Bukit Panjang SMC No estate upgrades on 'silver platter' — MPs must justify it

Liang Eng Hwa says it's naive to think that who a constituency's MP is does not count

- Andrew Wong

Improvements in constituencies do not come on a "silver platter", but through MPs who advocate for changes, said PAP candidate Liang Eng Hwa.

Even after they get the green light, MPs need to continuously engage with various stakeholders to get projects off the ground, and it takes experience to do this well, he added at a PAP rally at Beacon Primary School on April 30.

"It is actually naive to think that it doesn't matter who your MP is", and that agencies would work on "autopilot" to carry out such projects, Mr Liang said.

This was one of several points he made during the rally to respond to what Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) candidates, including its chairman Paul Tambyah, have said during the election campaign.

Mr Liang and Professor Tambyah are again contesting Bukit Panjang SMC, which the opposition narrowly lost in GE2020.

The PAP candidate pointed out that many of the town's improvements — such as the construction of two flyovers that link the town to the Kranji Expressway and two new hawker centres — were not originally planned.

Residents had told him their concerns about the traffic situation in the area worsening with the construction of new Housing Board flats there, Mr Liang said.