SINGAPORE — As campaigning in the Punggol East by-election heats up, People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate Koh Poh Koon yesterday reiterated his view that the contest is about electing a Member of Parliament (MP) “who will serve the residents’ needs”.

Dr Koh said this when he was asked about Reform Party (RP) candidate Kenneth Jeyaretnam’s description of himself as “the best qualified and most prepared to hold the Government to account on national issues”.

During a rally on Sunday, the RP chief questioned what MPs had done to speak up on issues in Parliament, citing the Government’s US$4 billion (S$4.9 billion) loan commitment to the International Monetary Fund as an example.

Mr Jeyaretnam had gone to the High Court in a bid to stop the Monetary Authority of Singapore from giving the loan, but the court ruled that the loan commitment did not breach Article 144 of the Constitution.

Speaking to reporters in between his walkabout in Punggol East yesterday, Dr Koh said: “Whether (Mr Jeyaretnam) is the best check and whether a check is needed is for the voters to decide. But I think, as I’ve said before, this election is not about looking for a check. It’s (about) looking for an MP who will serve the residents’ needs.”

Dr Koh, 40, also reiterated his campaign’s focus on meeting residents’ demand for childcare and after-school care services — by expanding the capacity of current PAP Community Foundation (PCF) childcare centres in the ward, building more such PCF centres and working with the Education Ministry to increase the capacity of after-school care, up to the secondary school level.

On Sunday, Dr Koh started distributing updated flyers listing his plans, “so that residents can have something as a reference to know what’s coming ahead for them”.

On increasing the number of minimarts and convenience stores, the colorectal surgeon said the issue “is one of infrastructure and availability of places, because of the way the estate has been built”.

Dr Koh also gave his take on the Government’s announcement of paid paternity leave, calling it “an encouragement in the correct direction, because we want people to have more kids and fathers do want to play an active role”.

He added: “Having some paternity leave goes some way to signal that this is important and that each parent, be it father or mother, has an important role to play.”

Yesterday, Dr Koh also posted pictures on his Facebook page, taken on Sunday, of ponding outside Rivervale Plaza, where renovation work had stalled. He said the situation had subsided temporarily after he informed the town council “to clear the fallen leaves and mud that choked the drainage”. “But we still need to look at a long-term solution to improve the drainage there,” he added.