Idiot's guide to 2.5m saga

• sunnydays

  11 Jun 13, 08:41

  By TEMASEK  TODAY

  Clean two hawker centres - so complicated meh? But its like a korean drama for past two weeks, AHPETC vs hawkers vs NEA. 

  
  So what's story? We decided to pay the hawker centres a visit and ask penetrating questions like "What happened ah?" 
  
  So here's a simple version. 
  
  Hawker centre 1 close for 5 days, but when hawkers came back, they realized the AHPETC only wash the floor and never clean the ceiling.  Damn angry, lost income for 5 days for nothing.  How can? 
  
  3 months later, hawker centre 2 which is due to close for 5 days cleaning, is increasingly anxious -"Will I also kena?"   They talk to AHPETC, who told them "This one not my pasa, anything above 2.5m, look for NEA."  Now hawkers lagi angry.
  
  Then newspapers expose the story.  Angry hawkers wrote petitions and say the ceiling must be cleaned - and free of charge, like last time. 
  
  After story come out,  NEA issued notice to AHPETC that must clean.  AHPETC said they would clean and FOC to hawkers.  Everything solved (more or less)!
  
  But like every Singaporean school teacher and army sergeant, we want to ask – whose fault is this? 
  
  NEA said AHPETC’s fault.  Every town council in Singapore also know it's their job to clean the ceiling, and they already collect money from hawkers every month so cannot charge anymore for cleaning ceiling.
  
  AHPETC said NEA’s fault.  Pritam Singh produced letter from NEA saying that hawkers would settle the scaffoldings.   Since scaffoldings not set up by hawkers, cleaners cannot climb to the ceiling, so they never clean the ceiling of hawker centre 1.
  
  NEA said the letter was referring to the cover of the stalls, not scaffoldings for climbing.  
  
  NEA said AHPETC not truthful.  AHPETC said NEA politicizing.  
  
  So whose fault? We say: 
  
  First, scaffolds is scaffolds, cover is cover.  If NEA really write like that, AHPETC sure misinterpret what.
  
  Second, even if really miscomm, hawker centre 1 close for 5 days and nobody clean ceiling, how come nobody scream ‘Ooi, what's going on??!!".  Actually the hawkers got scream but AHPETC never do anything to solve the problem.  And after 3 months, same thing going to happen to hawker centre 2 and still no solution from AHPETC other than - above 2.5m not my pasa. 
  
  Conclusion:
  
  

  • NEA cannot write.
  • AHPETC know got problem but act blur
  • Hawkers got balls. I salute them.
  • Lesson learnt – politics or not, we need to work together. Especially with more and more opposition-run TCs around.  Next time may have AHPEAMKPRECMKNSJEHBPTP Town Council.

  
  But one thing still puzzles us. AHPETC said they never ask hawkers to pay for cleaning the ceiling.  hawkers told us they did. But they rejected because they never had to pay before. 
  
  Korean drama deepens.. One thing I know for sure, all the hawker aunty uncles I know earn a hard living, every dollar counts for them.. So I doubt they were lying.. So AHPETC, urm, I think you should prove yourself lah.."

• Deacon Blue

  11 Jun 13, 12:10

  pappy and them making the thing bigger and pipe up in the news lah when they see any trouble with hippos.

• charlize

  11 Jun 13, 22:38

  Other forums got a lot of juicy information on the saga today.

• charlize

  11 Jun 13, 23:18

  From aim saga to hawker saga.

• Deacon Blue

  11 Jun 13, 23:50

  dengue saga haben solve yet still so many  other sega

• charlize

  12 Jun 13, 20:52

  Originally posted by Deacon Blue:

  dengue saga haben solve yet still so many  other sega

  Hanor hanor.

• Honeybunz

  18 Jun 13, 23:50

  Here's a summary of the saga:  http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2013/06/13/cleaning-market-538-as-clear-as-mud/  

   

  

• charlize

  3 Jul 13, 19:28

  Wah honeybunz appears out of nowhere.

• Honeybunz

  10 Jul 13, 17:12

  what out of no where?  I've been always here...just cannot log in every now and then.    

• iveco

  10 Jul 13, 19:10

  Block 538 Bedok North?
• charlize

  10 Jul 13, 20:05

  Originally posted by Honeybunz:

  what out of no where?  I've been always here...just cannot log in every now and then.    

  Which clones?

• Honeybunz

  13 Jul 13, 10:51

  Originally posted by charlize:

  Which clones?

  charlize...   

  feel shy talking to myself

• charlize

  18 Jul 13, 19:22

  Originally posted by Honeybunz:

  charlize...   

  feel shy talking to myself

  I don't think so .

• charlize

  20 Jul 13, 10:34

  Originally posted by iveco:

  Block 538 Bedok North?

  Huh? 

• Medicated Oil

  20 Jul 13, 12:34

  This was never an important issues and should be resolved without any involvement of the media and the House.

  Sad to say, sg have too many maggots around that cannot handle simple matters and have to escalate the tiny issue to the highest level.

  It is more sad when the so-called level was more pro-active in the tiny matters instead of real issues like haze and population issue.