The Art Of Lying: From Sylvia Lim

One can perhaps say that Sylvia Lim, chairman of Workers' Party, has perfected the art of lying with an earnest face and without remorse.

The number of lies are just adding up.

Her latest is her response to the MND's media release on the excessive profiteering by FMSS from AHPeTC.

She said, "In fact, during the audits by the AGO, all our papers were open to the auditors to look at, the way the contract was assessed and so on. There has been no finding by the AGO or anyone that we did not exercise due diligence in our assessment of the contract price."


We are going to provide you with PROOF THAT SYLVIA LIM IS LYING.


(A) "There has been no finding by the AGO or anyone that we did not exercise due diligence in our assessment of the contract price." - Sylvia Lim

We will list just one example out of many from the AGO Report to prove that she is lying.

Here it is:

PROCUREMENT OF EMSU SERVICES IN 2011

5.10 (b) ... AGO also observed that there was a lack of due diligence in assessing the fee proposal submitted by FMSS.
.

(B) "...during the audits by the AGO, all our papers were open to the auditors to look at, the way the contract was assessed and so on." - Sylvia Lim

Here's the proof that she is lying.

From the AGO Audit Report:

3. Failure to provide all requested documents and information which are critical for our evaluation of transactions.

3.1 AHPETC did not provide us with all the necessary and relevant accounting documents and information, which are essential and critical for our work. Accordingly, we are unable, amongst others, to fully review AHPETC's FY2012-13 accounts, records and books and determine whether public funds in AHPETC have been properly applied.....

3.2 Since the commencement of our review in April 2014, we have made various requests for documents from AHPETC as part of our review of selected transactions......Notwithstanding numerous requests and reminders, AHPETC did not provide a number of the requested documents.

3.3 This led to the AGO having to issue a formal letter to the Chairman of AHPETC on 22 August 2014, asking that AHPETC provide both AGO and PwC the outstanding documents by the final deadline of 12 September 2014.

3.4 AHPETC subsequently provided us with some further documents on 12 September 2014. However when we reviewed this, we noted that a significant number of documents remained outstanding....

.
Note: The Chairman of AHPeTC is.....Sylvia Lim

The Populist Minimum Wage Call By SDP and WP

If minimum wage is the answer, wouldn't you expect the problem of poverty solved in countries with minimum wages?

In the US where statutory minimum wages were introduced nationally in 1938, poverty has not declined. In fact, child poverty in the US is among the worst in the developed world. One in three US children lives in poverty according to UNICEF. (http://wapo.st/1IdtFvs)

Australia has the highest minimum wage in the world. Yet poverty is on the rise according to a report by the Australian Council Of Social Services (ACOSS). It rose from 13% in 2010 to 13.9% in 2012.

So what drives minimum wage? It's mainly politics. 

The call for a minimum wage is a populist appeal to votes and it is in SDP and WP's manifestos to call for a minimum wage.

Implementing a minimum wage is akin to treating symptoms without addressing the causes. It is just a cosmetic change that looks good on the outside but changes little on the inside.

Every revision to the minimum wage without a corresponding rise in worker's productivity adds to the cost of doing business and renders the worker with little skill more vulnerable. 

Why more vulnerable? Because businesses may compensate by cutting back on spending for workers' training. In the long run the worker with little or no skill loses out on skill training and therefore the prospect of earning more with better skills. 

Businesses may also decide to hire fewer workers. As a result, while some workers benefit immediately from a rise in income, others find themselves out of a job. 

The Singapore government's approach to social mobility is a holistic one with social and economic policies working hand to hand to lift people up. 

First it encourages the person who earns little to stay employed by supplementing their income through Workfare. Such an approach which rewards regular and productive work reinforces 'work ethic' which has been the bedrock of our success.

Complementing WIS is the Workfare Training Support (WTS) Scheme. While WIS rewards productive work, WTS encourages the worker to go for training to improve his skills and employability and earn more!

The Progressive Wage Model rolled out by NTUC recognizes that workers must be paid fair wages. Thus it has a minimum wage feature incorporated into it. At the same time, it also recognizes that the way for a worker to earn more after the starting-out wage is to be more productive and not by a revision of that minimum wage. Hence there are provisions for the worker to go for training so that he/she can progress up the wage ladder through higher productivity.

