Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim took to social media to talk about on-the-ground concerns he’s been involved with, including upcoming next repairs and redecoration.
He admitted that while there’s some merit in the conviction of those who say that “MPs should not be bogged down by town council matters, but rather focus on issues of national importance, leaving estate management to professionals,” he made the case for the significance of day to day, on the groundwork that MPs participate in.
The Sengkang GRC Member of Parliament wrote that he shares the view of WP chief and Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh “that estate administration lends us invaluable experience—while also lending confidence—that #workersparty MPs are more than capable of exercising successful oversight of town councils (as well as, by extension, other arms of government).”
Assoc Prof Lim began his post by writing that he had spent several hours walking around with the Anchorvale property and project manager, talking about improvements on several clusters which had been delayed because of the pandemic but were now proceeding.
He acknowledged the concerns of those who believe Members of Parliament should focus on the bigger picture, writing, “After all, we have finite hours in the day, and time spent on the nitty-gritty of the estate does take away from our time devoted toward working on policy matters of national concern.”
However, he underlined that on-ground work is “both meaningful and important.”
And since most residents “see everything as part of the public commons,” he added that MPs “should at least ensure that the appropriate agency takes on the matter, and try our level best to close the loop on cases presented to us.”
And more importantly, having MPs constantly on the ground “means that we would have developed a keen understanding of niggling problems, along with a fresh perspective.
Indeed, we have tackled some longstanding (and seemingly intractable) bugbears, and taken a crack at resolving them.”
He added that because residents have voted for them, they trust the WP MPs to address their both big and small concerns.
“We gain precious insight into these during our house visits, estate walks, and meet-the-people sessions. If we do not take an active involvement in helping with the small improvements that make their lives matter, then our job would be, at best, incomplete,” wrote the MP.
/TISG
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