Newly elected WP team from Sengkang GRC to run town council on its own, Latest Singapore News - The New Paper
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Newly elected WP team from Sengkang GRC to run town council on its own

This article is more than 12 months old

The newly elected Sengkang GRC MPs from the Workers' Party (WP) have informed the Ministry of National Development they intend to run the new Sengkang Town Council on its own, without merging with any other constituency.

In a Facebook post yesterday to update residents on developments, WP's Sengkang team leader He Ting Ru said she would chair the new town council.

She noted that her team had written to both Ang Mo Kio Town Council (AMKTC) and Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council (PRPTC) on July 11 to request a preliminary meeting to discuss the handover.

The Anchorvale ward in the new GRC is currently managed by AMKTC, while the Punggol East and Sengkang Central areas are overseen by PRPTC.

Last Wednesday, the WP team made a specific request for copies of the contracts for managing agent services and use of town council management software to be provided to them as soon as possible, Ms He said.

"PRPTC, whom we understand to be coordinating the handover with AMKTC, suggested a virtual meeting on Friday, July 17," she added.

Ms He said her team repeated their request for copies of the contracts at the virtual meeting last Friday.

They also asked for an in-person meeting soon to further discuss the handover and get a briefing on operational matters relating to both town councils.

The 37-year-old lawyer had led a team comprising economics professor Jamus Lim, 44, social enterprise founder Raeesah Khan, 26, and equity research analyst Louis Chua Kheng Wee, 33, to victory in the July 10 polls.

They secured 52.12 per cent of the votes in Sengkang GRC, defeating a People's Action Party team led by labour chief Ng Chee Meng.

In 2011, the WP had merged the town councils for Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC following the general election, after the opposition party made history by winning the group representation constituency.

The WP also added Punggol East to the town council after winning the single seat in the 2013 by-election.

STANDALONE

After GE2020, WP chief Pritam Singh had said the party's preference was to run Sengkang as a standalone town council, as it had sufficient economies of scale.

Ms He noted that some Sengkang residents have been calling the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council to report estate matters. She told residents they should still report estate matters and pay service and conservancy charges to AMKTC and PRPTC until further notice, as these town councils are still in charge of managing the Housing Board estates in Sengkang.

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