We were informed by residents of Sunshine garden in CCK of these recurring problems that is still left unsolved.
When there is a heavy rain the void deck of some blocks keep getting floods, this has happened quite a few times and it seems that nothing was done to it.
Although the flats are only a few months old, there are many units with the piping problem that gave the residents much headaches.
On one particular night many residents heard a big loud bang in the night and after which many units have a systematic looking hairline crack at the center of living room the cracks are aligned together with the bedrooms. They thought that these problems can’t be coincidental.
They had informed their town council and was referred instead to HDB and had told them that there is “nothing wrong” with this problem.
But why that PAP keep saying that this election is all about Town Council issues?
More than two years after a review was announced in May 2013, changes to the Town Councils Act (TCA) could be delayed if the elections are called.
This was revealed by the Minister of National Development, Khaw Boon Wan, who made the remarks last Thursday to the media but which were only reported on Monday, 17 August.
“Previously, I was hoping we can amend the Act within this year,” Mr Khaw said.
“But market talk is the election is just around the corner and, if so, I would not be able to meet this particular KPI (key performance indicator),” he added. “We have to wait until the next term of government.”
Khaw, Minister of MND
Mr Khaw is also the chairman of the People’s Action Party (PAP).
The review, Mr Khaw told Parliament in 2013, would include the councils’ duties and responsibilities in relation to HDB; the adequacy of their sinking funds and long-term financial sustainability; and the arrangements when town councils are handed over between MPs.
The review committee is being headed by the Senior Minister of State for National Development and Trade and Industry, Mr Lee Yi Shyan.
The review was called after a long debate took place when the Workers’ Party (WP) revealed that the computer system used by the former PAP-run Aljunied Town Council (ATC) in Aljunied GRC had been sold to a PAP-owned company, Action Information System (AIM).
AIM, with a paid-up capital of S$2, is headed by three former PAP members of parliament as directors. It does not seem to have any other staff, or a website.
Its mailing address is the same as the PAP’s headquarters in Bedok.
The computer system, which was being used by all PAP town councils, was built at a cost of some $25 million, but later sold to AIM for $140,000.
The co-ordinating chairman of the PAP town councils, Teo Ho Pin, explained that in 2010 [the PAP] had called an open tender to which AIM submitted the sole bid though five companies had collected the tender agreement.
After the system was sold to AIM, the 14 PAP town councils then leased back the system from it.
This raised questions about the transaction, which came just months before the elections of 2011 were called.
Former PAP stalwart and presidential candidate, Tan Cheng Bock, also queried the transactions, and said that they “beg a few questions… especially when the company may not serve, ‘due to material change’, an opposition ward.
Tan
“This software is developed using public funds by town councils. Is it right for the TCs to give up ownership in this manner?” he asked.
“So did the town councils as public institutions do the right thing, selling (the system) to a company owned by a political party with its own agenda?”
AIM also withdrew its services from the then new WP town council after the WP won the Aljunied GRC in the 2011 elections.
The public outcry over the saga – which many saw as being unfair to the WP – prompted the government to call for a review of the sale of the computer system.
The task was carried out by the Ministry of National Development (MND) itself which found no impropriety with the transaction, and said that “the AIM sale complied with regulations and there was no conflict of interest.”
However, the fact that the MND was the agency which carried out the review was also criticised, since the minister of the MND was also the chairman of the PAP which owned AIM.
A Straits Times report then said:
“It gave the all-clear, but some remain unconvinced by the finding that the deal is above board, MPs and experts said.
“One point of contention is why the company, Action Information Management (AIM), would take on a loss-making venture in 2010.
“AIM had said it was to help the PAP town councils, which had no takers for a near-obsolete software programme.
“But some think “this is too good to be true”, said MP Baey Yam Keng of Tampines GRC.
“While many were not surprised by the findings, most of the 50 polled felt that having the MND do the review affected public perception of the report’s finding, even if it was wholly objective.”
SINGAPORE: The National Solidarity Party (NSP) would run a town council by directly employing the staff they need, instead of engaging a subcontractor, if elected, the party’s acting secretary-general Hazel Poa said on Sunday (Aug 16).
Ms Poa was speaking in response to questions about Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean’s criticism of the Workers’ Party (WP) over its handling of financial management lapses at Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC).
“We should be focusing on issues and things that really affect Singaporeans’ lives,” Ms Poa said to the media, after a walkabout at Sembawang Group Representation Constituency (GRC). “We would also like to emphasise the point that electing Members of Parliament should be more than just estate management. After all it is ‘Member of Parliament’. Their primary role should be their contributions in Parliament to enact laws that affect the lives of every Singaporean.”
