(Part 2)
In a Facebook post last Tuesday, Chief of the Workers’ Party (WP) Pritam Singh highlighted some “double standards” he thought the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) had when it came to upgrading projects.
He shared an example of a Barrier-Free-Access (BFA) ramp at Blk 108 Bedok Reservoir Road that “was finally handed over to the Town Council by the People’s Association this afternoon, seven years after it was first proposed”.
He added that the ramp that could have been built in months, took years to complete. Many could have benefitted from the ramp “but for how the PAP determines the People’s Association operates in opposition wards? Other proposals by opposition MPs for the community are commonly ignored by the People’s Association”.
In response, a People’s Association (PA) grassroots adviser Mr Chua Eng Leong hit back, calling Mr Pritam’s comments “unsubstantiated”.
Calling the WP Mp’s comments “politically divisive and factually inaccurate”, Chua added, “I have chosen to respond only so as to maintain a level of accountability to our residents and my fellow Singaporeans”.
Clarifying the points made by Pritam, he described the latter’s remarks as a “red herring”, a distraction from the issue of the opposition party’s accountability in the light of a recent High Court verdict, which found Mr Pritam and fellow Aljunied GRC MPs Low Thia Khiang and Sylvia Lim liable for damages suffered by Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) and Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council.
Justice Kannan Ramesh had described what Mr Low and Ms Lim did as “inexcusable” and “egregious”, and said “they were expected to not subordinate the interests of AHTC, not to mention their statutory and fiduciary duties, to their own political interests”.
Chua wrote, “we should not forget that accountability should be across the board and where parties have been found to be in breach of their fiduciary duties, they should similarly provide the same level of accountability to our fellow Singaporeans”.
He also added that, “Instead of engaging in an online debate, I urge everyone to remember our priority is to our fellow Singaporeans and we should focus on accountability to them and not debate on a completed barrier-free access ramp, which is but a mere red herring,” he said. -/TISG