SINGAPORE: The People's Action Party (PAP) team for the newly formed Sengkang GRC have made plans to set up a new town council in order to address "municipal issues" residents have highlighted, said PAP candidate Raymond Lye on Saturday (Jul 4).
Speaking in a Facebook Live session with the rest of PAP's candidates for Sengkang GRC, Mr Lye - who is a new face to the party - said Sengkang residents had told them that their feedback had not been dealt with at a speed they expect.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"As part of walkabouts and house visits the last one or two weeks, a recurring question has been that there are a number of municipal issues that Sengkang residents are concerned about. They relate to their requests or feedback that may not have been dealt with at the speed at which residents expect," said Mr Lye.
"So that's why our Sengkang PAP team has decided that we will bite the bullet and we will set up Sengkang town council, dedicated just to our Sengkang estates of Compassvale, Anchorvale and Rivervale."
Formed earlier this year, the new four-member GRC has more than 120,000 voters. It is made up of the former single seats of Sengkang West and Punggol East, as well as the Sengkang Central ward of Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC. The areas under the new GRC are Compassvale, Rivervale and Anchorvale.
Residents in the new GRC are currently served by two town councils: Compassvale and Rivervale are covered by Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council, while Anchorvale falls under Ang Mo Kio Town Council.
AdvertisementAdvertisement[h=3]READ: GE2020: PAP and WP to face off in new four-member Sengkang GRC[/h]Mr Lye said that while his priority is to minimise any inconvenice to residents while the town council is set up, there could be some "teething pains".
"This town council will be new, of course there will be some teething pains, but ... due to the fact that all four of us all have experience managing town councils, I'm hoping that it will be less painful," said Mr Lye.
He added that he expects the town council, with its sole focus on Sengkang, to be able to provide better service to residents.
Fellow PAP candidate for Sengkang Ng Chee Meng had outlined plans for the town council in a Facebook post on Thursday, saying that he expects the town council to be set up within three months, barring delays due to COVID-19.
The town council would look into building "more and better" community facilities such as playgrounds, covered linkways and gardens, said Mr Ng, who is Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office.
Touching on town development, fellow candidate Amrin Amin noted that there are three main groups of people with very "legitimate concerns". These are young families, senior residents as well as those in the "40s and 50s."
The team hopes to involve residents' input for the development of the town.
"We have some plans ... But we would also like to hear from you," said Mr Amrin .
"It's important that we co-create ... You can help us build this town together," he said.
Senior Minister of State for Health and Transport Lam Pin Min, who is part of the Sengkang GRC slate, added that the needs of the ground have been "slowly shifting" over the years.
He noted that there used to be high demand for childcare facilities in the past, but now there is more demand for elderly facilities.
Mr Ng is a former MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, while Mr Lam was the former MP for Sengkang West SMC and Mr Amrin a former MP for Sembawang GRC. Mr Lye chairs the Punggol East Citizens’ Consultative Committee (CCC).
They will face the Workers' Party's Dr Jamus Lim, Ms Raeesah Khan, Ms He Ting Ru and Mr Louis Chua.
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