to the black-and-white bungalows. “These are questions that Singaporeans like to know, and if enough information is being given, then we can assess better whether we have a big underutilised asset here or not,” he said.

In response, Ms Rahayu said she was concerned that there is a “larger assertion that’s being made” of mismanagement by SLA – that the agency was not doing its part to ensure state properties are properly utilised and optimised.

“That is something that is more important for us to debunk, because the truth is we’ve given a lot of other facts to show that, really, the market really dictates some points like the occupancy rate, vacancy rate,” she added.

She noted that the Government has explained SLA’s considerations in deciding what to do with the different assets and properties that it is managing.

There was a distinction between “vulgar curiosity” and the assertions that are being made about potential mismanagement, she added. “It’s important for us to understand and reiterate the point that there is optimisation, there is proper management of the state assets and state properties.” she said.

Replying, Mr Leong said he did not state that SLA has mismanaged its properties, and was just raising questions that have not been answered.

Ms Rahayu said Mr Leong had raised areas that SLA could look at improving, which suggested that “there were some gaps in the things that have been done”.

But she noted that there may be updates that the Government can give over time. “That’s something that we are prepared to do and provide information that’s relevant to address concerns that Singaporeans and yourself may have.”