By Alicia Wong | SingaporeScene
In addition to their Meet-the-People sessions (MPS), residents living in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC may soon have regular town hall meetings where they can raise municipal issues.
Bishan-Toa Payoh town council chairman Hri Kumar Nair made the announcement on Sunday at the sidelines of a community event.
He told The Straits Times that meeting residents as a group would give the town council a better sense of what people want in their neighbourhood. In contrast, the MPS allows individuals to approach their MPs for help in resolving issues.
These town hall meetings would be held regularly and have a structured format, he said. Nair and his grassroots advisers may also hold "roving town halls" and move among the neighbourhoods to keep the group at a smaller size.
Each session is expected to involve residents from only one or two zones. More details will be announced in due course, said Nair.
He raised this idea when asked to comment on the refinements he would like to see made to the biannual Town Council Management Report, said the paper.
Last Thursday, the Ministry of National Development announced its review of the report to ensure a better reflection of residents' experience.
Nair also felt town councils should be graded on the way they engage residents.
He said, "It is important because at the end of the day, the town council is there, ultimately, to serve the residents.... You can have a very efficient town council, but if it has no engagement with the residents, then something is lost there."
Coordinating chairman of the PAP town councils Teo Ho Pin commended the idea of a regular town hall. He told the paper that it would give residents a chance to take ownership of their living environment.
"It is good for town councils to explore new channels of communication with residents. Everyone has different expectations. It is important for residents to listen to each other and come to a common understanding," he said.
Dr Teo, MP for Bukit Panjang, will also be starting weekly dialogues with Residents' Committee, a grassroots group.
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Bishan-Toa Payoh town council chairman Hri Kumar Nair made the announcement on Sunday at the sidelines of a community event.
He told The Straits Times that meeting residents as a group would give the town council a better sense of what people want in their neighbourhood. In contrast, the MPS allows individuals to approach their MPs for help in resolving issues.
These town hall meetings would be held regularly and have a structured format, he said. Nair and his grassroots advisers may also hold "roving town halls" and move among the neighbourhoods to keep the group at a smaller size.
Each session is expected to involve residents from only one or two zones. More details will be announced in due course, said Nair.
He raised this idea when asked to comment on the refinements he would like to see made to the biannual Town Council Management Report, said the paper.
Last Thursday, the Ministry of National Development announced its review of the report to ensure a better reflection of residents' experience.
Nair also felt town councils should be graded on the way they engage residents.
He said, "It is important because at the end of the day, the town council is there, ultimately, to serve the residents.... You can have a very efficient town council, but if it has no engagement with the residents, then something is lost there."
Coordinating chairman of the PAP town councils Teo Ho Pin commended the idea of a regular town hall. He told the paper that it would give residents a chance to take ownership of their living environment.
"It is good for town councils to explore new channels of communication with residents. Everyone has different expectations. It is important for residents to listen to each other and come to a common understanding," he said.
Dr Teo, MP for Bukit Panjang, will also be starting weekly dialogues with Residents' Committee, a grassroots group.