Ms Poa also declined to comment on the NSP’s slate of candidates, stating that the party will only reveal its 11 candidates for Tampines GRC, Sembawang GRC and Pioneer Single Member Constituency (SMC) – where it intends to contest in the upcoming General Election (GE) – at the end of the month. Nevertheless, the party could be heard introducing 39-year-old real estate agent Eugene Yeo and 35-year-old businessman Spencer Ng, who have also been participating in walkabouts in other constituencies, as potential candidates.
Possible NSP candidates Eugene Yeo (left) and Spencer Ng (right) on a walkabout in Sembawang GRC on Aug 16, 2015. (Photo: Hon Jing Yi / TODAY)
Ms Poa also commented on the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) candidates, noting that Mr Ong Ye Kung, who was a member of the PAP team that lost to WP in Aljunied GRC in the 2011 GE, has joined the ruling party’s slate for Sembawang GRC.
“We are glad to see that Ong Ye Kung is back to contest in the General Election despite the setback that he received in the last election. If you’re committed to serving Singaporeans, that’s the right spirit, although it would have been better if he had gone back to Aljunied to fight for the voters there,” Ms Poa said. “He contested there in the previous round and it was quite a close contest, so if he had gone back to Aljunied it would have better shown his commitment to serve his residents there.”
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean unleashed some of the sharpest verbal attacks in the election season so far when he took aim at the Worker’s Party handling of Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC).
It was meant to be a Meet-the-Media session before the “sound and fury” of the election overwhelms the fundamentals of choosing a candidate to secure Singapore’s future.
But the Minister of Home Affairs delivered some of the fury himself when he was asked about what his People’s Action Party (PAP) would do if it wins back Aljunied GRC.
The first priority for the PAP, if elected, would be to “go in and sort out the mess in the town council”, said Mr Teo.
The PAP’s first assistant secretary-general noted that under the PAP previously, Aljunied GRC and Punggol East SMC were running healthy surpluses before they were amalgamated into AHPETC.
Mr Teo said: “Now the whole AHPETC is in deficit. How did that happen? How did a large surplus turn into deficit? Where did the money go?”
Mr Teo even took a swipe at AHPTEC chairman Sylvia Lim for her recent Instagram post, which fuelled rumours of her possibly running in Fengshan SMC.
The photo showed Ms Lim sampling fried oyster omelette with the caption “The taste of Fengshan – heavenly! #reasontowin”.
Mr Teo said: “Now we see the chairman of the town council saying that Fengshan SMC looks quite delicious. What’s going to happen? You’re going to swallow up Fengshan? For what purpose? To serve the residents of Fengshan? Or is Fengshan delicious because you want to add it to the pot? And help the town council with the deficit?”
RISKS
Political analyst Eugene Tan said: “These potshots are clear indications that the gloves have come off even before the word go.
“PAP is clearly going on the offensive. Essentially, it is going for WP’s Achilles’ heel, which is the AHPETC issue.”
Added the associate law professor at Singapore Management University: “It appears that PAP will keep hammering home this matter… And this may instead be perceived to be patronising to voters.”
Meanwhile, Institute of Policy Studies senior research fellow Gillian Koh said this was an ongoing issue that will be brought up constantly throughout the hustings period.
“It is just inevitable that after four years, this issue will crop up, especially since PAP values accountability, transparency and honesty.”
Party veteran Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong was also in a fighting mood during a speech last night. (See report above.)
On the selection of MPs, he said: “At the very least, they must be able to run a town council in a transparent, accountable and responsible manner.”
Mr Teo said there is a difference between individual mistakes and major lapses in financial accounting. Armed with the Auditor-General Office report on the issue, he said it was a “blanket assessment that their financial accounts can’t be relied upon. That’s quite serious.”
That was why he could not leave it alone, he said.
When asked if voters would be turned off by PAP’s overly critical comments, he replied: “Well, I think it is an important issue and a fairly fundamental one. You want to say you are setting yourself up as an alternate government. You must be at least able to run a town council… We should not keep quiet about it.”
It is not only about competence, but also about integrity when choosing MPs, he said.
In the wide-ranging session, the DPM was also asked about WP leader Low Thia Kiang’s thinly veiled criticism when he asked if the departure of Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew was because he “has not been supported by his Cabinet colleagues”.
Mr Teo dismissed it as “crocodile tears”
He said: “I think it’s very characteristic of Mr Low to squeeze the most political mileage out of anything. I’m sure if his party had contested where Mr Lui stood, he wouldn’t be saying nice things about him.”
Recognising that the electorate would want opposition voices, he noted that the Constitution provided for nine opposition members in Parliament. He said: “Make sure you vote for a candidate and a party whom you really want to place your future in the hands of. Make sure they’re the ones you want to manage your money and your town council.”
