I will share about Peoples’ Association activities.
Parties, celebrations, goodie bags, free buffet spread. Grassroots have it well.
My question to Singaporeans, how many of you have participated or benefited from these? Little or none.
Do anyone realize, its always the same old gang or participants? Why? Die hard participants who benefits from everything.
One question we need to ask: Whose money are these?
The PAP strongest point, to which the oppositions are generally very weak in, is public funds.
Participants fear the loss of benefits. Volunteers shudder at the fact that their benefits run out (Free parking within this GRC or constituency, priority school application, HDB BTO after 3 years of service).
Last year’s Grassroots retreat by Sengkang West brought about the question of cost. Grassroots Leaders are given a subsidy of S$100 from Peoples’ Association and perhaps, additional ‘out of pocket’ subsidy from the Member of Parliament.
These are your money! Why are retreats overseas? Why not OBS? Or NTUC Chalet? Or cheaper locations like Batam or Bintan? Excuses like ‘Bonding’, ‘Appreciation’ etc. Do anyone realize these are the ground people for the PAP?
Have they heard your voice? Have they represented your concerns to the Government? Aren’t Grassroots Leaders supposed to link the people and the Government together? Ask yourself this question, when was the last time you saw your Grassroots Leader, other then them walking around?
Residents’ Committee are heavily subsidized by HDB and Peoples’ Association. Yet, we pay for the said courses. Ok, justified if they need to maintain the Center.
However, do anyone realize these RCs and CCC have surpluses of tens and some hundreds of thousand dollars? How did these money benefit the residents? Or did it benefit just a core group of individuals?
Singapore, there are many unanswered questions. No one to check on them, no one to question, no one to challenge. All these are kept away from the average Singaporean. Who justifies their balances? Will they be willing to display their accounts of each RC for residents knowledge?
Obviously no.
On the surface, Facebook post, media coverage on activities appears wonderful. My question would always be, how many residents actually benefited from it? In an average of 25,000 residents per constituency, an event that captures 100 participants is less than 0.5% of the population and the amount spent? A GRC event, say, 120,000 residents but participation figures? 1000? That is less than 1%!
Well, Singapore, please spend some time to think about it. The media appears to display huge participation. Well, think again. Its your money.
Singapore Son
Source: www.therealsingapore.com
