Resident's anonymous thank you note for estate cleaner a highlight as town councillor, Workers' Party Pritam Singh reveals

Sweet.

Belmont Lay | June 23, 2020, 12:08 PM

An anonymous thank you note left by a resident in response to the good work done by an Aljunied-Hougang Town Council estate cleaner has been highlighted by Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh.

In a Facebook post on June 23, Pritam wrote that finding out about the sweet gesture by a resident was one of his "highlights" as an Aljunied-Hougang Town Councillor.

Pritam's post was accompanied by a YouTube video featuring the estate cleaner, Ong Teng Kee, who is in his 60s.

The video was uploaded to the new Aljunied-Hougang Town Council YouTube channel.

The new channel appears to be a platform to highlight the work done by the town council and to provide a shout-out to the unsung heroes working behind the scenes to keep the estates humming along.

In the two-minute tribute video shot by AHTC, Ong spoke about his day-to-day work as an estate cleaner with AHTC for about seven years.

He is one of the 350 cleaners that AHTC manages.

The video also revealed that some of these cleaners have been tasked to be on standby round the clock to respond to urgent conservancy matters.

As a tribute to people like Ong who ensure the towns are well-maintained, Pritam wrote in his Facebook post: "My colleagues and I have walked the Aljunied-Hougang town constantly and we will be first to acknowledge there is always room for improvement."

"But with the spirit and commitment of fellow Singaporeans like Mr Ong and our foreign workers who do much heavy lifting, we are on the right track."

Making cleaners visible to residents

As a recognition of the workers' vocation and to encourage residents to do their bit to keep the estates clean, AHTC piloted initiatives to allow the cleaners to be more visible.

The initiative of putting an in-sign sheet with a brief introduction of estate cleaners was launched by the Workers' Party town council some years ago in all the lift cars.

It was against one of these in-sign sheets that a resident stuck a compliment for the estate cleaner.

You can watch the video here.

Top photo via AHTC