Skunk Heng Swee Keat said AHPETC debate is not about partisan politics

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AHPETC debate in Parliament not about partisan politics: Heng Swee Keat





Education Minister Heng Swee Keat.

• SINGAPORE — The Parliamentary debate over the lapses committed by Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) is “not about partisan politics”, said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat. Instead, it is about serving the interests of residents well.“So what we have done is to point out factually what had happened in all the lapses and all the areas in which the elected members of the town council had failed,” he said, speaking at the sidelines of a community event today (Feb 14).

“What has been troubling is the pattern of denial and the pattern of deflection of these very serious lapses. And therefore, it was necessary to have this debate in Parliament. So it is not about partisan politics.

“It is really about how we must work as elected Members of Parliament (MPs) to serve our residents and to serve our residents sincerely, wholeheartedly,” Mr Heng said.
Over the past two days, MPs debated the Auditor-General’s findings of lapses at the Workers’ Party (WP)-run AHPETC. The motion calling on MPs to uphold high accounting, reporting and governing standards was unanimously endorsed by all MPs in Parliament yesterday. Mr Khaw had urged the WP to take “real” action, including mounting a forensic investigation into the town council’s records and pursuing all the findings of the Auditor-General’s Report.

Today, Mr Heng repeated calls made in Parliament for WP to be “sincere” in rectifying the issues that gave rise to the lapses.

“They have acknowledged the lapses, but at the same time what we need to do going forward is for the Workers’ Party to show that they are indeed sincere about making the changes, making the improvements,” he said.

Mr Heng also noted that the issue is a broader one of “how elected Members of Parliament must act with integrity and must act to serve the interests”.

Residents living in constituencies run by WP have mixed reactions to the party’s explanation on why the lapses occurred.​

Hougang resident Angel Loy, 47, said: “Being in power and being in charge, you should be accountable to the people and explain. But I also think that Mr Low Thia Khiang has stepped up to explain and also to clarify certain things that were not up to standard.”

Serangoon resident James Liew, 47, said: “Everything happened for a reason and those in charge and the managing agent should have the responsibility to be more transparent. And if it’s a mistake, we learn from mistakes and we move on.”

Mr Heng said that this episode highlighted the need to strengthen the governance of the town councils to ensure the interests of residents are well-served.





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