Rally #1 – Empower Your Future, Vote Workers’ Party
Good evening Friends and especially, Residents of Hougang SMC, Aljunied GRC and Punggol East SMC.
Tonight, the Workers’ Party starts off its first rally at Hougang SMC. We do this to remind ourselves of one fundamental truth. Without Hougang, the Workers’ Party would not have Aljunied or Punggol East. We remember you, Hougang!
This evening, I would like to talk on a topic that has hogged the media headlines and front page news for nearly two years. The topic is Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council. Yes, I am the Chairman of AHPETC, and I am proud of it!
Let me first talk about 4 myths about AHPETC and debunk those myths.
Myth 1: WP uses AHPETC to reserve contracts for friends.
This is false. After the Workers’ Party took over Aljunied Town Council, it called open public tenders for the Managing Agent contract and the contract to run the Essential Maintenance and Services Unit (EMSU). These tenders were called in 2012 and were advertised in The Straits Times newspaper, as required by the Town Council Financial Rules. We called open public tenders for these contracts again in 2014 and 2015.
Anyone can submit a bid for a public tender. AHPETC does not and cannot reserve contracts for friends.
There was one exceptional situation, just after the General Election, when a tender was not called for MA services for a short period of 1 year. Why? First, the former Managing Agent appointed by the PAP told us that it did not want to continue under WP. There was also very urgent work needed to take over from the PAP management, especially because the Town Council Management software used to run Aljunied TC was terminated with one month’s notice by the software owner, a PAP company called AIM.
Under these urgent circumstances, the Town Council decided to award a very short, one year contract to the newly formed FM Solutions & Services Pte Ltd (FMSS), without tender, to take over the initial management of the Town Council for one year only. This was in order to ensure a smooth takeover of town management, to avoid any disruption in services to the residents.
Such a waiver of tender is allowed under the Town Council Financial Rules. Once matters stabilized after one year, public tenders were called in 2012.
So, did we breach any Town Council Financial Rules in awarding contracts to FMSS? No we did not. Did we act in the residents’ interests? Yes we did!
Myth 2: WP’s Town Council over-paid its Managing Agent.
First, please note that this allegation was not made by the Auditor-General’s Office or by any auditors. It is the mantra of the PAP government and its proxy, the Ministry of National Development (MND).
What is “overpayment”? AHPETC called the tender for MA services in 2012. If you look at the Managing Agent rates at that time, you will see that there are different rates and prices across even the PAP Towns. In that year, 2012, based on MND data, MA rates for residential units in PAP towns ranged from the low end of $5 in Tampines TC to a high of $7.80 in Potong Pasir TC, a difference of $2.80 per unit. If you say we overpaid based on an average, then many PAP TCs also overpaid, including Nee Soon and Sembawang TCs!
When WP assessed the MA price proposal in 2012, it took into account the price charged by PAP’s Managing Agent for Aljunied town, which was reasonable since it had been managing the same town. We also factored in the cost of some additional requirements, including running an additional office in Kaki Bukit division that we set up for the convenience of residents.
Our tender exercise was reviewed by three different auditors – our external consultants, and then by the Auditor-General’s Office and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Nobody made any finding that we did not exercise due diligence in assessing the tender price.
Today, we find another angle that the PAP and MND are playing up – that in their view, FMSS made too much profits. How much profits is too much? We don’t know how much the MAs in PAP TCs are making. Is MND saying that all TCs are supposed to check on their contractors’ profitability before confirming the contract price? Does MND do that to its own contractors?
Myth 3: AHPETC allowed the Managing Agent to freely sign cheques to themselves.
This is again rubbish.
When WP took over in 2011, one of the first decisions made by the new Aljunied-Hougang Town Council was to require any cheques to the MA, no matter how small the amount, to require the counter-signature of AHPETC Chairman (myself) and Vice-Chairmen (Png Eng Huat and Pritam Singh). I repeat: It was not possible for any payment to be made to FMSS without the cheque being countersigned by myself, Png Eng Huat or Pritam Singh.
When we counter-sign cheques, we will have to satisfy ourselves that the claims are according to the contract and correctly calculated. There have been times when I have rejected cheques, when I find errors or if I need further explanation.
The Town Council now has no Managing Agent, as its MA contract expired nearly two months ago. We are now a directly-managed TC with in-house staff, and we are managing fine.
Myth 4: AHPETC is in financial difficulties and cannot sustain its operations.
Let me first explain what AHPETC had to manage in the first few years before updating you on the current status.
AHPETC incurred significant but necessary expenses in the initial years. The takeover required us to incur various start up costs, including the costs of a new IT system to replace the one terminated by AIM. Our lift costs increased tremendously from the time under PAP management – this was partly because of additional lifts from the Lift Upgrading Programme, and also our decision to bring many lifts back to being maintained by the original equipment manufacturer for safety reasons. We also faced higher tender prices for major contracts such as conservancy and cleaning due to higher costs as well as fewer tenderers coming forward. These tender prices went up by between 13% to as much as 88%. We also spent money on repairs to aging blocks, and installed a new lift at the Block 105 Hainanese Market for the elderly and disabled, with no funding from the government.
Despite these and other challenges, I am pleased to update you that AHPETC has managed to turn things around. This came about through lower administrative expenditure and using contestable energy, and increases in revenue. If you look at our latest audited accounts for Financial Year 2014-2015, AHPETC has an operating deficit for the year, but this is because the MND still owes AHPETC our annual operating grant of $7.2 m! When the Operating Grant is finally received from the government, AHPETC would show a surplus for the year of $1.7 m.
Going forward, we are confident that the financial position of AHPETC will continue to improve.
Are we ready to take on another TC? Yes! I say this because of the following reasons:
- We have learned from the experience of taking over Aljunied GRC.
- We have 7 MPs with direct TC management experience.
- We are aware of the potential risk areas.
- We have learned from the Auditor-General’s audit, and made improvements to the areas highlighted. Many of the observations of our former auditors have been cleared, with some remaining that require information from other parties.
Have you asked yourself why the PAP / MND is spending so much time on AHPETC? Here are some reasons.
- After WP took over Aljunied TC, Aljunied HDB residents’ lives went on as per normal. Even the MND grades AHPETC consistently green in cleanliness and lift breakdowns, and amber in maintenance, the same as many other TCs.
- Financial management was the area that WP had some difficulties with, so the PAP / MND subjected WP to microscopic scrutiny and constant attacks, to shake your confidence in WP. AGO audit for 10 months, special Parliamentary debate for 2 days, High Court case. Even after this election was called last week, I received 2 letters from MND, questioning me about AHPETC – did I know this, did I know that, what is my answer to this, what is my answer to that. I thought that the civil service works on a 5 day week, but I received MND letters on Saturday and Sunday as well. They are probably listening to our speeches now. They are as good as a 24/7 EMSU!
Finally, my friends, there is a saying: No Pain, No Gain. The PAP is trying to make it painful for other political parties to succeed in Town Council management, so that the public will be afraid of voting for other parties. Is this the behaviour we expect of a first world government? Our WP Town Council has pulled through the last few years, despite many challenges and being carpet-bombed, because we know that these are necessary pains. If we do not do our best to overcome the challenges, there will only be one political party who can manage Town Councils at GRC level, and that will set Singapore’s political development back. Do you want to be stuck with no choice?
It is up to you. You must play your part to build an alternative to the PAP, so that Singaporeans can embrace the future with confidence and without fear.
Empower Your Future! Vote Workers’ Party!