Under The Angsana Tree: MP: A "legislator in Parliament" not an "estate manager"

“MPs should not manage everyday municipal affairs in their wards” – Veteran architect disagrees with 1988 Town Councils Act

Tay Kheng Soon said that he believes the Government should create a separate role, such as a "citizens' representative council" to be accountable to residents for municipal issues so that the MPs can focus on representing constituents' concerns about laws and regulations in Parliament instead of having to deal with estate management matters

Veteran architect Tay Kheng Soon has expressed his belief that Members of Parliament (MPs) should not be required to manage the everyday municipal affairs of their wards and that the role of the MP should be to represent his constituents’ views in Parliament and enact laws as a legislator in Parliament.

In a Facebook post published on Monday (18 Nov), Mr Tay said:

“The role of an MP is primarily that of a legislator in Parliament to enact laws. His role in his constituency is to learn and reflect the views of his constituents regarding the laws of the land.
“There has been a great misunderstanding of this role as it evolved over the years. The MP is not and never meant to be the manager of the everyday municipal affairs of his constituency. This is and should be done by full time managers employed for this.
“As legislator he will of course want to seek out the views of his constituents on the laws and regulations that affect the country and also his constituents. Laws such as disallowing PMDs on footpaths or CECA or foreign policy relations with China and USA. His meet the people sessions is for this.”

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People’s Voice Lim Tean in agreement with veteran architect that MPs are not “estate managers”

Tay Kheng Soon calls for a separate full-time manager to handle daily tasks of a constituency

People’s Voice founding leader Lim Tean took to his Facebook on Monday (18 November) to pen his agreement with veteran architect Tay Kheng Soon who stated that the role of a Member of Parliament (MP) is to be a “legislator in Parliament to enact laws” and not exactly “be the manager of the everyday municipal affairs of his constituency”.

“We agree totally with Tay Kheng Soon that an MP is not an estate manager! I said this during the television debate in GE 2015. If you want an estate manager as MP, then make sure your MP has professional qualification to be an estate manager,” Lim Tean wrote in his post. He also noted that even if the MPs are expected to be estate managers, People’s Action Party (PAP) MPs “fare poorly compared to the Opposition ones”.

“Was very impressed with how squeaky clean Jalan Damai under Pritam Singh is, whereas parts of Woodlands under PAP are the slums Lee Kuan Yew said Opposition wards would turn into. That has not happened!” Lim Tean explained.

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Lim Tean shared a post. November 18 at 9:30 PM

We Agree Totally With Tay Kheng Soon That An MP Is Not An Estate Manager!

I said this during the televised debate in GE 2015. If you want an estate manager as MP, then make sure your MP has professional qualifications to be an estate manager.

Even if we want the MP to be an estate manager, the PAP MPs fare poorly compared to the Opposition ones. Was very impressed with how squeaky clean Jalan Damai under Pritam Singh is, whereas parts of Woodlands under the PAP are the slums Lee Kuan Yew said Opposition wards would turn into. That has not happened!

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Tay Kheng Soon November 18 at 5:13 PM

The role of an MP is primarily that of a legislator in Parliament to enact laws. His role in his constituency is to learn and reflect the views of his constituents regarding the laws of the land.

There has been a great misunderstanding of this role as it evolved over the years. The MP is not and never meant to be the manager of the everyday municiple affairs of his constituency. This is and should be done by full time managers employed for this.

As legislator he will of course want to seek out the views of his constituents on the laws and regulations that affect the country and also his constituents. Laws such as disallowing PMDs on footpaths or CECA or foreign policy relations with China and USA. His meet the people sessions us for this. To demand that an MP be responsible for a locked firehose in a fire is totally wrong.

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TOWN COUNCILS BILL

The Minister for National Development (Mr S. Dhanabalan): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, 20 months ago, we started a pilot Town Council project in Ang Mo Kio New Town. We wanted to see how residents can participate in the management of public housing estates. As the national housing authority, the Housing and Development Board has to provide the same amenities and have the same rules and regulations in all estates. This is the only equitable approach when one housing authority is responsible for the management of all public housing estates. There is little room for the HDB to vary what it provides to suit individual estates and neighbourhoods. Such flexibility is possible with the setting up of Town Councils, under which residents can decide for themselves the kind of living environment that they want. Each Town can then develop a distinctive character of its own according to local conditions and the desires of its residents. Town residents can participate in the day-to-day running of their estates. This will help to enhance their sense of belonging and instil responsibility and pride in them for their immediate surroundings.

