SINGAPORE — Staff hired under the Workers’ Party (WP) watch to run Punggol East estate will remain and be redeployed under the newly-constituted Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) after it hands over the management of the estate to the People’s Action Party (PAP), a spokesperson from AHTC said today (Oct 2).

In response to TODAY’s queries, the spokesperson said Punggol East Member of Parliament (MP) Charles Chong and his WP predecessor Lee Li Lian met on Sept 18, together with staff from both AHTC and the PAP’s Pasir-Ris Punggol Town Council. “All parties agreed to work in the interests of Punggol East residents to facilitate a smooth handover,” the spokesperson said.

An agreement has also been reached for an external auditor to audit Punggol East’s accounts from April 1, a process which AHTC has commenced. During the election, a dispute had arisen between the PAP and the WP over the financial position of Punggol East when it was handed over to WP after the 2013 by-election.

Nevertheless, AHTC chairman Pritam Singh told TODAY “it is a common practice” to appoint an external auditor during the handover process, which must be completed within 90 days of an election.

Yesterday, Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council chairman Zainal Sapari said they have requested some documents pertaining to financial and cyclical maintenance aspects from AHTC. AHTC confirmed that documents relevant to the handover will be “progressively transferred over the next few weeks”.