The upcoming public rental housing scheme for senior singles

18th March 2023 DPM Lawrence Wong Care -off the Ministry of Finance Dear DPM Lawrence Wong, The upcoming public rental housing scheme for senior singles I refer to the above matter and would like to offer some suggestions to improve on the scheme. I hope as DPM you could discuss my proposal to the MND Minister and his MOS at the same ministry. I had much earlier proposed a scheme for homeless people (See- “Ray of Light: A roof over the head, a meal on the table: A public suggestion to the Singapore Government on the homeless in Singapore (rayhope8.blogspot.com).” With 24 people cooking in one kitchen, there is bound to be arguments and conflicts. It is not easy to manage seniors as many of them are grumpy, get agitated easily and are inpatient. Then there are toilets to be shared and this too poses another set of problems. When I use the handicapped toilet at the Ang Mo Kio MRT station, the elderly user takes longer than necessary, and this causes annoyance on the part of other seniors. MND could look into the feasibility of employing a chef to cook some healthy food with inputs from the residents. Or it could cater meals for the residents at affordable prices and the residents pay for the meals. The other alternative is to hire a Boarding House Master to supervise the scheme so that some sort of discipline is adhered to. Imagine 24 seniors cooking at the common kitchen which has knives, choppers, boiling water and hot oiled frying pans. It is a chaos-waiting to happen. It is the same with the shared toilets. Patience is not a virtue with many seniors. So, it is best to have a small toilet in each room. I know that there is limited space, but it is better to consider the options otherwise the new rooms for residents can well become a PR disaster. Sincerely, RAYMOND ANTHONY FERNANDO