Aljunied residents dismiss ‘uncleared rubbish’ claims
Aljunied GRC residents have dismissed claims that have been made online that rubbish in the ward has been left uncleared in the days following the Workers' Party's General Election victory.
The rumours surfaced after an Aljunied resident wrote a letter that was published on a blog as well as popular forum Hardware Zone that said rubbish bins in a neighbourhood in Bedok Reservoir had been removed and some estates are "in a mess". It also claims some Town Council workers had been fired.
This even as the People's Action Party prepares to handover control and maintenance of the ward to the WP team led by Low Thia Kiang.
While the letter writer chose to remain anonymous, the owner of the blog, Dharmendra Yadav, a lawyer, told Yahoo! Singapore the claims have been exaggerated.
"I felt that the writer was over-reacting," he said, before adding that he published the letter to show how an Aljunied resident felt.
Yadav also said that some people might be feeling this way because they have high expectations of the incoming WP team, which comprises the likes of party leader Low, party chairman Sylvia Lim and "star catch" Chen Show Mao.
Aljunied residents Yahoo! Singapore spoke to also felt that rumours were overblown, and both the PAP and WP should be given time for a proper handover during the transition period after the election.
Cheryl Sim, a final-year undergraduate living in a private estate in the Serangoon ward, said that she has not seen anything out of the blue so far, and the workers still come by daily to clear the rubbish along the streets.
Another Aljunied resident, Siti Khadijah, who lives in the Bedok Reservoir area, said, "My block is still clean, and I have had nothing to worry about so far. I think residents should give time for both teams to settle down."
Even the anonymous letter writer, who went back the next day to check on the cleanliness of the same block, told Yadav that most of the workers are back and the chutes have been cleared.
Outgoing head of the Aljunied Town council Ms Cynthia Phua said that it has only been a few days since the release of the election results, and if there were any lapses in town maintenance, residents should call up the town council office to feedback.
Ms Phua, who was the former MP of the Paya Lebar ward, ensured residents that CPG Facilities Management, the company that was outsourced by the PAP to run the town council, is still continuing its work.
At the time of report, she said that she is waiting for instructions from the Ministry of National Development regarding the transition, and that "there will be a smooth handover" to the WP.
In an email reply, General Manager of the Aljunied Town Council Jeffrey Chua said that operations are still going on as normal and when directed by the Council, they would be handing over in accordance to the Town Council Act.
