I applied for my first HDB flat in 1994 in Sengkang, Ponggol..I was 23, eager to have my own place with my then boyfriend. Like every typical Singaporean couple, deciding to apply for a HDB flat was akin to a marriage proposal. A mature estate was not within our means so we decided on Sengkang which is under the care of Ponggol-Pasir Ris Town Council. The big attraction of this new town was the promise of a waterfront estate with lots of amenities for sea sports activities. My husband and I got married in 1997 in between the horrible long wait for our marital home. Imagine our enthusiasm...visiting our flat every month, taking photos to document the time lapse. We got our bunch of keys 2 years after we got married but the house was not home. It was tough commuting between work and having to drop my toddler to his grandma on a daily basis. We just can't do it everyday..no way. We waited for the flat to complete for over five years and from the time we sold it in 2009, I am not sure if we stayed in it for 30 days in total. It became our weekend home which we spend lots of time dusting as it was empty during the week. It was too far from a child care centre, far from my mother in law. There were hardly any amenities and no sign of that promise of a dream estate. We just couldn't live in Ponggol even though we spent a great deal of time and hard earned money renovating my dream home which was not meant to be. While we understand it was a new estate then, it needed time to mature. Its been over 16 years now, we still hate the estate. Each time we drive past, we would somehow look at each other and realise how lucky we manage to sell the flat to a new FT. We never bonded with our house and definitely never love the estate till today. It is lifeless in our opinion. If I was still a resident in Ponggol today and to have my MP threaten me like a ruffian, denying us of our basic rights, I have to look elsewhere sorry. Fortunately for you, Mr Teo, the opposition candidates are not that credible at this point, the majority will still vote for the ruling party. The time will come when the tables will turn.
