Vivian, Ho Pin tight-lipped about election plans

SINGAPORE — Amidst rising excitement and fervent speculation about the People’s Action Party’s new candidates and plans on who will be fielded where, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan was coy today (Aug 2) when asked about his GRC’s lineup for the upcoming General Election.

Asked if he sees any changes in his team’s candidates, Dr Balakrishnan, who is the lead Minister in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC and Member of Parliament (MP) of the Cashew ward, said: “After National Day we will discuss all this.”

He was speaking to reporters after he planted a tree and officiated the launch of an SG50 Streetscape in Bukit Panjang town, a year-long project which sees the sidewalks along Bukit Panjang Road enhanced with flower beds, new trees, and shrubs. There were no new faces spotted trailing Dr Balakrishnan, who was joined by Bukit Panjang SMC MP Teo Ho Pin and fellow Holland-Bukit Timah GRC MP Liang Eng Hwa.

Dr Teo was similarly guarded when asked about his plans. “Everything depends on (the Prime Minister), and Dr Ng Eng Hen already said after National Day you will know.”

Dr Balakrishnan however displayed confidence in his team’s work. “I’m very confident that residents know this is a well-run, well-maintained town, (with) an on-the-ball hardworking town council, and if there are any issues, the local MPs and town councillors attend to them promptly and get them resolved,” he said. “I have no anxieties about our track record on the ground.”

Issues such as transport accessibility and the reliability of the Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit (LRT) have also been addressed with SMRT pledging to look at upgrading and enhancing the line’s reliability, as well as the new Downtown Line, which will open at the end of the year, he said. The frequency of buses has also increased in the last three or four years, he added.

“So overall I’m quite confident if you ask our residents, they will know that life has improved and we will continue to work as hard to keep things better for our residents down here,” he said.

On today’s event, Dr Balakrishnan said the town council is trying to “activate the community to collectively take responsibility for greening the town”, which builds strong community bonds and a sense of neighbourliness. While the town has seen improvements in the “hardware” aspect such as transport and upgrading, what is equally important is the need to emphasise a town’s green and sustainable efforts, he added.