A new town council that will serve both Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC and the new Marymount SMC has been formed, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen yesterday.
Dr Ng, 61, told The Straits Times that Ms Gan Siow Huang, 45, the newly elected MP for Marymount, has been appointed as one of the town council's two vice-chairmen.
Mr Chong Kee Hiong, 54, is the new Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council's chairman, while Mr Saktiandi Supaat, 46, is the other vice-chairman. The two re-elected MPs are reprising the roles they held with the previous town council.
One of the key campaign promises by Dr Ng and Ms Gan during the hustings was that residents in Marymount, Bishan and Toa Payoh would continue to be served by the same town council to ensure cost-effectiveness and high maintenance standards.
The Marymount single-member constituency, which comprises the Housing Board blocks in Bishan Streets 22 to 25, Shunfu and parts of Sin Ming, was carved out of Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC for the general election this year.
Ms Gan won the new single seat with 55.04 per cent of the votes, while a team comprising Dr Ng, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Education Chee Hong Tat, Mr Saktiandi and Mr Chong retained the GRC, beating the Singapore People's Party for the third time with 67.23 per cent of the votes.
To thank voters and residents, Dr Ng and the four other MPs visited eight markets across the two constituencies yesterday.
Said Dr Ng: "We wanted to conduct these market visits across the GRC and Marymount to start our work as advisers and MPs in fulfilling our promises during the campaign, especially to take care of families in need and improving towns. We are visiting as five advisers as we had made this promise."
Speaking to reporters after the visits, Ms Gan said she will play an active role in ensuring the needs and interests of Marymount residents are met. Said the former Republic of Singapore Air Force brigadier-general: "There is a lot of experience already built up in the previous town council. There is a strong team there that knows every corner of the neighbourhood well. So I'm glad that we are continuing with this single town council that can best support the residents."
Ms Gan held her first Meet-the-People Session last Tuesday over e-mail and videoconferencing platform Zoom. She said residents who approached her had two main issues - estate maintenance and jobs.
Asked if she would continue in her post as deputy chief executive officer of the National Trades Union Congress' Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) now that she has been elected as an MP, Ms Gan said she was inclined to stay on in her role. "Being part of the labour movement and being part of e2i will give me more capacity and ability to help," she said.
"At the end of the day, I must ask myself what value I can bring to the team and to the residents."
Neither Dr Ng nor Ms Gan would be drawn into commenting on the reasons behind the national vote swing against the People's Action Party at GE2020.
Said Ms Gan: "The analysis is still ongoing. It is important that we understand the issues at the national level, yes, but also at the constituency level. I think each constituency has its own unique (issues) and we'll be doing a review together with my team."
