HDB abusing its power as land owner, says WP
By Joanne Chan | Posted: 22 August 2011 2333 hrs Workers’ Party
SINGAPORE: The Workers’ Party (WP) has accused the
HDB of abusing its power as land owner by transferring
the management rights of 26 common areas from the Aljunied-Hougang
Town Council to the People’s Association.
It also said that the PA has curtailed the ground presence of
the elected WP MPs by warning residents who apply for permits to
hold events at these sites not to invite the elected WP MPs or risk
having their applications turned down in subsequent years.
The WP took over the town council from the ruling People’s
Action Party (PAP), following their win at the General Election in
May.
In a statement to the media, WP chairman Sylvia Lim said the
town council received an email from HDB on June 21,
informing them of a list of sites to be excluded from their
management.
This included 26 sites which had previously been managed by the
former Aljunied Town Council under the PAP, said Ms
Lim.
She noted that “no background nor rationale was given for the
decision”.
Ms Lim said many of the sites are strategically located, being
hard courts or amphitheatres which are highly suitable for
organising social activities.
She said the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council also wanted to
explore the joint use of the sites with the PA. However, an email
from PA dated June 15 indicated that “booking (of the sites) by WP
will not be allowed”, said Ms Lim.
Ms Lim also said residents of Paya Lebar who applied for permits
to hold the lunar Seventh Month events at the sites were told
verbally that they could not invite the elected WP MPs or risk
their applications being turned down in future.
However, the former PAP MPs are not under such
restraints as they are invited as “advisors” to the grassroots
organisations. Ms Lim said such actions would give PAP
candidates a ground advantage and permanent presence in advance
preparation for the next elections.
Responding to media queries, the HDB said it
adjusts its list of sites managed by a town council from time to
time and this is based on legitimate requests from relevant
agencies or civic organisations.
HDB said in this case, PA requested tenancy for the
sites to organise community activities. The request was approved as
PA had been using the sites frequently, added HDB.
Also responding was the PA which said the practice of leasing
public spaces for community activities is not new, nor is it
peculiar to Aljunied GRC. It added that the Citizens’
Consultative Committees under the PA may rent various sites across
Singapore for community activities.
The PA reiterated that it is non-partisan and does not allow any
political party or MP to hold activities on PA premises or other
facilities managed by the PA. And this applies to all political
parties and MPs, including the PAP.
-CNA/ac
PA: 'People's
Association' or 'Political Auxiliary'?
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References (Conduct of
civil service):
- 'Separation of powers' [wiki]: [i]"The separation of powers is a model for
the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient
Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part
of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic. Under this model, the state is divided into branches,
each with separate and independent powers and areas of
responsibility so that no one branch has more power than the other
branches. The normal division of branches is into an
executive, a legislature, and a judiciary. ..."
- '(PSD) Maintaining High Standard of Conduct':
"The Civil Service works under a Code of Conduct based on the
principles of incorruptibility, integrity and propriety. Civil
servants are expected to conduct themselves with impartiality and
honesty at all times, by: Remaining
completely neutral in all political matters and matters of public
controversy ... " [PSD (Role)> Nurturing Talent> Progressive
Policies]
- 'Integrity of election process a hot topic during youth
forum': "'Civil servants under the constitution hold
their allegiance to the president.
The symbolism that is attached to that is we actually serve at the
pleasure of a politically neutral
institution. It is one of the values of the civil service
that we are politically impartial,' said Ms Owi. " [CNA, 17May2009]
References (PM Lee's
misuse of the PA for PAP partisan objectives):
- 'Upgrading in Opposition Wards- MPs should front
initiative': "Why did the HDB choose to work with
unelected candidates instead of the elected MPs in the
constituencies?.. shouldn't the mandate
that the residents gave to the elected MPs be
respected?" [ST, 07Oct2009]
- 'How PAP uses taxpayer-funded grassroots for political
gain': "The People’s Association (PA), ..Like all other stat boards, it receives a yearly
grant from the government to run its programmes and cover
operational costs. .. It spent a total of $320 million last
year. However unlike most stat boards, whose chairmen are usually
the permanent secretary of the parent ministry or some other senior
civil servant, PA’s chairman is none
other than the Prime Minister [pict][board]. The de facto leader of all the CCCs,
CCMCs, RCs and NCs in each constituency is known as the “adviser to
the grassroots organisations (GROs)”. This adviser is appointed by
PA, presumably with the nod of its chairman, the Prime Minister.
In PAP constituencies, PA always appoints
the elected MP as the adviser. But in opposition wards, PA appoints
the PAP candidate who lost in the last election,
not the opposition MP" [G Giam, 10Oct2009].
- '‘Adviser over MP’ raises many questions':
"PAP MPs are appointed as advisers to the grassroots
organisations in their wards by the People’s Association (PA).
In the two opposition wards, the PA
picked the PAP candidates who contested but lost in the wards in
the last two polls as the grassroots advisers."
[ST, 22Oct2009][alt link]
- 'MND continues to throw smoke bombs over role of PAP
'grassroots advisers'': "There is absolutely no reason
why opposition MPs cannot be appointed as grassroots advisers
unless they decline to work with the government.
The root cause of the problem lies in
the lack of a clearly defined demarcation between the state and the
party which resulted in many supposedly apolitical institutions
like the People’s Association being made use of by the PAP to serve
its partisan interests.
As the People’s Association is a statutory board, its members
and grassroots advisers should have no political
affiliations.
It is disingenuous of the PAP to appoint their losing
candidates to continue “serving” in the opposition wards under the
veneer of being the “grassroots advisers” appointed by the
PA." [TR, 27Oct2009][alt
link]
- 'Town Council Act (CAP 329A) states clearly that Govt
must work with Town Councils (run by MPs) to implement
LUP': "It is a joke that for some strange reasons or
another, Mr Shanmugan’s ministerial colleague has refused to obey the Town Councils Act by choosing not
to work with Hougang Town Council and even has the audacity to
TWIST the facts by claiming that 'it is the role of the grassroots
advisers to implement the LUP' through his press secretary
when it was stated NOWHERE in the Town Councils Act that the LUP
has to be carried out by the grassroots advisers!
From beginning to end, there was no
mention of the words 'Grassroots advisers', 'People Association' or
'PAP losing candidates' and so how did Mr Eric Low come into the picture at
all? " [TR, 29Oct2009][alt link]
- 'Grassroots Organizations should stay
non-partisan': "By appointing PAP candidates as
grassroots advisers in Opposition held wards, the government is
effectively bringing partisan politics into governmental
institutions. Using the PA as a vehicle
for PAP candidates as grounds to gain political capital so that
they may fight their next battle with more goodwill, the
governmental risks costing itself the position of Singapore as a
Parliamentary Democracy; and put Singapore in par with communist
states like Cuba, China and North Korea." [TR, 03Nov2009][alt site]
- 'PAP has blurred line between State and party':
"THE cry for multi-party
representation in Parliament is the People's Action Party's own
doing.. The PAP has blurred the line between the State and the party: What belongs
to the State belongs to the PAP... The People's Association becomes
a PAP instrument... The money belongs to
the State". [STforum, 13Apr2011][alt link]
- Chang NY: 'Delink political affiliations of grassroots
bodies': "I would like to suggest that the People's
Association (PA) be run like a civil service organisation in order
to single-mindedly and unmistakably carry out its sole purpose of
serving the people. Board members of
the PA should not hold any political office. There is then no
conflict of interests." [ST,4June2011][alt link]
