The Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) is not a clandestine organisation with differing objectives and principles in the management of the estates. It is governed by the Town Councils Act and it is not exempted from any wrongdoing. Depending on who you speak to, AHPETC is as well run as any of the PAP Town Council, or it is as poorly run and disorganised as any of the PAP Town Council. What started out as a good initiative on the part of the Ministry of National Development has turned out to be nothing but a yearly finger-pointing exercise. The Town Council Management Report badly needs a rethink to ensure some semblance of a relevance to the stakeholders that really matter, the constituents themselves.
In dealing with S&CC arrears, I do not profess to be able to speak for the Town Council. I am not a member of the Town Council. But from my experiences as a legislative assistant, there are a lot of measures in place to assist residents and households who faces difficulties in making repayment for their arrears - from making personal house visits to understand their plight to writing in to the Town Council to appeal for assistance to craft a monthly repayment plan to writing in to the Social Service Office/ Northeast Community Development Council. So let's stop creating political binaries and making comparison between the various Town Councils. It is not helpful and divides Singaporeans.
Why should politics drive the management of Town Councils? This thing about "PAP-run", "WP-run" Town Councils should end before our country becomes even more divided. Personally, I am the view that politicians (with managing agents or otherwise) should not run Town Councils. It should be run by able, professional and impartial civil servants led by the Ministry of the National Development, or a dedicated ministry for local government should be set up. This body would work with the an elected body of persons at the grassroots including the local Member of Parliament to bring about tangible outcomes and improvements to the lives of Singaporeans, with the support of a depoliticised People's Association.
So let's take a step back and stop the politicisation of local government in its current context before politics becomes a scrooge and turns Singaporeans away from it!
Bernard Chen
*Comment first appeared on https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=530146624