Judging Town Councils by Their Cheque Books

The title is somewhat of a misnomer but to be honest, some what apt considering that this month has been quite conceivably one of the worst in PAP’s history. Here’s a quick recap:

• Failure to secure a major public transport installation
• Awkward timing with national building press beginning with the printing of a forum letter from a resident in Potong Pasir commenting on its deplorable state, culminating with the release of Town Council Management Report
• A second “once every 50 years” freak flooding incident in Orchard Road

Let’s address each in turn. First, thank heaven/fate that the SMRT depot was breached by a vandal with artistic inclinations rather than a terrorist. Second, rather than meet a surprisingly aggressive opposition MP’s line of questioning on the correlations of precinct upgrading and town council performance, Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan deferred to his junior appointee Ms. Grace Fu. Third, all due apologies to Mr. Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, whether it’s poetic destiny or pure bad luck, we had our second “once every 50 years” freak flood, this time in the proud heart of Singapore’s tourist unique selling point- the sale friendly and lux-store lined Orchard Road.

I guess we can all share the blame on the first. A combination of a lack of imagination (ala September 11 attacks) and complacency, we had considered the MRT stations as potential targets but forgotten to watch the depots from where all trains are maintained and prepared for their daily duty of transport for the citizens. The second, is a little trickier.

I’m a Thomsoner. I’m quite proud of my town/district/GRC, it’s close to the park, close to work and more importantly- clean. I don’t really care that there’s a mayor, I’m not sure we need one, I’ve never voted for Mr. Wong Kan Seng, I’m sure he’s not the mayor; overall, I’m just glad that things work in my estate. The roads are swept, the corridors are clean and the neighbours are equally glad to ignore you and be ignored. With political apathy in abundance, there’s never a need to discuss town issues that affect each of our families, having a walkover each election for the past 20 years means that we don’t really care when the beautiful red cement bricks of Sin Ming Court apartments are painted red. We only know that someone is spending the money gleaned from monthly conservancy charges but absolutely no say on how it’s spent and/or how it’s invested. According to Mr. Khaw Boon Wan’s 2008 Straits Times quote, we have $2 billion in sinking funds within PAP’s 14 town councils. I assume (conservatively) that’s $1.9 billion more than what Potong Pasir or Hougang has. Additionally, Sin Ming Court is about to embark on an upgrading program and so naturally, we’re quite psyched about it. Here’s the billion dollar question- if the playgrounds (with safety foam padding) and well equipped exercise corners (of which I’m a heavy user) within the Sin Ming grounds are kept in such pristine condition, do we really need the upgrades? Especially when older estates (Potong Pasir and Hougang) but nevertheless districts within Singapore could probably use the improvements much more than we could?

Not one turn away from the creature comforts and amenities that I’ve enjoyed living in an uncontested ward belonging to the PAP, but I have to wonder if the folks that continue to live, choose to live and persist in voting for opposition parties in opposition wards see something that I don’t?

I understand from National Service and having platoon mates from opposition wards that if we were to go to war, it won’t just be soldiers from Bishan-Toa Payoh, Tanjong Pagar, Ang Mo Kio or Marine Parade that would be fighting for Singapore. It would all of us, why the perceived discrimination against Potong Pasir or Hougang? Would they be exempt?

Truth of the matter is, I would be arrogant to say that I understand that implications and complexities of the global war on terror, I’m more than content to leave the protection of key installations to my betters, the experts who serve at the ruling party’s leisure and so when key Islamic radicals like Mas Salemat escape and get captured by a police force far incompetent than ours (try jogging in Indonesia past midnight), my faith is a little shaken. When the realisation sets in that Swiss graffiti artist could just as easily be Swiss-born mujahedeen convert on a mission to seed trains with bombs that make trains go boom, my faith is tested yet again. But what does a civilian know concerning matters of national security? When I look at the town council report, I understand the causal relationships between wealth of a town council and support from the PAP means that my wards and wards like mine will be well taken care of, after all, Mr. Mah himself was quoted in June 2006 that “it’s only fair that PAP wards get priority”. However it does bother me- when it comes to taxes that subsidise our upgrading, do we not use the tax contributions of other Singaporeans including those in opposition-held districts?

And on the third, a quote from 2007 comes to mind, "Think not of the ministerial pay hike in terms of dollars and cents, but about the kind of Singapore that you want," said Environment and Water Resources Minister Dr Yaacob Ibrahim. I would want a kind of Singapore where my Hermes Birkins are not under threat of flooding, my Wendy’s burgers a little less watery and hopefully, Bishan – Toa Payoh (one of the top scorers) would not “runneth” over within the next 50 years.