PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong will deliver this year’s National Day Rally – widely seen as the most important political speech of the year in Singapore – on Aug 20.

Affordable and accessible public housing is expected to be a key theme in this year’s rally. What changes will there be to public housing schemes?

Maybe the income ceiling for buying new flats from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will be raised. Possibly the qualifying criteria for housing grants to buy new HDB flats and the grant amounts can be calibrated to benefit more Singaporean households. Could there be a new scheme unveiled to give people who rent HDB flats the option to buy their flats?