Source : screen capture YouTube.

Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) candidate for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC Paul Tambyah along with his SDP colleagues from the Ground Operations Unit visited the residents living in Blk 150 Petir Road to have a conversation on 16 August.

Dr Tambyah wrote that one of the residents told him that the lift in the middle of the block has not been repaired for more than two months. He said that he had called the Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council to find out when the lift would be repaired. However, the Town Council advised him to look for the sub-contractor responsible for the lift maintenance.

The resident said that he saw cleaners were cleaning the walls and the exterior of the malfunctioned lift that day, due to the anticipation of Foreign Affairs Minister and Member of Parliament for the constituency, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan’s visit the next day.

Dr Tambyah further commented on his post, asking if Dr Vivian will be able to give the residents an adequate answer as to why the lift has been left unrepaired for the past 2 months or so.

A day after Dr Tambyah posted his Facebook post, the lift was fixed.

The ruling party has traditionally used the upgrading projects, especially lifts as carrots for voters in the general election.

One such example is Mr Sitoh Yih Pin who represented People’s Action Party (PAP) to wrest the seat from veteran opposition politician Chiam See Tong by campaigning to upgrade the lift in the ageing ward. He won the seat on his third attempt in 2011 General Election.

 The MP for Potong Pasir visited the residents of eight low-rise blocks of flats on 2 August 2015, to share the news about the in-principle approval given in letters to 32 households that will get the lifts access despite the fact that the flats previously did not qualify for the upgrading due to small numbers of units to share the cost. This was just a month before the General Election 2015.

Mr Sitoh told the reporters that he “had been working very hard” to get the blocks included and hopes the construction work can begin in the first six months of 2017.

“I went to take a look at our manifesto in 2011,” he said. “We can put a tick to every box, we have fulfilled all the promises we have made.”
Mr Sitoh asked the residents for a chance to embark on “the next chapter” of his 10-year plan. “We know exactly what we need to do, and our manifesto is ready. We will unveil it when the hustings come,” he said.

However, for the past few years and recently, accidents involving lifts at HDBs have been increasing and being highlighted in the media.

In response to the incidents, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) announced on 8 July that new safety regulations for lifts and escalators will start on 25 July this year. (Read more about it here)

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