The Housing and Development Board succeeded where the Singapore Improvement Trust had not because Singapore's new leadership was determined to change the face of the nation, both literally and metaphorically. Resettling squatters in the new flats being built was the literal part of that effort, and it changed people's metaphorical view of Singapore as well. Although many Singaporeans were suspicious initially of the resettlement efforts, and many encountered social problems in their transition to high-rise living, the HDB was able to overcome their scepticism. Combined with land acquisition, land reclamation to build houses, and urban renewal, resettlement laid the basis for the construction of low-cost, affordable housing on a mass scale that created a new Singapore landscape and skyline.

RESETTLEMENT

The Land Acquisition Ordinance that was passed in 1920 was amended in 1946 and 1955 to give the colonial government powers to acquire more private land for comprehensive new-town development and to try to stabilize prices. However, the powers granted were limited and the process was troublesome and slow. By contrast, when the People's Action Party came to power, it gave the HDB extensive powers over land acquisition and resettlement, crucial components of the ambitious housing programme that the party had in mind.

Compulsory land acquisition anywhere is a controversial issue. Critics view it as an infringement of the individual's right to own land, while supporters praise it as a vehicle for social equity that enables the majority of people to own homes. The truth is that, without land, there would be no housing. In 1960, only 44 per cent of the land in Singapore was owned by the government, while more than 35 per cent of the population then lived in squatter settlements. Without compulsory land acquisition, draconian though the measure was, the government would have found it difficult to fulfil its promise of creating a more egalitarian society that would underpin Singapore's evolution into a property-owning democracy.