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Just as I thought that the muddle over conflict of interest was beginning to clear up a little because of the clarification from MND and from Madam Halimah, I have come across news (rather belatedly noticed by me) that Potong Pasir Town Council has appointed EM Services as the Managing Agent. On 21st May 2011, it was still being reported that the newly elected PAP MP Mr Sitoh Yi Pin was hoping to take over the management of the Town Council by the end of the month. It has been reported on 27th May that the Town Council has appointed EM Services. The following is from an article appearing on Channelnewsasia on 27 May 2011: Potong Pasir Town Council staff to be offered jobs by EM Services SINGAPORE: The Potong Pasir Town Council has engaged EM Services to be its managing agent. Town council Chairman and MP for the area, Sitoh Yih Pin, said there are currently 16 staff in the town council under its previous Chairman, Mr Chiam See Tong. And EM Services has accepted Mr Sitoh’s request to ...

Over the last week, this has become something of a pet issue for me. Is there or is there not any conflict of interest in the management of our Town Councils? The following article has appeared in Todayonline: MPs: No conflict of interest ... by Cheow Xin Yi 04:46 AM May 30, 2011 SINGAPORE - They are general managers accountable for the day-to-day administrative functions of town councils. Some of them are also employees of managing agents who win contracts from the town councils to service the estate. This arrangement - known to occur in at least four town councils in Singapore - has raised the issue of conflict of interest in town council management. At Aljunied and Jurong town councils, the respective GMs, Mr Jeffrey Chua and Mr Ho Thian Poh, in fact also hold the position of managing directors at CPG Facilities Management and UGL Premas. CPG is currently the managing agent of Aljunied Town Council, although it is not clear if the agreement will continue following the Workers' ...

The more one digs the more finds….. Mr Ang Mong Seng, the former MP for Hong Kah GRC (Bukit Gombak) is named at the following website of United Fibre Systems Ltd as one of its Independent Directors. That is perfectly fine. http://www.ufs.com.sg/corp_team.html The write-up on that website says this about Mr Ang. "Mr. Ang is a Member of Parliament for Hong Kah GRC (Bukit Gombak). He has almost 30 years of experience in estate management. He is the Chief Operating Officer of EM Services Pte Ltd, Chairman of Hong Kah Town Council and Vice Chairman of South- West Community Development Council." He didn’t seek re-election this time around. So, the site is obviously not updated yet. But, note that he is referred to as the Chief Operating Officer of EM Services Pte Ltd. To be fair, the estate management of Hong Kah Town Council is provided by Esmaco Pte Ltd and not by EM Services Ltd. EM Services provides its services for the following Town Councils: East Coast Town Council Holla...