SINGAPORE: A S$212 million rejuvenation plan was unveiled for Chua Chu Kang Town at a community event on Saturday (Apr 5), where recently retired senior civil servant Jeffrey Siow was spotted together with incumbent Members of Parliament (MPs) in the area.

Mr Siow, 46, the former second permanent secretary at the Ministry of Manpower and Ministry of Trade and Industry, is the most senior ranking civil servant to have resigned thus far in the lead-up to the upcoming General Election.

He retired with effect from Apr 2 after 24 years in public service.

The S$212 million rejuvenation plan for Chua Chu Kang Town includes new sheltered linkways and pavilions in the neighbourhood, the repainting of about 400 public housing blocks comprising some 40,000 households and upgrading works which are set to benefit 8,800 households under the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme.

At the event, the MPs also drew attention to other up-and-coming developments that are set to add community spaces and improve connectivity for residents.

These include six new MRT stations along the Jurong Regional Line and a 700-seater food court at the new Central Manpower Base (CMPB) in Bukit Gombak.

New stations on the Jurong Regional Line are set to open in three stages from 2027 to 2029, while the CMPB is slated to open in phases starting from this year.

Speaking to the media after the launch of the masterplan, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said: "At the same time, it's not just about hardware, facilities and amenities, it is also about software, social services as well as programmes.

"That's why we also will be rolling out many social programmes to continue to help our population, our residents, particularly those who are more vulnerable," added Mr Gan, who is also MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC.

Chua Chu Kang Town Council manages five areas under the existing Chua Chu Kang GRC and Hong Kah North SMC.

All five MPs from the two constituencies – Mr Gan, Senior Ministers of State Amy Khor and Low Yen Ling, as well as Mr Don Wee and Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim – were present at the launch event on Saturday.

Under the new electoral boundaries announced last month, parts of Hong Kah North SMC will be absorbed into Chua Chu Kang GRC moving forward.

Also in attendance was university academic, Dr Choo Pei Ling, who has been spotted since March last year at community events in Marine Parade but has also been recently spotted in Chua Chu Kang.

The community event on Saturday at Keat Hong, where Mr Siow was spotted, was the first covered by the media since his retirement.

Speaking to the media after the launch of the masterplan, Mr Gan said that the plans were developed by the Chua Chu Kang Town Council team, taking into account the feedback gathered from residents there.

Asked by CNA if the materialisation of the plans was contingent on the incumbent People’s Action Party (PAP) members being voted in at the next General Election, Mr Gan reiterated that the plan was developed by the incumbent Chua Chu Kang Town Council team.

"So it depends on who … is in charge of the town," said Mr Gan. "And if there’s a new team, the new team may have different ideas, they have different things that they want to do."

NEW FACES AT LAUNCH EVENT

Asked by the media on Saturday about the motivations behind his speculated entrance into politics, Mr Siow said that he was “just here today to do some community work with DPM Gan”.

“As some of you know, I retired from the public service very, very recently. But public service is still very important to me. It is an opportunity for me to continue to do public service in a more direct and personal way,” he said.

Asked why he picked Chua Chu Kang specifically to do community work, he said he did so at the invitation of Mr Gan.

He also said that he and Dr Choo will “take it one step at a time”, in reply to a question on whether or not the both of them will take up any grassroots advisory role in the constituency.

Dr Choo was spotted late last year together with incumbent MPs at Marine Parade. Based on her public Facebook page, she continues to be active in the area. 

When asked about her appearance in Chua Chu Kang constituency and what it might indicate for her, Dr Choo said that she was still the second advisor for Kembangan-Chai Chee grassroots organisations.

“I think at the heart of what we do is all about the interest and aspirations and the needs of the residents, and serving those needs and aspirations,” she said.

“We are a family, so it doesn’t really matter where we are because the intention and our goals are the same.”

Incumbent MPs were also coy about their future plans or deployment for the upcoming General Election, which must be called by November, although some analysts expect it to happen in the first half of the year.

Another change for Chua Chu Kang GRC at the upcoming polls besides absorbing parts of Hong Kah North single-seat ward, is the hiving off of Bukit Gombak as a standalone SMC.

Ms Low has been helming the Bukit Gombak division since 2011.

She declined to respond to a question on how things will change moving forward, but added that the Bukit Gombak team will continue to work with Chua Chu Kang Town as a big team “to aggregate our strength and our resources” to serve residents.

In the 2020 General Election, PAP won against candidates from the debutant Progress Singapore Party (PSP) in both Chua Chu Kang GRC and Hong Kah North SMC.

In Chua Chu Kang GRC, the team led by Mr Gan garnered almost 59 per cent of votes, while Dr Khor won almost 61 per cent of the votes at Hong Kah North.

PSP has been seen working the ground in parts of Chua Chu Kang and Hong Kah North recently, though the party has not made any formal public statement about contesting these areas in the next General Election.