• A new town council is expected to be set up within three months
• It will focus on serving young families, elderly and those with special needs
• PAP team plans to build amenities such as children’s playgrounds, fitness zones

SINGAPORE — The People’s Action Party (PAP) team contesting the newly-formed Sengkang Group Representation Constituency (GRC) on Thursday (July 2) outlined plans to set up a new town council and tap residents for ideas as part of a new initiative.

Labour chief Ng Chee Meng, who moved from his Punggol North ward, said in a virtual press conference that residents living in Sengkang GRC are currently served by two different town councils — Ang Mo Kio and Pasir Ris-Punggol.

If elected, a new town council is expected to be set up within three months if it is not delayed by the Covid-19 situation and will serve residents of Anchorvale, Compassvale and Rivervale, added Mr Ng.

He was joined by Dr Lam Pin Min, whose Sengkang West ward was carved up in the redrawing of constituency boundaries, Mr Amrin Amin who moved from Sembawang GRC and new candidate Raymond Lye.

The new Sengkang GRC has more than 120,000 voters and is made up of the former single seats of Sengkang West and Punggol East, as well as the Sengkang Central ward of Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC.

Mr Lye, who chairs the Punggol East Citizens’ Consultative Committee and has more than two decades of town council experience, would helm the setup.

“When we set up our own single town council, we aim to be more responsive (and) more focused in terms of the services given to residents,” Mr Lye said.

The town council will focus on serving three different groups of people in the community — the young families, senior citizens and those with special needs, according to the PAP team.

It will look to build amenities such as children playgrounds, fitness zones, covered linkways and barrier-free access routes, and upgrade lifts with enhanced safety features.

Mr Ng and his team also plan to hold periodic outreach sessions to engage different groups of residents, as part of a new initiative called “Sengkang Together”.

Mr Amrin stressed that this is “not an overnight project”.

“We're building on the work of many of our colleagues and the town is more than just new buildings, new bridges and covered walkways,” he said, adding that the team is focused on making Sengkang an “inclusive, warm and vibrant town that meets the aspirations” of its young demographic.

On Polling Day, the PAP team will face a Workers’ Party (WP) slate comprising Dr Jamus Lim, 44, associate professor of economics at Essec Business School; social activist Raeesah Khan, 26; Ms He Ting Ru, 37, head of legal and communications at a multinational company; and Mr Louis Chua, 33, Credit Suisse's equity research analyst.

Asked about the positive reviews received by WP’s Mr Lim at the General Election’s first televised debate on Wednesday, Dr Lam said his party takes its opponents seriously no matter their age or background.

“And we shouldn’t take the votes of our voters for granted, and therefore you can see that we have put in a lot of effort over the past years… to make sure that our residents’ needs are well looked after,” he said.

Mr Amrin added: “The interesting thing about us as a team is the combination of people that we bring together — (people with) different backgrounds, with experience in town council management. I think that is very critical.

“Each of us have run town councils and so I think we will provide a certain measure of confidence to our residents that town council administration will be properly done and funds will be responsibly used.”