SINGAPORE: In a social media post on Monday morning (Aug 12), Workers’ Party Member of Parliament Jamus Lim (Sengkang GRC) addressed the issue of cleanliness in wards held by the opposition.
Mentioning that his team’s most recent engagement sessions had been held at the Cape and Grove clusters, he wrote that a specific issue that residents occasionally bring up is the quality of cleaning in the common areas.
After the WP slate won at Sengkang GRC during the General Election of 2020, they eventually replaced the cleaning contractor in the area.
“What may surprise some to learn is that we actually receive about as much feedback that standards have risen, as much as fallen” since the replacement took place, wrote Assoc Prof Lim.
He then went on to list several reasons for this, including the perception that cleaning is not as good or thorough in opposition-run wards.
Assoc Lim wrote, “Some quick reflection will be sufficient to dispel this notion. After all, we don’t actually immediately change the cleaners (or cleaning company) after a handover; contracts have to be completed, and in the meantime, the cleaners remain unchanged.”
He added that nearly every one of the cleaning contractors working for them operates at a national level, with some serving in public facilities such as schools, hospitals, and airports. Others serve in constituencies held by the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).
Assoc Prof Lim also wrote that walking around neighbourhoods in Singapore would quickly show that “there’s little reason to believe that there are systematic differences in cleanliness” between PAP and opposition-held wards.
He added that one of the reasons that WP MPs go on their weekly estate walks is to ensure that standards remain high in the communities they oversee.
However, he also said that changes in a particular cleaner could also result in differences in the quality of cleaning, and even when MPs endeavour to ensure conservancy teams hold to high standards, there would inevitably be differences in cleaners’ performances.
“What we do is to collate feedback—both from residents as well as our property officers (and the MP!)—and when it’s clear that a particular cleaner is slacking, we take a series of actions to remedy the situation,” he added.
He explained that these include warnings and fines, and at worst, the cleaner is replaced.
He added an assurance that he and his colleagues at Sengkang are always working to improve the quality of estate management, writing:
“We know this is important to our residents, and no issue is too small for us to try our best in making the day-to-day lives of the people we serve a little bit better.” /TISG
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