SINGAPORE — Throughout the two-day debate on the audit findings on Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC), the Workers’ Party (WP) has been in denial and has shown no remorse for the lapses that were uncovered, charged National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

Instead of acknowledging the mess they are in, he said they chose to play the victim and recycle their objections to the troubling audit findings in the House, even though these had been rebutted explicitly by the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) report, which was at the centre of the parliamentary debate over the past two days.

“This consistent pattern of evasive behaviour gives us cause to doubt the sincerity of the AHPETC Members of Parliament (MPs) when they come to this House to declare their support for the motion and assure that they will make necessary changes,” said Mr Khaw. “I am a forgiving man and I listened very carefully to their speeches, hoping to find some dose of sincerity and genuine remorse. Sadly, I found none.”

On the contrary, the WP town councillors took a defensive stance, even showing “a certain arrogance (and) disdain” for having to address the House and answer to the AGO’s adverse findings, he added.

The report, made public on Monday (Feb 9), flagged major lapses in the WP-run town council pertaining to standards of accountability and governance, such as non-disclosure of related party transactions and failure to transfer required monies to its Sinking Fund.

Citing AHPETC vice-chair Pritam Singh’s refusal to answer specific questions directed at him by Law and Foreign Minister K Shanmugam yesterday, Mr Khaw said: “If there is no remorse, there can be no genuine acceptance that one is at fault and that one is morally if not duty-bound to make things right.”

Urging AHPETC to “come out of denial” and recognise the situation’s gravity, Mr Khaw argued that the lapses the AGO found in the town council are symptomatic of a systemic failure. How can a town council safeguard public monies, he questioned, if it does not have proper controls and a reliable record and accounting system.

“All political parties aspire to run the Singapore Government. If they cannot even run a town council well, how can they be entrusted with the even more critical responsibility of running the country?“ he asked.

Given that elected MPs, as town councillors, have significant authority to set and enforce by-laws and a platform to demonstrate to the residents their ability to govern, a dysfunctional town council can have “grave consequences” for the lives of residents, said Mr Khaw.

At the core of AHPETC’s “tragic saga” is the incompetence and “murky” operations of its managing agent FM Solutions and Services (FMSS), he added. A married couple, Mr Danny Loh Chong Meng and his wife, How Weng Fan, who are AHPETC office-bearers, set up FMSS seven days after the 2011 General Election and the company was appointed without a tender to undertake estate maintenance services at precincts managed by the then Aljunied-Hougang Town Council.

Despite being paid a handsome sum — up to three times more than managing agents of other town councils, based on figures from the Ministry of National Development — it could not even administer accounts in a reliable way, said Mr Khaw. The lack of such a system creates opportunities “for crooks to make money” at the expense of residents, he added.

But beyond FMSS’ incompetence, Mr Khaw pointed to the AHPETC leaders’ dereliction of duty as the root cause of the town council’s state of affairs. “(The town councillors had) condoned this, allowed it to happen and made excuses for it when uncovered, instead of putting things right,” he charged. “Only they can unwind this mess.”

But rather than make amends, the WP MPs made light of and misrepresented the AGO’s findings by asserting that it did not find evidence of monies lost, Mr Khaw said.

“AGO pointed this out in (its report) when WP tried to put such words in the AGO’s mouth ... In fact, with so many documents missing and the accounts unreliable, who can be sure that there was no wrongdoing?”