Waiting for agencies to act on Geylang
PUBLISHED ONApril 02, 2014 11:30 PMByZul Othman
SINGAPORE - Hundreds of hours of talk with little action from various authorities has left Marine Parade GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Fatimah Lateef frustrated.
But she has vowed to forge ahead and improve conditions at the rowdy red-light district - despite the red tape.
In a personal Facebook post on Monday, the MP wrote that despite the time and effort, there is still no "concrete action plan" to deal with the situation in Geylang.
The lengthy, strongly worded post highlighted "for the first time" her full efforts to clean up the area.
Associate Professor Fatimah said she patrols Geylang "at least twice a week or more if required" to sort out and solve "many issues".
She has been working with residents, grassroots volunteers and agencies like the Ministry of Manpower, Land Transport Authority, police and the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
Among the problems she "regularly" deals with: The high human traffic, littering, parking and safety issues.
But she is frustrated by the lack of a definitive plan.
"As an action-oriented person who expects results, I have indeed waited very long for higher authorities to effect the change I, my grassroots leaders and my residents want to see.
"Hundreds of hours (maybe more) of meeting police, anti-vice, agencies (multiple) and yet I am still waiting for their CONCRETE action plan (sic)."
She continued: "I have been waiting... Not just waiting but, waiting and DOING a lot of things within my capabilities as one person, one MP, one woman.
"I am still waiting for the relevant authorities to ACT in a major way, in a major clean-up... eight years of efforts and small positive changes already effected cannot go to waste and my perseverance will not dwindle (sic)."
Geylang returned to the spotlight after Police Commissioner Ng Joo Hee said last week that he was more worried about the area than Little India, where a riot involving foreign workers took place last December.
Political observers who saw Prof Fatimah's post noted she sounded exasperated because of a lack of a concerted plan of action to manage the various issues that have long plagued Geylang.
Singapore Management University (SMU) associate law professor Eugene Tan told The New Paper: "The remarks by the police commissioner last week may have given the impression that she, as the MP, has not done enough to raise crime-control issues in Parliament and to the relevant agencies.
"As such, it's understandable that she feels the need to put it on record what she has been doing the past eight years, albeit on her personal Facebook page as opposed to her public page," added Prof Tan.
But this is a delicate matter, concedes the law academic, "because she would need to work with the various agencies".
EFFORT V OUTCOME
It is about collective responsibility, he added, and her constituents will also judge her by not only her effort but the outcome.
"In this regard, the MP needs to show both effort and tangible outcomes," Prof Tan said.
Was it always this bad?
Former Jalan Besar GRC MP Peh Chin Hua - who was in charge of Geylang until he stepped down in 2001 - declined to comment, saying only that Geylang will "always have problems".
Prof Fatimah has set out to brighten up the sleazy backlanes of Geylang Lorong 22 to 42, which come under Marine Parade GRC, ever since she entered politics in 2006.
In 2007, she oversaw a project which saw 133 street lights erected along the narrow back alleys of four areas in Geylang.
It was part of a bid to deter activities such as prostitution and illegal parking.
In her private Facebook post, Prof Fatimah said her efforts "are continuous and ongoing."
These, she added, included "regular area and site visits" to understand the "unique" issues plaguing each lorong under her care.
Her grassroots activists also conduct "stake-outs and surveillance by working with relevant residents and stakeholders in a team-based approach," she said.
"Understanding the dynamics is critical and can only be obtained by much groundwork and assessment, which continues."
A task force with officials from multiple agencies, grassroots activists and residents has been set up.
Prof Fatimah did not elaborate on its role, but said it would "have meetings planned as required, and each issue (will be) managed in a strategised and targeted fashion".
In her post, Prof Fatimah said she will not be giving up. "I will do what I have to do as the people's rep even if it takes a long time... I have the stamina".
Responding to queries by The New Paper, a police spokesman said they are aware of MP Fatimah Lateef's concerns and "have been working closely with her, the grassroots, other government agencies and various stakeholders against illegal activities, regulatory offences and disamenities in Geylang".
"Even though these efforts have led to a general improvement in the crime situation in Geylang over the last few years, police are still concerned and continue to deploy a disproportionately large amount of resource in Geylang to keep it orderly.
"Our enforcement efforts will continue to ensure that lawless characters do not use the crowd as cover for criminal activity," said the spokesman.
zothman@sph.com.sg
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