PAP’s Dr Koh says will serve Punggol East regardless of election outcome

SINGAPORE: The People’s Action Party candidate for the Punggol East by—election, Dr Koh Poh Koon, said he intends to serve the single member constituency regardless of the election outcome.

Dr Koh made the statement in reply to a question from the media on whether he plans to stay on, given that he is involved in planning for the proposed community centre in Punggol.

Dr Koh said: "Regardless of what the outcome of the election is, residents still have needs and I will still continue to serve to the best of my ability. But I do hope residents will consider me seriously and give me a real opportunity to be an effective spokesperson for them."

He started his morning walk at a Hindu temple along Rivervale Crescent before heading to a neighbouring Chinese temple.

He said it is important to understand and keep in touch with the key religious institutions in Singapore as it is a multi—racial and multi—religious country.

Dr Koh was taking notes for the community centre when he visited Sengkang Community Club on Saturday to get a sense of its services and facilities.

He said the proposal for the community centre has already been considered but there are no concrete plans as to what it will entail, adding that the needs of the grassroots leaders and residents will be taken into account.

"I think we are probably nearing the last stage of raising the remaining funds. But I would rather take more time to think through what kind of things to put in the CC to benefit people," Dr Koh said.

"Rather than have a timeline to build the structure itself because I think a CC is not just a structure. It must be a focal point where people spend important time — time with the family or time with the rest of the community."

He said one possible site for the community centre is the plot of land behind Rivervale Plaza, which he said would be a good focal point for the community.

Dr Koh also visited a traffic junction at Sengkang Way and Sengkang East Drive, where residents had voiced concerns about speeding cars.

He said: "One of the concerns is that because of the park connector, residents are also trying to get here to enjoy the facilities. So there are a lot of cyclists and a lot of people walking, sometimes, the elderly cross the road in the morning for their morning walks, and with the speed of the cars going so high, I think their concern is that it’s an accident waiting to happen."

Dr Koh said he will take the next few days to think through his campaign format.

He said house visits are a must and that he will try to visit as many blocks as he can, even though it is "almost impossible to visit everybody".

He added he will try to reach out to voters in the rest of the "open community areas", such as malls and marketplaces.

— CNA/al/xq