Home ownership is a very important part of lifting people out of poverty. The person who owns his home is free to focus on his job and further training to enhance his employment.
Through generous housing grants, a person earning just $1000 a month is able to afford a 2-room flat using CPF to finance it with no cash outlay. 

What many people do not realize is that the housing grants they receive are not merely a discount on the purchase price of the flats they buy. These housing grants are cash gifts which stay with them and should they sell their flat, the grants will be credited into their CPF account for their retirement. 

Children from low income families can access a range of financial assistance which include waiver of school fees, free textbooks, uniforms, and school shoes, waiver of national examination fees, transport subsidy, pocket money, free breakfast (primary schools), bursaries etc. 

Anyone can make the call for a minimum wage. It's doesn't require much effort to implement it either. You can simply legislate it and pass the cost to businesses. 

But takes more than a minimum wage to lift people out of poverty. It takes a whole lot of schemes and policies to help people and that requires brain work.

FMSS' Earnings: Shocking!

While AHPETC suffered an operating deficit of S$2 million, FMSS made a net after-tax profit of S$2 million, after paying its directors and shareholders fees and salaries amounting to S$1.14 million.

AHPETC’s deputy general manager, who was also a shareholder and director of FMSS, certified invoices received from FMSS totalling S$2.1 million on behalf of the town council, and subsequently also approved the related payment vouchers by the TC to FMSS, with no segregation of duties.

For FY2012/2013

FMSS made a profit after tax of S$510,904. This was after FMSS paid its three owners/directors, fees and salaries of S$702,295, and consultancy and secretarial fees of S$300,000 .

Total payments to the three FMSS Owners/Directors for FY2012/2013 amounted to S$1,513,199.

 

For FY2013/2014

FMSS made a profit after tax of S$2,035,784. This was after FMSS paid its four owners/directors fees and salaries of S$839,696, and consultancy and secretarial fees of S$300,000 .

Total payments to the four FMSS owners/directors for FY2013/2014 amounted to S$3,175,480.

Between FY2012/2013 and FY2013/2014

While FMSS’ revenue increased by 30 per cent in one year, from S$6,740,572 to S$8,773,429, its profit after tax rose 300 per cent, from S$510,904 to S$2,035,784.
Total payments by AHPETC to FMSS owners and directors amounted to 22 per cent of FMSS’ revenue in FY12/13. It grew further to 36 per cent in FY2013/2014. "Such levels of profit margin are abnormal," said MND. "As AHPETC was FMSS’ only client, these findings support MND’s earlier concern that the TC had overpaid FMSS excessively."

The Real Reason For Setting Up FMSS

Think about this. 

When WP won Aljunied GRC in 2011, they did not call for a public tender but gave the managing agent contract to their friends in FMSS. 

The reason Sylvia Lim gave for not calling a public tender was 'lack of time'. 

FMSS was set up a few days after the general election in 2011. 

AHPeTC was the SOLE CLIENT of FMSS.

So you ask yourself: If FMSS had not been assured of the managing agent contract and other contracts as well, would the close friends of WP use $500,000 to set up a company whose ONLY CLIENT is AHPeTC? 

The owners of FMSS were already managing Hougang Town Council. They could have continued to manage AHPeTC without setting up a company. 

So why was FMSS set up? 

It is a convenient vehicle to channel millions of dollar from the town council to friends of WP.
A more interesting question: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MONEY AFTER IT IS CHANNELED TO FMSS?

Low Thia Khiang: We need 20 seats to be effective

Mr Low Thia Khiang said that for a balanced parliament, there needs to be at least 20 seats to the opposition. 

Why 20? Is it a magical number plucked from the air? 

Mr Low, of course, is looking at balance in terms of numbers and physical presence in parliament. 

In a debate, if there are two teams of 4 speakers each, we can say that the two teams are perfectly balanced as far as the number of their members is concerned. But if one team exhibits superior arguments, breadth and depth of reasoning while the other merely scratches the surface with superficial generalizations, then it is obvious that the two teams are not balanced despite having 4 speakers each. 

