We have a couple of things to mention today. First, there is a letter from Mr John Lee of the Sale Committee (a) calling for another EOGM and (b) asking for proxy votes for the AGM, which, as you know, will be held this Saturday, 7 June 08. Curiously, despite this letter being dated the 22nd of May, neither of the two main contributors to this blog has received sight or sound of it (just to make it clear, we are not actually surprised at this). Just in case this discrimination is directed at other owners besides ourselves, we are happy to republish the letter on this blog as a public service. Second, there is the AGM.
Concerning the EOGM, we fully expect that the course of events will be the same as for the previous two EOGMs. That is, the Sale Committee and its minority supporters will be the principal attendees and everyone else will stay away, having better things to do than argue about the division of spoils from the sale of other peoples' homes. Some of us will be there, of course, so that you will have a reasonably objective account of events. However, the division of proceeds is something that should interest at least some of us owners. I refer to those of us would be willing to sell for the right price (ie not during this current extremely bad market). It is usual in en-bloc sales for the owners of larger or better-situated flats to suffer, since their share of the proceeds of sale rarely reflects a fair apportionment taking into account the superior value of, for instance, larger flats on higher floors. Since as our addresses make clear we are both in this position, we will make no comment but simply leave it to you all, dear fellow owners and residents, to reflect upon your own interests in this matter and decide for yourselves whether the protection of those interests merits your attendance at this EOGM. Since neither of us is in the slightest degree interested in selling our homes, how their price is to be divided up is a matter of indifference to us.
Concerning the AGM will be held this Saturday, 7 June 08. We thought that we would take this opportunity to urge everyone to attend. The AGM deals with the real, bread and butter issues of the management of our estate, not merely with the attempt to sell it out from under us. These are things that will affect all us in our daily lives: who will comprise the Management Council for the coming year? What has happened to the ongoing five-year maintenance programme? Will this estate continue to be maintained in good condition? We are all aware of what can happen when the Management Council of an estate is hijacked by people whose only interest is to sell.
We are pleased that Mr Lee's letter also expresses his intentions to maintain this estate in good order. However, this does not remove the inherent conflict of interest involved in being both a member of the Sale Committee ( which serves the interests of those who wish to sell our estate) and of the Management Council (which exists to maintain the estate in good condition for all of us, including the majority who do not wish to sell). We know that calling on the Sale Committee to do the right thing and end its members' involvement in the Management Council is a hopeless endeavour. We, the owners, are the only ones who can compel them to do so. How?
Quite simply, by voting against any candidate for the Management Council who is simultaneously a member of the Sale Committee. Mr Lee makes no secret (except to us, of course) about his desire to collect proxy votes, ostensibly to support his blameless and worthy endeavours to maintain this estate in good condition. We find this frankly unbelievable. The inhabitants of this estate are sensible people. No reasonable proposal for the management and maintenance of this estate has ever been refused by the AGM. Apart from the attempt by the Sale Committee and its cohorts to sell our homes against our wills, there is no major dispute or disagreement among the owners concerning the maintenance and management of this estate (really, does anyone here actually support the parking of heavy vehicles in the car-park? Is there a secret pro-heavy-vehicle faction among the owners, who must be fought tooth and nail?). We fully believe that there is no purpose behind this collection of proxy votes except the attempt to remove all remaining members of the Managment Council who do not support the Sale Committee, and effectively turn the Management Council into the mere tool and mouthpiece of the Sale Committee. Obviously, this result will be to the detriment of both the estate and the majority of its owners. After all, if the Management Council ever consists of a majority of pro-en-bloc sale people, what is to prevent the Council from making decisions AFTER the AGM which may directly or indirectly cause the estate to deteriorate in their attempt to encourage people to sell? The owners are not blind to see that a letter from the BGV En Bloc Office encouraging people to improve the estate goes against their push for a fast sale. Why proxy Mr John Lee when it is equally valid to proxy some other member of the Management Council, eg the Chairperson? How many of us have heard certain people saying that the estate is getting worse, and it's best to collectively sell now before it's too late?
We need only be reminded of the massive problems that can happen to the management of an estate when that is hijacked by pro-sales owners - Look at Mandarin Gardens and Bayshore Park to see what can happen when too many proxy votes end up in the hands of Sales Committee members:http://www.sghousing.com/2008/05/05/en-bloc-uproar-at-bayshore-park-mandarin-gardens/http://www.sghousing.com/2008/05/05/en-bloc-system-needs-relook-as-bayshore-shows/
In summary therefore, we hope that as many of us as possible will:
(a) Attend the AGM
(b) Scrutinise with the utmost care both the past year's maintenance activities and the plans for future maintenance
(c) Vote AGAINST any candidate for the Managment Council who will not dissociate themselves completely from the Sale Committee.
and of course, continue to Just Say No to whatever piece of paper the Sale Committee waves under our noses.
We will be doing all of these things and we hope that you will too.
Vanessa Chan
c/o Ms Sim Bock Eng, Wong Partnership, One George Street
Blk 9, #10-09, Botanic Gardens View
Wong Hwei Ming
things.unfair@gmail.com
Blk 9, #09-17, Botanic Gardens View
or BGV blog email: enbloc_bgv@hotmail.com
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