On Dr Vivian Balakrishnan’s strong words for his Parliamentary colleagues Sylvia Lim and Pritam Singh regarding the dispute between Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) and the National Environment Agency (NEA), SMU Assistant Professor of Law and NMP Eugene Tan said: “The WP’s key priority in town council management is to demonstrate that it is more than up to the task of running a town council, in particular a mega-size one. A key plank of its political campaign before the next General Election is to remove any doubt that voters will be shortchanged in a WP-run town council. So any local town council issue that could impact upon its competency, effectiveness and efficacy will be strenuously defended by WP.”  Assistant Prof Tan also observed that “WP has sought to characterise the actions against WP’s interests as being politically motivated” in both AIM and the NEA matters.” On WP’s suggestion that the Government machinery is geared towards tripping AHPETC, Assistant Prof Tan added: “That only ups the ante and makes it imperative for the government agency to respond just as robustly to show that its actions are not politicised. Government agencies will be very determined to defend themselves because it strikes at the heart of their independence and legitimacy.”