The AHPETC football

This political football has been kicking around for months and increasing momentum in the last few days. The football must be feeling the pain with all the furious bashing and kicking. No one seems to care if the football is hurt or not. The welfare of the football is not important to the combatants.

The latest, $22.5m in cash was handed to the AHPETC by the Pasir Ris TC. The sum included project funds and sinking funds. The PAP is asking the AHPETC to account for the money as if the money has disappeared into thin air. What do you think will happen if such a big sum of money, in cash, disappeared? Someone must have taken it right? The police and CPIB must be very busy chasing after the thief right? Can such a big sum of money be lost without anyone knowing where it went to? The only time we heard of such big sums of money being lost or loss was when several town councils lost $12m in investing in toxic funds. And the other time when such big sum of money was lost was when $24m of Aljunied residents’ money was used to develop a town council management system that was sold for $140k.

Let’s get back to the hazy $22.5m in cash. Didn’t the PAP said the amount was for projects and sinking fund? For the sinking fund, is it so difficult to check if it is there? As for project funds, would there be contractors doing projects and not demanding payments? Should not the money be paid to the contractors?

Low Thia Khiang showed the bottom line with a deficit of $282k. In all accounting statements, the bottom line is the net position after all payments and receipts, or expenditure and receiveables, be squared off?

Zainal Sapari came out to clarify that the bottom line was a surplus of $21k. So the difference in question cannot be a colossal sum of $22.5m missing but somewhere between a surplus of $21k and a deficit of $280k. This is not even a peanut compared to the $24m the residents lost for developing a town council management system and was sold and compelling the new management to pay for another new management system right?

The poor victim in this case is the residents. Their pockets got burnt. First losing $24m for a management system that was sold away and had to pay for it again for its used. Then their surplus which should be retained for their benefits was whooshed into the sinking fund because of a change of management. And the new management got to pay for another management system that ended up the residents paying. And the football being kicked here and there, checking and checking of accounts, to dig for errors and explain and explain, who did the checking and who have to pay for the checking?

Does anyone care for the football, that it got bashed and had to pay for all the damages and cost incurred in this politicking? And so much time and effort were taken from the management instead of them doing their normal duties and serving the residents.

Who are the clowns and why should the residents be the victims of the clowns and paying for the clowning?

PS. The more they dig, the more the residents would have to pay.