SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan bid above the “guide rent” for state properties along Ridout Road, said the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) on Friday (May 12).
In a statement, the statutory board confirmed that the properties at No 26 Ridout Road and No 31 Ridout Road – both colonial bungalows – were tenanted to Mr Shanmugam and Dr Balakrishnan respectively. It added that the rentals were “performed in full compliance with the relevant SLA procedures.”
The SLA statement was issued in response to a series of online articles published by opposition Reform Party’s chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam since last Saturday, where he called on SLA to “shed some light” on the auction process for the properties and questioned if the ministers were “paying less than the fair market value”.
Citing the prime location of the area and his assumed size of the properties, he said: “It is difficult to see how (Dr Balakrishnan or Mr Shanmugam) could afford to pay the market rent for such a pricey property.”
In its statement, SLA said that No 26 Ridout Road had been vacant for more than four years since December 2013 before it was tenanted to Mr Shanmugam in June 2018.
“Mr Shanmugam notified a senior Cabinet colleague that he was making a bid for the property,” said SLA.
It also said that Mr Shanmugam was the only bidder and his offer, made through an agent, was higher than the guide rent – which was not disclosed to him.
CNA has reached out to property experts for more information on “guide rent” and how it is determined.
SLA added that in June 2021, Mr Shanmugam renewed the tenancy for the property for another three years.
The property at 31 Ridout Road, meanwhile, had been vacant for more than six years since July 2013, before it was tenanted to Dr Balakrishnan.
He put in a bid in November 2018 that was above the guide rent, which was also not disclosed to him.
SLA said Dr Balakrishnan was the highest bidder. His tenancy was granted with effect from October 2019, and renewed three years later.
The authority did not indicate how much the two ministers were paying to rent the properties.
It said “more details on this issue” would be provided during the next parliamentary session in July.
According to SLA data, the property at 31 Ridout Road has a land area of 136,101 sq ft.
Information on the property at 26 Ridout Road could only be found within a lot that included 24 and 31 Ridout Road, with a total land area of 525,171 sq ft.
No information could be found when searching SLA’s online databases for tenure information and past rental transactions for 26 and 31 Ridout Road.
Ridout Road is a part of Ridout Park, which is classed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority as one of 39 “Good Class Bungalow Areas” in Singapore.