The equity sharing scheme issued by the government prior to election time was surprisingly withdrawn shortly after, on the premise that it was to be reissued in a different manner at a later stage. This scheme has now been reissued, as promised, within the Budget speech and it has been re-hashed with a view to helping first-time buyers save on a third of their repayments.

This is very commendable - only that it is also very short-lived for some applicants!

Having enquired with the Housing Authority about when the applications are to start being accepted, I was duly informed that they can be submitted from Monday, December 1, 2008. But it was also stipulated that applications are only eligible for contracts drawn up from October 1, 2008 onwards.

I asked the Housing Authority: What happens to applicants whose application for the Equity Sharing Scheme was originally turned down (rejected applicants) by the Housing Authority, but who had to proceed with the purchase of the property in question in the meantime, resulting in their having concluded their purchase contract before October 1, 2008? There again, what happens to others in the same boat during the same period who did not apply in the first place, but still purchased before October 1, 2008? Their reply was a big "not eligible".

This means that now we face a dilemma. Applicants who originally had their application rejected are not being given the chance to apply for the new scheme as their contract was concluded before October 1, 2008, and those who managed to purchase during that time when the scheme was temporarily unavailable are also being rejected.

I ask the Housing Authority to review this situation with a view to extending the new scheme to these unfortunate applicants who bravely managed to conclude their contracts in this period of time, notwithstanding all the problems that they faced.

It is very discriminatory towards some applicants (especially those who were turned down from applying in the first place) who, with the understanding that they could avail themselves of such a scheme (or a similar one), proceeded with their purchase of property. I hope that this letter will raise awareness about the present situation among all those who are interested in applying for the new scheme and cannot do so.