Only two concrete results were observed after the several hours long parliamentary debate over the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) saga last week.

First, all 85 MPs present, including the nine WP MPs, voted in support of the motion that noted with concern the Auditor-General's (AGO) Report on the AHPETC and its findings.

Second, Workers' Party (WP) Chairman Sylvia Lim would try her best to submit AHPETC's audited accounts to the Ministry of National Development (MND) by the June 30 deadline.

In a Yahoo News report yesterday (Feb. 18), many residents living under the AHPETC management were little affected by the debate.

So does this saga matter to Singaporeans and more specifically the swing voters in Aljunied GRC, Hougang SMC and Punggol East SMC?

We tackle 8 questions on the minds of these voters.

1. Why would vendors shun bidding for AHPETC's tender? Profits are profits, no?

Source The managing agent of AHPETC

This is not as straightforward as everyone thinks.

One of the reasons given by WP for engaging its managing agent, FM Solutions and Services (FMSS) in the first place was that WP had problems finding a managing agent to run AHPETC.

In the words of WP Chief Low Thia Khiang in parliament, "Nobody wants to work for me...That is the problem, Prime Minister!"

Is the reason valid? Of course. There are a total of 16 town councils in Singapore, with 15 run by the People's Action Party (PAP) and one by the WP.

Imagine if you are a managing agent in Singapore - would you want to incur the wrath of a big client by working with its competitor?

2. Did WP really mess up the operation of the TC, or was the running of the TC made more difficult by external forces?

Yes. WP messed up.

The AGO has flagged major lapses in “governance and compliance” in its audit of AHPETC accounts for FY 2012-13. AGO concluded that "there can be no assurance that AHPETC’s accounts are accurate and reliable, or that public funds are properly spent, accounted for and managed".

Even if we are skeptical of the Ministers' criticisms of AHPETC, the fact is that WP has failed to meet previous deadlines to produce its audited accounts for FY2013/2014. Something must be quite wrong internally for WP to not have the proper documenting and accounting processes to meet the authorities' deadline.

Was the running of the TC made more difficult by external forces?

Perhaps. WP's managing agent FMSS is not as experienced as the PAP's managing agents. WP probably have fewer volunteers to help the WP parliamentarians too.

3. Is the ability to run a TC tied to WP's effectiveness as politicians?

It depends.

The government certainly thinks so. As National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in parliament last Thursday, the objective of the Town Council Act is to ensure that any party aspiring to form the national government first shows that it can run a Town Council competently.

How about fellow Singaporeans? Some are probably persuaded by the government's argument. But others may think that a politician's role should not be narrowly defined as being a good town council administrator and a superb supervisor of municipal matters.

Just ask the Aljunied GRC voters.

WP’s call for a “First World Parliament” resonated with Aljunied voters who agreed on the need for more Opposition voices in Parliament to act as a check on the government.

In fact, ex Foreign Minister George Yeo lamented in the 2011 GE campaign that WP "are creating an emotional dilemma for the voters of Aljunied GRC" as the burden of the opposition cause was placed on the shoulders of the Aljunied residents.

4. If WP supported the motion for greater oversight on TCs, why was the Parliament debate styled more like an inquiry/interrogation?

Source

This is the nature of parliamentary debates, especially since the topic of the debate ("the motion") was focused on the AGO's fundings on AHPETC.

But could the focus on the motion be framed more broadly?

The parliament should have spent more time debating on the need to strengthen the legislative framework for all 16 town councils in future, rather than harping on the lapses on one town council for two whole days.

So why did the government harp on AHPETC lapses? The government probably felt that WP did not give a good account of the lapses during the long-running media responses between MND and AHPETC since the release of the annual Town Council Management Report on Nov 5. 2014.

Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee said that AHPETC finances may be worse than stated. Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong called AHPETC's lack of clarity over its poor performance in town council management "the sound of silence".

5. Why did WP not apologise for the lapses of running the AHPETC?

Source

None of the seven WP MPs who spoke in parliament apologised or admitted that mistakes were made.

MP Png Eng Huat came closest to giving an apology by saying that "at the end of it all, the buck stops at AHPETC".

How about WP Chief Low? He repeated his statements in parliament that the WP "took collective responsibility" for the lapses and has moved to fix the problems identified.

6. If Law Minister Shanmugam's charge in parliament that FMSS was taking money from the public and lining their own pockets, what will happen to FMSS next?

WP did not indicate whether they will do anything to FMSS. WP Chairman Sylvia Lim declined comment on the matter two days ago (Feb 17).

Minister Shanmugam told reporters at a Chong Pang community event on Feb 15 that "there will be consequences" in the aftermath of the AHPETC debate. He added that the actions of FMSS "are unlawful" based on his knowledge and legal advice.

7. Who are the real losers from this episode?

The Aljunied GRC voters, whose service and conservancy charges (S&CC) monies are not efficiently managed.

Maybe the FMSS founders, if they have breached the law and have to return the monies paid to the residents.

It remains to be seen whether PAP or WP would gain or lose votes from this episode.

8. What are the consequences should WP continue to have lapses in its accounting and running of the TC?

In the same community event at Chong Pang, Minister Shanmugam told the media that the WP MPs had "unlawfully" breached their fiduciary duties to protect the financial interests of residents.

And the more important consequence?

WP's approach to the issue will cement Singaporeans' impression on whether WP could be a serious alternative governing party of Singapore.

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