SPP rebukes PM Lee’s insinuation that Potong Pasir residents are “short changed”
November 5th, 2009 | 
Author: From our Correspondent
The usually quiet Singapore People’s Party has written to the Straits Times to rebuke Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s insinuation that Potong Pasir residents are “short changed” by its administration there.
During a recent PAP convention held last Sunday, PM Lee was asked by a Potong Pasir resident if the PAP has any plans to win back the constitutency from opposition MP Chiam See Tong.
PM Lee replied that the problem had to be looked at in a ‘detached way’, and that no easy solution existed.
While there is the need to look after those in Potong Pasir who voted for the PAP, the party must be careful not to be taken advantage of, he said, recalling the 2006 election.
“We took the approach of doing more for the opposition wards so they would be grateful and vote for the PAP. And Mr Chiam went around saying, ‘Why don’t you continue voting for me? Then you’ll have two MPs for the price of one’. After the experience, it was decided that the PAP would change the way it treated Potong Pasir,” he added.
Mr Wilfred Leung, a Councillor with the Potong Pasir Town Council and a Executive member of the Singapore People’s Party wrote a letter to the Straits Times Forum today disputing PM Lee’s claims.
He wrote that since the last election, Potong Pasir Town Council has been working hard to implement upgrading programmes to enhance Potong Pasir, bringing residents many benefits and more convenience.
“Major repair and redecoration works included the latest precinct in Lorong 8 Toa Payoh. Covered walkways have been built in Toa Payoh, including one that links Potong Pasir MRT station to Block 147, where Mr Sitoh Yih Pin did not renew maintenance on the solar-powered lamps after he lost the election. The town council replaced 22 lifts for free just before the recent announcement of HDB’s Lift Upgrading Programme,” he added.
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin is the losing PAP candidate for Potong Pasir. Before the 2006 elections, he held weekly “shark-fin” soup breakfasts for the residents and installed solar-powered lamps along the pavements in order to win their support.
After he lost the election to Mr Chiam See Tong, the incumbent MP by a margin of less than 10 per cent, he discontinued the breakfast sessions. The lamps were also not maintained which he pushed the responsibility to the Town Council.
Though Mr Sitoh is not the official MP of Potong Pasir, he is still able to “serve” its residents as an appointed ”grassroots adviser” of the PAP which controls all the government agencies.
Mr Wilfred Leung pointed the unfair advantage enjoyed by Mr Sitoh cryptically:
“The Singapore People’s Party (SPP), which administers the Meet-the-People sessions and mobilises alternative grassroots volunteers, does not have Mr Sitoh’s advantage in tapping the resources of South East CDC or Potong Pasir Community Centre.”
The PAP caused a major furore lately when it got its two grassroots advisers in the two opposition-controlled wards to announce the Lift Upgrading Program (LUP) to give the impression that they are responsible for it.
A few irate writers bombarded the National Development Ministry and HDB with questions on why the LUP was not implemented by the MPs instead.
The National Development Ministry gave a lame reply through its press secretary Lim Yuin Chien that opposition MPs are not “accountable” to the government and therefore not “obliged” to be involved.
Mr Lim’s arguments contradicts the Town Councils Act (CAP 329A) which stipulates clearly that the minister have to work with the respective Town Councils from beginning to the end of the upgrading program.
The Temasek Review had written a letter to Minister Mah Bow Tan, who incidentally lost Potong Pasir to Mr Chiam See Tong in the 1984 general elections, but has yet to receive a reply from him.
Related articles:
>> PM Lee: PAP will not be taken advantage of again in Potong Pasir
>> Town Councils Act (CAP 329A): Govt have to work with Town Councils
>> Temasek Review writes to Mah Bow Tan seeking clarification on Town Councils Act
>> Grassroots advisers should be independent of party interests
>> MND continues to throw smoke bombs over role of PAP grassroots advisers
>> A rebuttal to MND: Why Mah Bow Tan is wrong on upgrading
>> LUP has to be implemented through government channels
>> Low Thia Kiang strikes back at HDB and PA
>> Lame reply by HDB and PA on why LUP are announced by PAP losers
>> Mah Bow Tan:” I don’t expect non-PAP MPs to explain LUP”
>> Eric Low rapped for stealing limelight of Low Thia Kiang
>> Eric Low claimed credit for bringing LUP to Hougang
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Posted in Editorial
PAP had always taken the stand that the taxpayer money is the PAP money. I cannot understand why a taxpayer’s rights is to these money is diminish because that ward is helm by someone not from the PAP. There’s no need to send a ghost “MP” to “help”. Why don’t they let the opposition do their job, if they cannot make it then call a by-election, beat them, kick them out and rescue the taxpayers in distress.
LHL still didn’t learn the lesson why he lost Potong Pasir. He kept thinking that material and money can easily bribe a person to vote for him. Buying vote in Singapore is illegal and unethical and will not do Singapore any good. Potong Pasir and Hougang residents knew that. Thus he needs to go back to his school and take civic lessons to conduct himself properly in the coming elections. Anyway, he has yet to see the worst and stop being too self-confident about himself. I already have no confident in him on dealing with immigration policies and non-solution in global crisis, let alone his ministers calling Singaporeans lesser mortals and what not.
When will they ever grow up? When the people of PP voted against them, they are telling them clearly that the obscene offer of $100 million upgrading with our money is unacceptable and a form of corruption. Instead of learning from this episode they apparently tried to do the people of PP in including those who voted for them.
How infantile to stop the breakfast and not maintain the lamps!
Meanwhile who is paying for all these breakfast and lamps? The citizens of Singapore. They continue to collect taxes from the residents of PP and HG.
The PAP better grow up and behave in a civilised way. Otherwise they will soon be out of the window.
LHL is absolutely correct. Residents of Potong Pasir has been short changed all these years and by who har??
Based on the latest MND’s comments it seems that the people who has short changed Potong Pasir residents are the very same Papaya grassroots since the MP is not responsible for decisions taken like HDB upgrading. So the opposition MP has been vindicated, in fact all Singaporeans should take note of this since voting in a Papaya or Opposition no longer have any consequence if your HDB gets upgrades according to MND.
Shame on you Papaya grassroot leaders for failing to do your job and ensuring that residents of Potong Pasir receive what they should have all these long years.
Three cheers to MND for coming out clean on this.
I think Miss Lim Yuin Chien of MND and Mr Sitoh need to take a walk in the estate before forming any judgement . They are simply lazy ducks that cared more for their salaries than the welfare of the people and their country.
what the fish, your comments are too narrow. take a walk in Potong pasir and you will notice that the place is old but very well maintained and looked after. Compared to the new and sparkling estates i noticed there are rats and cockroaches . this is thanks to the foreign talented cleaners that the govt has brought in and the managers of the town councils.
Even dout U votes for this PAP ellites they’re just interseted to look out how many zero in their Bank Account. They Boh Jasp Seow U people. Go hungry or pay untill broke.
Question for Mr Sitoh: Who paid for the sharks fin breakfast and solar lamps? You, the PAP or the PA? I believe if they are being paid for by the PA for your own political and PAP’s objectives, this tantamounts to corruption somthing the government does not tolerate. Even photocopying for your own use is corruption!
You look very generous giving such freebies, but please account for whose money you are spending.
Animal rights groups all over the world are fighting to stop the killing of sharks for its fins and here you have Mr Sitoh giving out free shark’s fin breakfast. what a utter disgrace !!