GE: Reform Party unveils 5-year plan for West Coast GRC
By Satish Cheney | Posted: 04 May 2011 1657 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Reform Party (RP) has announced an ambitious five-year plan for West Coast GRC, including a slew of initiatives and facilities for the area.
The party said it has been meeting residents of West Coast GRC for about two years, collecting feedback on what can be improved in their area.
It added it wants to form a "Reform Committee" and work with the current Residents' Committees to "revitalise" the ward.
It said the Reform Committee's priorities will focus on:
- Building strong cohesive local communities
- Enhancing inter-generational ties
- Tackling issues of poverty, health and unemployment
- Improving performance in estate management
- Enhancing infrastructure
- Providing more recreational and cultural facilities
- Providing more local markets
- Creating a greener, cleaner environment
- Improving traffic links and accessibility and dealing with congestion due to poor planning decisions
- Install disabled and mobility challenged access across the West Coast area, starting with public buildings and facilities
- Help people achieve their potential through sports, arts and volunteerism
Among its plans are more parking lots, sports amenities as well as centres for senior citizens and children.
The party also wants to help foreign workers integrate, engage more cleaning contractors to maintain particular estates and build a wet market in Telok Blangah.
The party's leader said RP wants to study whether there are sufficient markets and supermarkets for residents in the GRC.
Kenneth Jeyaretnam, RP candidate for West Coast GRC and RP secretary-general, said: "For instance, in the UK, the Competition Commission will look at whether there are too few supermarkets of one particular company operating in a particular area and will look at the effect this has on prices.
"(If) you have fewer supermarkets in a particular area, you can usually find it has a statistically significant effect on pricing."
He added that the projects will be funded by the town council, and he wants to make sure its investments are not risky.
"We would want to adopt as prudent a stance as possible, so reducing the proportion invested in higher risk investments, probably zero in equities, mostly on fixed deposits and government securities," he said.
Besides West Coast GRC, The Reform Party is also contesting Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's Ang Mo Kio GRC. Some of its plans for that constituency include maintenance for some of the older flats as well as a 24-hour service centre for the needy.
When asked about Prime Minister Lee's apology to Singaporeans at a rally on Tuesday, Mr Jeyaretnam said: "It's good that he has apologised. Let's move on."
- CNA/al
By Satish Cheney | Posted: 04 May 2011 1657 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Reform Party (RP) has announced an ambitious five-year plan for West Coast GRC, including a slew of initiatives and facilities for the area.
The party said it has been meeting residents of West Coast GRC for about two years, collecting feedback on what can be improved in their area.
It added it wants to form a "Reform Committee" and work with the current Residents' Committees to "revitalise" the ward.
It said the Reform Committee's priorities will focus on:
- Building strong cohesive local communities
- Enhancing inter-generational ties
- Tackling issues of poverty, health and unemployment
- Improving performance in estate management
- Enhancing infrastructure
- Providing more recreational and cultural facilities
- Providing more local markets
- Creating a greener, cleaner environment
- Improving traffic links and accessibility and dealing with congestion due to poor planning decisions
- Install disabled and mobility challenged access across the West Coast area, starting with public buildings and facilities
- Help people achieve their potential through sports, arts and volunteerism
Among its plans are more parking lots, sports amenities as well as centres for senior citizens and children.
The party also wants to help foreign workers integrate, engage more cleaning contractors to maintain particular estates and build a wet market in Telok Blangah.
The party's leader said RP wants to study whether there are sufficient markets and supermarkets for residents in the GRC.
Kenneth Jeyaretnam, RP candidate for West Coast GRC and RP secretary-general, said: "For instance, in the UK, the Competition Commission will look at whether there are too few supermarkets of one particular company operating in a particular area and will look at the effect this has on prices.
"(If) you have fewer supermarkets in a particular area, you can usually find it has a statistically significant effect on pricing."
He added that the projects will be funded by the town council, and he wants to make sure its investments are not risky.
"We would want to adopt as prudent a stance as possible, so reducing the proportion invested in higher risk investments, probably zero in equities, mostly on fixed deposits and government securities," he said.
Besides West Coast GRC, The Reform Party is also contesting Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's Ang Mo Kio GRC. Some of its plans for that constituency include maintenance for some of the older flats as well as a 24-hour service centre for the needy.
When asked about Prime Minister Lee's apology to Singaporeans at a rally on Tuesday, Mr Jeyaretnam said: "It's good that he has apologised. Let's move on."
- CNA/al
