Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan has pointed out that Jurong-Clementi Town Council was quick to respond to municipal matters he raised during the July election while appearing to take its time responding to matters he has brought up after the election concluded, in a recent Facebook post.
Dr Chee has been actively raising municipal issues at Bukit Batok SMC for several years now, since he first contested the ward in the 2016 by-election. Dr Chee lost the contest in 2016 and stood at the ward once again in the 2020 general election.
During the 2020 election campaign period, the opposition leader circulated a flyer to Bukit Batok residents highlighting several municipal issues that appeared to have been overlooked in the single member ward.
JRTC, which manages Bukit Batok SMC, was quick to respond to the statements Dr Chee made and published detailed clarifications to his points in a statement published on its website on 6 July.
The election took place four days later, on 10 July. Despite a close fight, Dr Chee failed to clinch the ward with a vote share of 45.2 per cent – his personal best score in his entire political career.
After the GE, Dr Chee said he intended to remain in Bukit Batok SMC and re-contest the ward in the next election. He also launched a grassroots campaign to help Bukit Batok residents and began to raise funds for the initiative.
Continuing his regular walkabouts in the area, which he has been actively conducting since 2016, Dr Chee has highlighted several municipal issues that needed rectification to JRTC.
Dr Chee has now asked Bukit Batok residents to help check the progress of the work the town council promised to carry out in the statement it released during the election hustings. He wrote, in a Facebook post published on Friday (18 Sept):
“Dear BB residents, If you want to follow what the JRTC has done regarding the matters I raised about the various projects/incidents at Bukit Batok during the GE, you can visit the TC’s website in which they have a section called “Response to Dr Chee Soon Juan’s Statements”.
“Please help to check on the progress of the work that the TC has promised to carry out so that all our residents can be kept informed.”
In the same post, Dr Chee pointed out that JRTC has yet to provide updates on several more matters that he raised on behalf of Bukit Batok residents. Adding that he anticipates highlighting more issues in the future, he said:
“Dear JRTC, The updates of the matters in the above-mentioned section in your website is not complete. I have brought several more matters to your attention on behalf of BB residents following GE 2020. I anticipate that there will be more.”
Calling on JRTC to provide updates to the matters he brought up after the election, the veteran opposition politician stressed that the town council must be responsive to residents in and out of election season. Suggesting that a failure to do so could give rise to the notion that the authorities are only interested in drawing votes, Dr Chee said:
“Please also provide updates for these post-GE matters for the residents’ benefit. It is important that the TC is responsive to residents even after the GE. Otherwise, it may be construed that the authorities are only interested in appeasing voters during elections, only to neglect/ignore them after you get their vote.”
https://www.facebook.com/cheesoonjuan/posts/10160857684713849?__cft__[0]=AZV12IXQVIVVNG-fX3ESvILLZF5G6Nm0hxhhMQ4A95Dga-Y7jQTDJvuTDqkonFKx0MgB5f_v4CfW5qCulkX6L34LcnJBKaQjFrvpKFhBp-4loVMkn_aNsH2Y_elK0fbqLfTzwPDSpqK4taJW_HI9xMeIjM8QYTNtjlV–xwVqpl_zrstrFYbPPWQIalAO8ynGnE&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
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