So it is with parliament. It is not the number of opposition members you have in parliament. It is the quality of their members and not the quantity. 

Mr Low also said that 20 seats are needed in order for the opposition to have enough resources to scrutinize government policies more effectively. 
 
Let's not be fooled by this argument. 

Mr Low doesn't need 20 MPs in parliament to scrutinize government policies. He just need human resources and the human resources don't need to be MPs in parliament. They just need to be humans who know how to read and how to do research. 

You can be the only opposition MP in parliament but if you have enough human resources, they can assist you in doing all the research that you need to help you scrutinize government policies. 

It's time to expose Mr Low's fallacious reasoning and remove the wool from people's eyes. Today there are 7 WP MPs and 2 NCMPs in Parliament. That's 9 of them altogether, just one less than half of 20 and they can't even scrutinize one policy. 

Workers' Party is bankrupt of ideas. To conceal their inability to offer any alternatives or scrutinize any policy, they tell you they are too few in numbers to do that. You need to vote more of them in before they can start to do anything.

"Too few in number" is also an excuse not to work and serve Singaporeans. If you buy their argument you will effectively be paying them each $15k a month to sit in parliament and do nothing. 

Vote wisely. Don't vote for the Wrong Party.

Vote PAP.

Take heed, folks! Our late founding father Mr Lee Kuan Yew is a man of great wisdom. There is much truth in his words. 

Vote wisely. Don't vote for the Wrong Party. 

WP boasted at their rallies of their 20 years' EXPERIENCE in running a town council. Gerald Giam said they knew all the ins and outs of running not just a town council but a very huge one. Lee Li Lian said she knew how to run a town council. 

But in parliament, they attributed all their failures at AHPeTC to human error and INEXPERIENCE. 

Does WP say what they mean and mean what they say, or do they only say whatever that is expedient for the moment because it would win them votes? 

Where is the honesty?
Where is the sincerity?
Where is the ability? 

Vote wisely. Don't vote for the Wrong Party.

VOTE PAP!

Moving the hole in AHPeTC

AHPeTC had made an "unusual request" for all of the Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) operating grants from the National Development Ministry to go into its sinking fund.

Essentially what they are doing is to conceal or hide the hole they have created in AHPeTC by shifting that hole to a less visible place, less visible to the layman. 

That less visible place is the operating fund.

MND grants are meant to be split between the sinking and operating funds of all town councils. 

By transferring all of the grants to the sinking fund and leaving very little left for day-to-day operation, Sylvia Lim and AHPeTC attempts to give the impression that they have complied with the Town Council Act on sinking fund. 

MND was prepared to consider their request if AHPeTC will provide information on their cash flow. This was to ensure that delivery of essential services to residents was not compromised. 

HOWEVER, AHPeTC did not answer. Why did AHPeTC not answer to a very reasonable request? Why are the curtains heavily drawn without any visibility?

The Illegal Payment Process: The same people issuing invoices, approving their own work and making payment to themselves.

FMSS: owned by Danny Loh, How Weng Fan and Yeo Soon Fei.

 

Loh/How/Yeo were issuing invoices (on behalf of FMSS) and approving payment (on behalf of town council) into their own pockets.

About $6.6 million was paid out in just one Financial Year [2012/2013] in this way. This was the period covered by the AGO audit.

How much more was paid out in this way is anybody's guess.

The cheques were co-signed by either the chairman (Sylvia Lim) or vice chairman (Png Eng Huat) of the town council.

Danny Loh and How Weng Fan are hardcore supporters of the Workers’ Party. They were the Assentor and Proposer for the Workers’ Party in the General Elections of 2006.

When the Auditor asked them serious questions on such transactions, they said: this is not within your remit to ask.

[That is an evasion, it is not an answer.
The Auditor asks you serious questions and your response is: you are not entitled to ask these questions.
Why doesn’t the Town Council give proper answers instead of playing hide and seek?
What are you hiding?
That is not negligence.
It is active decision to suppress.
It raises the issue of integrity.] - K Shanmugam

Ref: Speech by K Shanmugam in Parliament

The 'facepalm' moment and illogic of an original suggestion by chairman of WP, Sylvia Lim

Watch the NMP doing a half 'facepalm as MP Sylvia Lim speaks. 