The Ang Mo Kio pilot projects have shown that self-management is a workable concept for public housing estates. In the Ang Mo Kio Town Councils, residents have participated with enthusiasm in the running of their own estates - making suggestions and proposals to shape their living environment to give it a distinctive character. Various committees have been formed, such as a Business Liaison Committee and an Environmental Committee. These involve more people in making decisions on maintenance or improvement over and above existing standard facilities.

In Ang Mo Kio West Council, for example, the residents and Councillors embarked on a project costing $62,000 to paint large wall murals at void decks to liven up the surroundings. This has given a distinctive feature to the neighbourhood. They also constructed additional staircase access to the Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West and improved estate landscaping by providing a small Japanese Garden and a mini-garden with benches and colourful shrubs. This may be considered small projects but they do show what residents would like to do if they are given the responsibility to decide things for themselves. Other projects undertaken by residents in the pilot Town Councils include the provision of additional carpark facilities to accommodate residents patronizing shops and markets in Ang Mo Kio West and the installation of new play equipment in selected playgrounds in Ang Mo Kio East.

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TOWN COUNCILS ACT 1988

The following Act was passed by Parliament on 29th June 1988 and assented to by the President on 20th July 1988

Date of Commencement: 5th August 1988

An Act to provide for the incorporation of Town Councils to control, manage, maintain and improve the common property of housing estates of the Housing and Development Board, their constitution, functions and for matters incidental thereto.

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Singapore’s first town councils

Ang Mo Kio West, East and South are Singapore’s first town councils. They were set up on 1 September 1986 as a pilot project for the town council concept. The town council concept was put forward by members of parliament (MPs) Lim Boon Heng, S. Chandra Das and S. Vasoo in December 1984. Its objective was to change the way housing estates were managed by giving residents a greater say in the management of housing estates.

Before town councils

Prior to the introduction of town councils, housing estates were managed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB). Although the HDB was successful in providing housing for the Singapore population, the standardised rules that were set for all housing estates made HDB towns monotonous. By managing housing estates centrally, the HDB was slow in reaching decisions to fix problems faced by residents and addressing their complaints. The HDB’s top-down approach to estate management also did not develop a sense of shared responsibility among residents. It was against this backdrop that the town council concept was introduced.
The town council concept aimed to improve the management of housing estates and allow each town to develop a distinctive character by turning over the day-to-day running of estates to the residents. The bottom-up approach could also turn HDB estates into a place where shared responsibility could be cultivated. A greater sense of responsibility in residents could also enhance their sense of belonging and pride in their immediate surroundings.

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AHTC Saga: The real monkey in the room

The real monkey in the room has always been: Why are political parties in charge of running town councils? Is this not the job of the HDB? Should not everything be thrown back at the HDB?

With Justice Kannan Ramesh having found Workers’ Party leaders Low Thia Khiang and Sylvia Lim guilty of breaching their fiduciary duties with the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council, the next stages in the lawsuit saga will be the outcome of appeal and decisions on the amounts to be recovered from all parties involved. These are the legal aspects of the case. But the AHTC trial has never been just about the law. The whole thing can also be seen as political. There are a number of takeaways from the trial – the repercussions of which will affect the forthcoming general elections and the political scene in Singapore.

The judge said the town councillor is like the director of a company or members of a strata development management company. The councillor has to discharge his fiduciary obligations – even if he is just a volunteer and paid an honorarium of only $300 a month. Justice Ramesh said: “In fact, the analysis which I have adopted means that the fiduciary relationship between town councillors and their town council is entirely distinct from the political relationship between town councillors and their constituents.”

Put simply, politics is politics and duty is duty – whether or not discharging the duty is done, as the WP put it, in good faith, presumably referring to the lapses. Good faith or not, Justice Ramesh was scathing in his description of the WP leaders who, he said, put their own political interests over that of AHTC. The WP politicians will appeal the findings. Are Singaporeans satisfied with the town council system?

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Covering The Other Side SG Yesterday at 7:56 AM

"Despite receiving a ‘green’ banding for corporate governance – the highest rating possible, the Ministry of National Development has considered taking regulatory action against Aljunied-Hougang Town Council.

In contrast, the government’s response to the Bukit Batok fire has been deafeningly silent, despite clear evidence of gross negligence on the part of the town council in failing to ensure fire safety regulations were followed.

Attempting to shift responsibility to the contractor does not diminish the town council’s culpability. One can only imagine the ruling party’s reaction had the fire taken place in Aljunied-Hougang Town Council."

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