Shanmugam calls out Yishun resident who publicly threatened MP to build for him a covered walkway

The resident also made demands for a bus service.

Matthias Ang | November 05, 2022, 08:30 PM

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Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam called out a resident who made bullying demands of a Member of Parliament (MP) during a Meet-the-People session, saying in a a Facebook post on Nov. 3 that such antics were "quite unacceptable".

According to Shanmugam, the incident occurred to MP Derrick Goh at Nee Soon Link on Oct. 10.

Shouted two demands at MP

The resident, identified as "Paul", had been recently allocated a new flat nearby in the Nee Soon estate, the minister highlighted.

While at a public area, Paul had shouted two demands at Goh.

The first demand was for a covered walkway about 1km long, to be built from his Melody Spring BTO flat to N4 mall, using a specific route along the XCL World Academy campus.

The resident had wanted this walkway on the grounds that it is too inconvenient to walk through the existing estate, with a covered walkway, to reach the N4 mall, as it will take him an additional 5 minutes.

Paul wanted another covered walkway to be built to shorten his walk.

In describing such a request as "unreasonable", Shanmugam said such walkways are often built by town councils and funded by residents' monies.

The government therefore needs to be careful about how such money is used, he added.

"To build another is not proper use of residents' monies, and if we took this approach, eventually the amount that residents have to pay will increase," he said.

The second demand pertained to insisting on a bus service to Khatib MRT station and Chong Pang to start by December 2022, even though a new bus service 801 had been added recently.

"He refused to listen to volunteers who tried to tell him how MyTransport.SG app could be used to reduce waiting time," Shanmugam highlighted.

Threatened to harass the MP on social media

The minister further noted that Paul had made his demands in a threatening manner, in full view of other residents and volunteers there.

In addition, he had "loudly threatened" to shame and harass the MP on social media if his demands were not met by the end of the year.

Shanmugam said:

"Our experience at Meet-the-People Sessions (MPS) is generally positive – people see us when they need assistance. Sometimes they are upset, but when we explain the policies, they understand, even if not completely happy. But every once in a while we will come across someone who is quite unreasonable."

As for Goh, Shanmugam noted that his residents have generally given positive feedback on Nee Soon.

"They have noted the steady and continued improvements at Nee Soon Link. I have been monitoring the progress of our newest division and I know Derrick as the new MP there, has been working hard for our residents," he added.

Photo via Derrick Goh/Facebook