As part of the handover process of Sengkang Town Council, Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC MP-elect Janil Puthucheary said that his team has sent all the documents including details about the managing agents and computer systems which were requested by Workers’ Party (WP)’s He Ting Ru.
Writing on his Facebook page early today (21 July), Dr Janil noted that his team has just finished clearing all the e-MPS (Meet-the-People) cases and enquiries from residents. He went on to say that his colleague has sent all the documents to Ms He on Monday evening as part of the handover to Sengkang Town Council
“Earlier this evening my colleague Mr Sharael Taha sent to Ms He Ting Ru all the documents that she had requested on the 18th of July as part of the handover to Sengkang TC.”
According to Dr Janil, the documents sent to Ms He included details about the managing agents, computer systems, horticulture services, conservancy contractors, pest control, as well as the information about the households in the area and a list of contracts that are due to expire in the next six months.
He also mentioned that the Ang Mo Kio Town Council (AMKTC) have done the same to ensure that the transition of town council is smooth.
“I understand my colleagues at Ang Mo Kio Town Council have also done the same. We will work together to make sure the transition to the SKTC team is smooth,” he wrote.
Prior to this, Dr Janil has said on his Facebook on Sunday that the Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council (PRPTC) and AMKTC are “ready to carry out a smooth handover to Sengkang Town Council as soon as Sengkang Town Council is ready, in the interest of residents.”
He was responding to Ms He’s Facebook post on Sunday about the updates on hand over matters of Sengkang Town Council.
However, Dr Janil noted that their initial contacts had been through individuals who were not the elected members of Sengkang Town Council, and thus “we had requested that the discussion should be with the SKTC Chairman and duly appointed team.”
He also said that they have received the email from Ms He on 18 July to confirm the point of contact for the process of handover, adding that they will provide her with the requested material on Monday (20 July).
Meanwhile in his post, Dr Janil has made a remark, implying that WP’s Sengkang GRC team “were not ready” for the briefing related to town council’s operational matters that they offered in the meeting on 17 July.
“The SKTC team were not ready to receive the briefing that we offered at the meeting on the 17th July, but we look forward to discussing the issues at the in-person meeting on the 23rd July,” he remarked.
His remark was then criticised by the netizens as he seems to be insinuating that WP is unprepared for the hand over.
Following the public backlash over Dr Janil’s previous remark, his update on the handover matters posted on his Facebook page earlier today, appears to be “more neutral in tone” with a “more friendly response” as compared to the previous post.
While expressing their appreciation to Dr Janil for providing a factual update, the netizens also stressed that it is important to ensure that this transition process is transparent and that residents are kept updated.
The process of handing over the Sengkang Town Council came after the WP’s team comprising of He Ting Ru, Louis Chua, Jamus Lim and Raeesah Khan won the new Sengkang GRC with 52.13 per cent of the votes.
The team defeated the People’s Action Party (PAP)’s Lam Pin Min, Ng Chee Meng, Amrin Amin and Raymond Lye, which garnered 47.87 per cent of the votes.
A total of 60,136 votes went to the WP while 55,214 went to the PAP in Sengkang GRC.