After reading all the online comments on the AHPETC saga, it just a lot blue and white loyalists blindly following what their masters are saying on TV. It feels childish to me.
It's normal that every new party that comes into power will try to give out some goodies to its friends and contractors. Applies to both PAP and WP. Especially in town council, you would want to give the contract to someone you trust so they won't sabo you and pao toh u to the other party.
So when WP terminate the contract with CPG (the previous managing agent of Aljunied GRC), they already wanted FMSS to get the contract because FMSS is ran by two of their own very trusted party supporters. They registered the company soon after they won GE2011 before they even terminate the existing contract with CPG.
WP say that nobody wanted to tender for AHPETC managing agent, but the fact is CPG contract with Aljunied ran till 2013 and only WP can terminate it. But CPG can't be trusted because they belong to the white and anything go wrong they will squirrel back and tell their bosses. WP die die will terminate them regardless.
The only problem was that FMSS was owned and ran by Denny Loh and How Weng Fan and the sub-contractors doing the jobs for FMSS were also owned by Loh and How. They were also the assentors and proposers of LTK during the election. They should have at least used other persons to abide with corporate governance rules.
For those people who comment that PAP is pot calling kettle black, indeed it is true. The difference is WP don't know how to play the game or forget or lazy. LTK is old hand, CSM is high-flying business lawyer last time, SL was a former policewoman. They should know better. Quite disappointing.
Next is the accounting part. I had a stint as an internal auditor previously, and seriously if your own auditors also cannot pass your books then something is seriously wrong. If you work hard and massage/adjust the figures and find all supporting documents or ask people to reprint supporting documents, sure can pass one. Auditing no need to be very smart, just need to be discipline and hardworking and organised.
From 2011 to 2015, WP's own auditors cannot pass their books giving chance for AGO and independent auditors PriceWaterhouseCoopers to dig even deeper. WP was late for every year in reporting their figures to govt allowing them a chance to whack. I think this is the most disappointing part for me.
To make it worse, almost all WP MPs are full-time so they should spend more effort to get things right. Meeting people and staying popular is one thing, but doing your homework is another. I seriously think LTK trusted Loh and How too much and they made a mess of the situation. There was also no party democracy in place, CSM, Pritam, Gerald Giam, PEH, or someone should have warned the party elders that this issue would be blown out of proportion by PAP.
Thinking back, I think PAP would have made the same mistakes in 1960s and 1970s when they first took over everything. But because there was no strong opposition in place then so maybe many things were not aired in public. But they grew and wise up.
The same applies for WP. It feels like after they won GE2011, they have slacked off. It feels like they slept on the job when it comes to managing the town council. But they must understand that PAP is waiting to pounce, so they must be prepared. If they don't come clean and clear up the air, they might suffer some votes in the next GE. This is the common feeling out there.
They won't lose Aljunied but the fight to win another GRC will be tough although many voters will continue to vote blue because they are pissed off with white dominance for too long.
Benjamin Kok
TRS Contributor