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If PAPee Loses Jurong By-Elections, Shift YOG to AMK?

makapaaa

Alfrescian (Inf)
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Pity the Jurong residents for having to bear with the onging YOG shit!

Jurong gets pumped up for YOG
By Ong Dai Lin, TODAY | Posted: 29 August 2008 1104 hrs
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SINGAPORE: It is early days yet, but should one estate in Singapore be looking forward to the Youth Olympic Games in 2010 more than most? To Ong Yi Lun, 16, and other Jurong residents, the answer is an unequivocal yes.

Like most of those Today spoke to, the excitement is greater now that the Youth Olympic Village will be sited at nearby Nanyang Technological University (NTU). “The residents can hold activities for everyone to take part, to involve them in the Youth Olympics,” the Singapore Polytechnic student said.

But it is not just the Olympic buzz that people are looking forward to. From a spruced-up estate to better business, these are the possible benefits they hope will come their way. And the ideas on how to meet the YOG opportunity are already starting to take shape.

The management at Jurong Point is thinking of providing a free bus service between the Village and the shopping centre as well as a welcome pack that includes tenant discount vouchers, an orientation kit on the Jurong vicinity and a loyalty card to enable YOG participants to enjoy special privileges.

Nearly 5,000 athletes and officials will be expected to stay at the Village, which was originally supposed to be at the National University of Singapore’s upcoming University Town until spiralling construction costs forced the YOG organisers to shift the venue early this month.

When asked if SBS Transit would add or adjust bus routes in Jurong during the YOG, corporation communications vice-president Tammy Tan said: “We’re working with the event organiser with regards to their transport needs.”

But attracting YOG guests to the nearby estates may not be easy. Dining, retail, culture and other services will be located at the Village.

And while some small businesses in the Jurong area are hopeful, they are mostly uncertain about what they might gain. “Not a lot of NTU undergraduates shop in this area,” said Ms Imh Rahimah, who runs a mum-and-pop store.

Mr John Ong, who has operated his hair salon in Jurong for 16 years, told Today: “Maybe business will be better for the food stalls, but for the service line, I don’t think it will help much.”

Jurong GRC MP Halimah Yacob believes the small businesses need to think of strategies to attract people to shop in the area.

““I hope there will be spillover effects ... but this will not be automatic,” said Mdm Halimah, who nonetheless believes having the Village at NTU “will complement our efforts in developing Jurong as a hub”.

Not surprisingly, the most immediate benefits will be for NTU, which will be refurbished and upgraded.

Some of the upcoming works include air-conditioning of hostel bedrooms, upgrading of toilet and bathroom facilities and repairs to furniture and fixtures in the well-used hostels.

A spokeswoman from the Singapore YOG Organising Committee said these will be “part of the legacy that the Youth Olympic Games leaves behind”.

Undergraduates, while excited by the developments, do have a couple of concerns, though, such as their hostel arrangements during the Games. “We’re are also paying school fees so our needs should be prioritized,” said first-year business student Adamson Algan

Bruce Lee, another freshman, said: “I’m concerned that the hostel fees might go up after all the upgrading.”

NTU said it was too early to reveal details of its plans. Canteen vendors on campus, however, have already been warned that they may have to temporarily close their stalls.

“As far as I know, they want to close the canteen for one month. So they want us to propose the budget to see if they will compensate us because they might need this space to host the Olympic village,” said one operator who declined to be named.

“If they pay us, we don’t mind since it would be a month-long holiday.”

Perhaps, in a sporting event for the youth, it may just be the youths in the area who have the most to look forward to.

Juying Secondary principal Abdul Harris Sumardi said having the Village so near “provides an opportunity for the students to play good hosts to our guests”. - TODAY/sh
 
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