If WP is guilty of wrongdoing, why isn't the CAD or CPIB called in to investigate them?

VOTE WISELY: Vote for leaders of integrity.

WP-run AHPeTC is the perfect example of how bad leaders in a good system lead to bad government.
Underlining the troubles at AHPeTC are the core issues of honesty and integrity.

Many people ask why CPIB or CAD has not been called in to investigate AHPeTC if there is really any wrongdoing.

The answer is very simple.

WP has cleverly exploited a loophole in the Town Council Act to overpay their friends using taxpayer money, and make millions more disappear.

Under the Town Council Act, they are answerable - only to their residents.

That is why MND is legally powerless to act against them despite the fact that they had repeatedly flouted the Town Council Act and Financial Rules (as noted by the AGO).

Their actions in AHPETC tell us 3 very important things -

1. If WP thinks their popularity allows them to get away with wrongdoing, they will do it. In other words, they will exploit your faith in them if they think they can. Are you going to let them exploit your faith in them?

2. If there isn't a law to stop WP from wrongdoing, they will happily do it.

3. WP's lawyers are more interested in using their legal skills to help themselves than the people they are supposed to serve.

The measure of a good leader is more than just qualifications. It is this immeasurable thing called 'character' that sets one talented person apart from another.

The core leadership in WP has demonstrated their lack of integrity more than once.

Sylvia Lim and Pritam Singh lied about not double-charging hawkers in the cleaning saga.

Sylvia Lim lied in parliament about the transfer of money to the sinking fund and had the rare 'honour' of having the high court judge Quentin Loh described her action as 'suppressio veri suggestio falsi', suppressing or concealing the truth to give the impression of something that is false.

Mr Low Thia Khiang demonstrated that he would rather defend his MPs and his town council staff than protect residents' interests (refusing to investigate to find out who asked for extra quotation for the hawkers' centre cleaning saga, and declaring in parliament that his individual MPs need not answer questions).

Regardless of who WP will field in the coming general election, would you vote for a party where the core leadership has demonstrated in no uncertain way that they are lacking in integrity and honesty?

Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam: Fundamental differences between the AG's report on public agencies and its findings on AHPETC's financial audit

Mr Tharman noted that the Auditor-General's Office (AGO) has given an unmodified audit opinion of the Government's financial statements, meaning the accounts of all Government agencies are reliable and public funds are accounted for.

In contrast, the special audit by the AGO of the AHPETC, shows that its "entire system of accounts is a problem", he said.

Quoting the AGO report on AHPETC's finances, Mr Tharman said there can be no assurance that the town council's "accounts are accurate and reliable or that public funds are properly spent, accounted for and managed". 

"This is not just a matter of poor accounting procedures. It arose because there are so many weaknesses and omissions in the AHPETC accounts that its own auditors and the AGO were not able to determine if monies in the account have been safeguarded and how they have been used. That is the heart of the matter: The entire system of accounts. There is no remotely similar problem in Government," he said.

Mr Tharman added: "If I can put it simply, the whole house of AHPETC finances is unsafe, if you look at what the AGO findings say. Both the AHPETC auditor and AGO could not certify the AHPETC house as structurally safe, structurally sound. Apart from it being unsafe and unsound there are also many individual defects and problems."

He said in comparison, the Government agencies audited by the AGO "do not have unsafe houses".

"The house is safe and there is no question whether public monies are fully accounted for. There are some repairs needed to the house in specific areas but everyone can be confident that the house is safe and there is also full visibility. The curtains aren't drawn. There's full visibility. This is the fundamental difference."

No public agency has a problem that is remotely close to AHPeTC, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam pointed out. 

The Auditor-General's Office (AGO) has given an UNMODIFIED AUDIT OPINION of the Government's financial statements. This means the accounts of all Government agencies are reliable and public funds are accounted for.