“These potshots are clear indications that the gloves have come off even before the word go. PAP is clearly going on the offensive. Essentially, they are going for WP’s Archilles heel, which is the AHPETC issue.”
– Political analyst Eugene Tan, who warned that this tactic may backfire on the PAP
This election is about the future: DPM Teo
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said it is important to think of what the General Election (GE) is about.
THE FUTURE
“This election is about the future. It’s about setting down who the voters will select as their team to lead Singapore into the future.
“I’m not talking about the next five years. I’m talking about a good leadership team 20, 30 years into the future.”
“Good, stable, honest leadership with a heart for the people” is not a given, said DPM Teo.
THE LEADERSHIP
A “steady flow of good, able people” is crucial.
DPM Teo said that Singapore’s was the only system he knew of where politicians were actively searching for their successors as soon as they could.
It is not just a task for the Government, he said, urging Singaporeans to play an important role in choosing the next generation of leaders.
“If you reduce the number of people who can be on that team, you’re going to have a weaker team. The next Prime Minister, whoever he is, will have fewer people to choose from.
“It is not the PAP or the Government who will have a weaker team. Singapore will have a weaker team to advance Singapore’s interest on the international stage.”
THE TRACK RECORD
DPM Teo reflected on the PAP’s “track record of doing the right things” over the past 50 years. He said the foundation of various policies had been put in place years before.
He highlighted Workfare, implemented in 2007, as an example of a scheme that encouraged a “more inclusive society”, where everyone has an opportunity to “share in the prosperity of Singapore”.
On immigration, a sticky issue among Singaporeans, he said the Government had begun tightening controls even before the 2011 GE.
On retirement savings, DPM Teo said: “The CPF system is not new, but what we’ve done also is introduce more flexibility to cater for different people in different circumstances.
“There is more yet to be done, but you know it can be undone, too.”
The easiest thing to do is to be populist or rile people up, he said.
“Even I know how to do that.”
“It is much harder to work together” to make trade-offs that are balanced and nuanced.
THE TRUST
Acknowledging the changing characteristics of the electorates, who are now online-savvy and quick to respond, DPM Teo said it is important to “establish trust”.
“There is record of many years of building Singapore, working for Singapore and for Singaporeans.
“We hope that Singapore will be able to trust the PAP and the leadership.
A day after the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) submitted its overdue financial statements and report for FY2013, the Ministry of National Development (MND) issued a response, saying that the documents reinforced its concerns about the town council’s state of financial affairs.
The MND, noting that the statement and report — submitted on Tuesday (June 30) — were 10 months late and that AHPETC required repeated reminders, said it will study the report. But it pointed out the auditors engaged by AHPETC had disclaimers of opinion in their report — the third consecutive year the town council has received qualified statements from its independent auditors.
Audit Alliance, the auditors appointed by AHPETC, had flagged eight areas of concern, some of them similar to issues raised by the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) in its report on AHPETC accounts for FY12/13.
The auditors found that there was no segregation of duty between the person certifying invoices from FM Solution and Services (FMSS) for Managing Agent services, and the person approving related payment vouchers. AHPETC’s deputy general manager, who is a shareholder and director of FMSS, certified 12 invoices received from FMSS for Managing Agent services totalling S$2.1 million, and approved the related payment vouchers. The total value of related party transactions increased to S$8.5 million in FY13, from S$6.8 million in FY12.
The auditor also found that in the case of three tenders called, the Managing Agent failed to declare whether the specifications gave preference to any particular tenderer.
There was also no documentation on whether the tender specifications were approved by the Tenders and Contracts Committee of the town council.
AHPETC also breached the Town Council Financial Rules by failing to make transfers into the bank account of the sinking funds as required. Its transfers were up to 15 months late and errors were discovered in the computation only after the AGO audit.
And it paid for town improvement expenses out of its sinking fund, which is not allowed under the Town Councils Act.
The auditor also said it could not verify whether certain items in the accounts were accurate, such as the FY13 opening balance, and the completeness of the town council’s liabilities as at March 31 2014.
All town councils must submit their audited financial statements, auditors’ reports and annual reports to the MND by August 31 each year. These are then tabled to Parliament and a copy of the audited financial statements and any report made by the town council’s auditor is also forwarded to the Auditor-General.
The MND noted that AHPETC went from an annual operating surplus of S$1.1 million in FY11 to a deficit of S$1.53 million in FY12 and a deficit of S$2.01 million in FY13. The town council also previously understated the annual operating deficit in FY12 by half.
“AHPETC’s financial position has consistently deteriorated between FY11 and FY13, even though the (town council) received full government grants from MND during these three years,” the MND said. “AHPETC’s latest financial statements and reports reinforce MND’s existing concern about the (town council’s) state of financial affairs.”
