2
TODAY • Monday • September 12, 2005
hot news
Not just lifts, a lifestyle
More than lifts upgrading and studios for middle-class elderly needed
TOR CHING LI
[email protected]
THERE should not only be life after
65, but a lifestyle as well.
That is why stakeholders are
asking that senior citizens — who are
willing to pay — be provided with
more than just lifts on every floor
and elder-friendly apartments.
Said Dr Mary Ann Tsao, president and chief executive officer of
the Tsao Foundation: “Housing options for the elderly here consist
mainly of nursing homes or their
own homes. And the rental one- or
two-room flats or studio apartments
cater more to the disadvantaged.
There’s a big group of lower-middle
or middle class elderly with very
few elder-specific housing options
if they live by themselves.”
It does look like there is a growing number of senior citizens who
want to live independently.
A 2003 Housing & Development Board (HDB) sample household survey showed that 24.3 per
cent of those over 65 said they
would rather live by themselves,
compared with just 15.2 per cent in
1998. According to the same survey,
there are about 217,568 elderly persons living in HDB flats.
The HDB’s studio apartments
for citizens above 55 years may be
selling very well but this does not
provide a comprehensive suite of
lifestyle options for the elderly to
not only “age in place” but “age
with grace”, said Dr Tsao.
The question then, is: Who
should provide such housing options for the middle-income elderly? The HDB or the private sector?
In the West, privately-run retirement villages are popular with
senior citizens.
In Hong Kong, a new one-stop
housing scheme for middle-class
citizens above 60 was launched by
a non-governmental organisation
(NGO), the Hong Kong Housing
Society (HKHS), late last year to
overwhelming response. The centrally situated developments include
an indoor pool, jacuzzi, gymnasium, library, hair salon, music room,
café, shop, garden and Chinese and
western medical services.
After a one-off entry contribution, residents live rent-free, paying
only for management fees and basic
services fees that include domestic
help, routine concern calls and
medical and nursing care.
Singapore, however, does not
have an NGO like the HKHS, and
private developers have not found
it a profit-making sector — yet.
Labour Chief and Minister in
Prime Minister’s Office Lim Boon
Heng said: “Land cost is high in
Singapore. To build housing for the
elderly, a private developer has to
obtain land, usually by tender. However, the elderly have limited means
to pay for their retirement needs.
“I am not sure there is a critical mass of demand yet to make
such a project viable. But with a
group of singles — mostly female —
retiring in the years ahead, there
will be a critical mass.”
Mr Lim told TODAY that it is
the middle income segment that
private developers may cater to.
“In Singapore, the middle income group lives in HDB housing,
so the economics have to fit this
group. If active citizens want to run
congregate housing for the elderly,
such housing would have to be in
the heartlands,” he said.
It seems the HDB has been
looking into this. In July, it met
up with several organisations
that care for the elderly, including the Tsao Foundation.
“They were trying to see
how we could use some flats
available on the market,” said
Dr Tsao. “It was a welcome
move, but I hope some kind of
regular platform for dialogue
COMING: A UNIQUELY-SINGAPORE
SENIOR HOUSING OPTION?
Mr Francis Zhan thinks HDB’s studio
apartments — better known as “granny
flats” — are “open door prisons” with a
lack of immediate help during emergencies.
The president of the Association of
Management Corporations In Singapore
(Amcis), which represents all management corporations in Singapore, told TODAY
he has been working on a new, multi-million-dollar lifestyle concept for senior citizens and their families to live independently, yet together.
It’s not a condo nor a country club –
but a Country Club Condo Cluster Concept.
Mr Zhan envisions it to be a $1.2 billion
can be formed between the
HDB, elderly service providers
and other stakeholders. So far,
senior housing seems more reactionary than done with a clear
blueprint. A lot of stakeholders haven’t been pulled together
in a coherent manner.”
However, the HDB said
“the idea is still at an exploratory stage” and declined to
comment at this juncture.
to $1.5 billion mega-scale project that will
house 2,000 families and require a consortium of developers to work together.
The “multiplex condo” will consist of
“at least three separate condos” and a
central club complex, which will house a
medical centre. One of these condos will
be the HomeStay condo with elder-friendly
facilities and a direct link to the medical
centre. The others will be standard condos for younger families or relatives.
At least three healthcare providers
have indicated interest, Mr Zhan said.
Amcis plans to start working with
developers to take on the project within
the next two to three years. The association, which will be responsible for the
condo, will either form a housing co-op or
a residential Reit for the project.
SIA plane grounded for fuel leak
A SINGAPORE Airlines flight departing
Shanghai on Friday had to be diverted
to Hong Kong because of a suspected
fuel leak.
Flight SQ 835, which was earlier
grounded at Pudong International Airport
for 12 hours due to a technical problem
before it took off, was heading back to Singapore when the incident occurred.
The Boeing 777 aircraft landed at Hong
Kong’s Chek Lap Kok Airport at 8am on Saturday. All 264 passengers were put on other
flights back to Singapore.
An SIA spokesperson told TODAY that
there were no casualties. The engineering
department is investigating the suspected
fuel leak.
The aircraft is still grounded in Hong
Kong. — ANSLEY NG