Workers’ Party (WP) secretary-general has revealed how his duties as town councillor at Aljunied GRC helped him teach his daughter about the importance of respecting and being grateful to those who keep Singapore clean.
In a Facebook post published yesterday (12 Sept), Mr Singh – a father of two girls – revealed that his elder daughter accompanied him as he went with the Town Council staff and their pest control contractor to monitor the rodent situation in the Eunos division of Aljunied GRC.
Mr Singh wrote that there has been a rise in the number of burrows and rat sightings at some blocks in the Eunos over the last few months before the number of sightings dropped this month. He explained:
“There are always some rats in the estate at any given time. The presence of a food source at rubbish bins/chutes feed the problem. But the issue is aggravated by residents who feed pigeons and other animals too. When the birds and pigeons etc. have eaten to their little hearts’ delight, the rats step forward. Some inconsiderate residents also throw food out their kitchen windows. On today’s menu – Bao! But probably not fresh!
“The HDB has been carrying out major carpark repair works at most of the open carparks in Eunos – the construction drilling/vibration could also have displaced rats resulting in more frequent sightings. We sighted some rat burrows within construction sites. The TC will drop a note to the HDB carpark upgrading contractor to carry out rodent treatment at common areas under their control.”
Revealing that his young daughter was “looking forward to this evening’s adventures” since she thought the rats would be like the cute mice she has seen in storybooks, Mr Singh said:
“For some reason, she thought the rats I was talking about were the cute white ones in the picture books she borrows from the library. That was until she saw a nice big fat rat crawl into a blue recycling bin from a hole at the bottom of the bin!”
The evening also helped Mr Singh discuss the importance of respecting cleaners with his daughter. He recounted:
“Apart from a conversation about Mr Cockroach and Mr Rat on the ride home, my daughter and I talked about always respecting the aunties and uncles who keep our homes and country clean. We must always help them by disposing our litter properly and being grateful to them for the honest work they do.”
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