Zainal: Centralised management by Ministry of National Development will help in handover of town councils

SMU Assistant Professor of Law Eugene Tan commented on Chairman of Pasir Ris - Punggol Town Council Zainal bin Sapari’s suggestion that the Government should be more directly involved in the management of town councils so as to minimise unnecessary disagreements during the handover process. Assistant Prof Tan said that while this suggestion would definitely be beneficial, it is unrealistic to expect it to be a “silver bullet” that eliminates all disagreements during handover. He added that as town councils were political by nature, a centralised management system will not dilute this property. In fact, implementing such a system at this point in time will only create a huge administrative task for the Government because the HDB would ultimately be responsible for any problems associated with the town council.  Furthermore, if the Government takes a more active approach in the Opposition’s town council, there will be an even wider political divide. Hence, Assistant Prof Tan suggested that greater authority and autonomy should be given to the town council so as to increase accountability and force the Party in charge of the town council to be more responsible. On the other hand, voters will also be more careful about who they vote for because representatives will not only need to debate in Parliament, but will also manage a town council well. In other words, the voters’ choice will deeply affect their everyday lives.