Opposition candidates offer upgrading plans
SDA, NSP candidates promise new facilities in Punggol East, Whampoa
By Zakir Hussain & Jeremy Au Yong
ESTATE upgrading plans used to be the exclusive purview of People's Action Party candidates, but at least two opposition candidates have made pre-election upgrading promises part of their pitch to residents.
In Punggol East, Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) secretary-general Desmond Lim printed leaflets with artist's impressions of his plans for the single-seat ward.
The plans, which he intends to distribute to all households, include a recreation centre with an open-air cinema and satay club along Sungei Serangoon, cycling tracks, and old folks' corners.
In Whampoa, National Solidarity Party (NSP) candidate Ken Sun has listed his plans on cards that he distributes to residents during house visits.
His goal is to build more public amenities, including a polyclinic, library and swimming pool. He also plans to form vigilante teams to patrol the estates and visit elderly residents regularly to see to their safety and needs.
All this is intended to help lift the profile of Whampoa, which is often perceived as an ageing and laid-back town.
While incumbent opposition MPs Chiam See Tong in Potong Pasir and Low Thia Khiang in Hougang have made estate improvements part of their platforms, opposition candidates heading into an election have rarely put forth concrete proposals on what they will do.
But this time, newcomers to single-seat wards, like Mr Lim, hope that offers of specific estate improvement plans will lift their electoral chances.
'It shows that we are serious about managing and improving their living environment,' he said.
The funds for such improvements will come from the town council, he said, adding that he has had over 10 years of experience as a councillor in Potong Pasir.
As for Mr Sun, he said he will lobby government agencies and work with voluntary welfare organisations to get facilities like a polyclinic, or at least a medical centre with services at subsidised prices.
Last month, Mr Heng Chee How, the PAP MP for the Whampoa ward of Jalan Besar GRC, announced a $90 million upgrading plan for the estate, including a facelift for ageing flats.
Over at Potong Pasir, Mrs Lina Chiam, who is preparing to contest in the seat held by her husband since 1984, has also made it a point to talk about the facilities she hopes to add to the estate.
Key on her list are a polyclinic, a day-care centre for the elderly, and a multi-storey carpark.
As Potong Pasir Town Council funds will be tied up to co-pay for lift upgrading programmes, she hopes to be able to tap on funding from the Community Improvement Projects Committee (CIPC).
The CIPC provides funds for projects initiated by the Citizens' Consultative Committees and which are supported by the grassroots advisers - who are generally the MPs, except in the case of opposition-held wards.
But at least one candidate is not offering an upgrading plan as a carrot.
Mr Nazem Suki, the SDA candidate for Radin Mas, said the PAP has done 'a wonderful job' upgrading ageing infrastructure in the ward's old housing estates.
'But that is just the hardware,' he said. 'We will focus on improving the software for the destitute and the elderly. We want to upgrade those.'
But Mr Michael Palmer, the PAP MP in the Punggol East ward of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, wondered if some of the upgrading projects being offered by the opposition candidates are workable.
'It's very easy to come up with ideas that sound attractive, but there are two issues that voters need to consider: actual implementation and feasibility,' he said.
'Can you implement it? Will it be a disamenity rather than an amenity, and is it sustainable?'
Mr Palmer is expected to face Mr Lim in Punggol East, which has been carved out as a single-seat ward by the committee that reviewed the electoral boundaries.
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SDA, NSP candidates promise new facilities in Punggol East, Whampoa
By Zakir Hussain & Jeremy Au Yong
ESTATE upgrading plans used to be the exclusive purview of People's Action Party candidates, but at least two opposition candidates have made pre-election upgrading promises part of their pitch to residents.
In Punggol East, Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) secretary-general Desmond Lim printed leaflets with artist's impressions of his plans for the single-seat ward.
The plans, which he intends to distribute to all households, include a recreation centre with an open-air cinema and satay club along Sungei Serangoon, cycling tracks, and old folks' corners.
In Whampoa, National Solidarity Party (NSP) candidate Ken Sun has listed his plans on cards that he distributes to residents during house visits.
His goal is to build more public amenities, including a polyclinic, library and swimming pool. He also plans to form vigilante teams to patrol the estates and visit elderly residents regularly to see to their safety and needs.
All this is intended to help lift the profile of Whampoa, which is often perceived as an ageing and laid-back town.
While incumbent opposition MPs Chiam See Tong in Potong Pasir and Low Thia Khiang in Hougang have made estate improvements part of their platforms, opposition candidates heading into an election have rarely put forth concrete proposals on what they will do.
But this time, newcomers to single-seat wards, like Mr Lim, hope that offers of specific estate improvement plans will lift their electoral chances.
'It shows that we are serious about managing and improving their living environment,' he said.
The funds for such improvements will come from the town council, he said, adding that he has had over 10 years of experience as a councillor in Potong Pasir.
As for Mr Sun, he said he will lobby government agencies and work with voluntary welfare organisations to get facilities like a polyclinic, or at least a medical centre with services at subsidised prices.
Last month, Mr Heng Chee How, the PAP MP for the Whampoa ward of Jalan Besar GRC, announced a $90 million upgrading plan for the estate, including a facelift for ageing flats.
Over at Potong Pasir, Mrs Lina Chiam, who is preparing to contest in the seat held by her husband since 1984, has also made it a point to talk about the facilities she hopes to add to the estate.
Key on her list are a polyclinic, a day-care centre for the elderly, and a multi-storey carpark.
As Potong Pasir Town Council funds will be tied up to co-pay for lift upgrading programmes, she hopes to be able to tap on funding from the Community Improvement Projects Committee (CIPC).
The CIPC provides funds for projects initiated by the Citizens' Consultative Committees and which are supported by the grassroots advisers - who are generally the MPs, except in the case of opposition-held wards.
But at least one candidate is not offering an upgrading plan as a carrot.
Mr Nazem Suki, the SDA candidate for Radin Mas, said the PAP has done 'a wonderful job' upgrading ageing infrastructure in the ward's old housing estates.
'But that is just the hardware,' he said. 'We will focus on improving the software for the destitute and the elderly. We want to upgrade those.'
But Mr Michael Palmer, the PAP MP in the Punggol East ward of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, wondered if some of the upgrading projects being offered by the opposition candidates are workable.
'It's very easy to come up with ideas that sound attractive, but there are two issues that voters need to consider: actual implementation and feasibility,' he said.
'Can you implement it? Will it be a disamenity rather than an amenity, and is it sustainable?'
Mr Palmer is expected to face Mr Lim in Punggol East, which has been carved out as a single-seat ward by the committee that reviewed the electoral boundaries.
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