Peninsula Plaza | Interview with Property Agent

On 21st September, Leonard, Natasha and I went to Peninsula Plaza to conduct our field research. We walked around the shopping complex to look for potential interviewee that could help us address the various questions pertaining to the Burmese community in Singapore. There, we found a shop that sells property in Myanmar. The shopkeeper, however, is a Singaporean who has been involved in the Burmese property industry for a considerable period of years. As a manifestation of her familiarity with the Burmese people (around Peninsula Plaza, at least), she introduced us to a few Burmese that could help us in our pursuits for answers. While she might not be a Burmese herself, we interviewed her nonetheless. In her, we have a third person viewpoint which is valuable to ensure that our research and interviews are holistic and cover the subject matter as wide as possible. Below are snippets of our conversation with her.

Q: Who usually visits Peninsula Plaza?

A: There used to be a lot of people frequenting this place but the number has declined. Now, those who come here are mainly students, maid and construction workers mostly during the weekends. Interestingly, some of the Burmese who frequent this place were already naturalised and took up Singapore citizenship or permanent residency.

Here, it is plausible to theorise that Peninsula Plaza is one of the place that strikes a sense of home to Burmese who migrated to Singapore either due to work or for education purposes. A few reasoning could be attributed to this sense of attachment to the place – firstly, Peninsula Plaza is home to a plethora of Burmese shops. In a similar vein, the existence of the many Burmese shops creates a sense of nostalgia and familiarity in an otherwise totally different environment. Secondly, Peninsula Plaza holds a long history especially with the Burmese community in Singapore whereby it was a common place where Burmese people get to gather and seek each other’s company.

Q: Are there many Burmese who buy the property?

A: Many Burmese buys back home as they see it as an investment back in Myanmar; to go back for retirement.

Q: Who usually buys the property?

A: Most of those who make the purchase are white collars Burmese who have ample disposable income to make investment back at Myanmar.

Here, we can see that Burmese who are in Singapore are of diverse groups. Such diversity meant that it is almost impossible to generally categorise them. The purchase of property, however, is limited to Burmese who holds white collar job. A possible reasoning to account for this would possibly be the high cost of the property. Furthermore, the property agent made slight mention of the division even among the Burmese people themselves. The division is especially distinct in the treatment of the Burmese construction workers whereby many Burmese would, in their best effort, avoid identifying with them for a few reasons namely 1) the poor attitude of the construction workers and 2) stereotypes. That these observations were made from an external viewpoint meant that there exists elements of discrimination within the Burmese diasporic community which might escaped the view of the common man on the street.

Q: Can most of them (Burmese) afford it?

A: In a bid to encourage buyers, the government initiated a loan system last year whereby Yoma bank, the only Myanmar bank that provides the loan. The bank provides a maximum loan of up to 7 years with the main aim of encouraging Burmese to buy their property so as to pluralise their property ownership. A typical house in Myanmar has a market value of USD 160,000. So those who actually purchased the property are mostly the more affluent ones.

The introduction of the loan, initiated recently, could be seen as a calculated move (a pull factor) from the Burmese side to retain their citizens who are abroad. Prior to the introduction of the loan, those who seeks to purchase property back home have to seek their own financing which further complicates the process of purchasing property back home. The provision of loan hence smoothen the process of those seeking to own/ invest in property back in Myanmar. The idea of purchasing property back at home is closely related to the notion of belonging and attachment. That they are investing heavily ensures that the tie that binds them (Burmese) and their original motherland (Myanmar) are maintained throughout. Superficial as it might be, the possession of property, more often than not, is a manifestation of a subtle desire to return back home once their various aspirations and desire were met in a land many said to be the land of many opportunities (Singapore).

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