In contrast, the problem at AHPeTC is not just a matter of accounting procedures. The entire accounting system is a problem. 

The entire house of AHPeTC finances is structurally unsafe and unsound. Apart from this, it also has many individual problems and defects. 

There is no assurance that monies is properly spent, accounted for and managed. There is no assurance that its financial statements are accurate or reliable.

Amazingly Syvlia Lim did not seem to understand the gravity of the situation at AHPeTC. After 4 years, AHPeTC is effectively bankrupt. 

Finance Minister highlighted some of the serious issues and said they are not something to be whitewashed. When the house is structurally unsafe, one doesn't just put a new coat of paint on the front wall. The foundation needs to be put in place.

WP is either very incompetent and that explains why Sylvia Lim can't seem to see the severity of the situation, or they are very dishonest and keep trying to hide the truth from Singaporeans.

Either way, they are not a desirable party.

Source: CNA

FMSS: A convenient vehicle to which millions of dollars went from the Town Council

WAS FMSS needed to take over from the previous managing agent and provide services to the town council?

In 2011, after winning Aljunied GRC, WP quickly appointed FMSS as their new managing agent, citing the lack of time to call for an open tender.

FMSS is a company set up by longtime friends and supporters of WP, Danny Loh and How Weng Fan ( husband and wife) who had acted as assentor and proposer for WP in AMK during the 2006 GE. Mr Yeo Soon Fei is a shareholder of FMSS.

FMSS was set up just 7 days after the election in 2011.

Prior to the existence of FMSS, Danny Loh and Yeo Soon Fei were employees of the Hougang Town Council.

After GE 2011, Mr Loh became the secretary of the TC and Mr Yeo became its deputy general manager.
WITH OR WITHOUT FMSS, the same people were in charge of providing services to the town council. 

FMSS was not necessary.

So why was FMSS set up?

[It was a convenient vehicle to which millions of dollar went from the town council . And another obvious question: Money that went to FMSS - Where did it actually go? What happened to it?]
- K Shanmugam, in parliament

The world did not begin in 2011 - Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

The world did not begin in 2011.

And definitely the sun rises not because the cock crows. Trust me, when the cock forgets to crow, the sun will still rise. 

Singapore's social and economic policies, which work hand-in-hand, are LONG-TERM strategies that have been in place LONG BEFORE THE 2011 General Election.

In housing, in the pioneer generation package, in silver support, in CPF, in education, in healthcare, they did not start because of 2011.

"This has been a shift that started a FULL 10 YEARS AGO and step-by-step, we moved up our support by intervening with people who are young, intervening in the working years and increasingly now in the senior years. It's not just an innovation in the last five years," Mr Tharman said.

http://bit.ly/1NaNB6q

What about lapses in public agencies? Pot calling Kettle black?

By now, you would have read many comments pointing to the lapses found in various public agencies. And invariably the question is: So what is the big deal about the lapses in AHPeTC? Pot calling kettle black?

Even WP chairman Sylvia Lim, playing on the ignorance of people, said that lapses were also found in public agencies. She declared that they had been unfairly singled out.

Well, ignorance is not always bliss.

In all the lapses that occurred in public agencies that are highlighted by the AGO, NONE of the agencies had their financial statements qualified or declared unreliable or inaccurate.

In the case of AHPeTC, it's not about specific transactions where rules were not followed. It's about a BLANKET ASSESSMENT that the financial accounts cannot be relied upon at all. And THAT, we are sure everyone will agree, is VERY SERIOUS.

AHPeTC had qualified opinion on their financial statements not just once but for 3 consecutive years from their own external auditors. And the AGO Audit Report said that unless the weaknesses in AHPeTc are addressed, there can be:

1. No assurance that their financial statements are accurate and reliable;
2. No assurance that public monies are properly spent, accounted for and managed.

Here is another point to note. The lapses that occurred in AHPeTC involved key people of the Town Council including the chairman (Sylvia Lim ) and vice-chairman (Png Eng Huat) who co-signed cheques)
Before the 2011 GE, the Hougang SMC, a WP stronghold, had been already been running a deficit in its town council funds. 

On the other hand, Aljunied GRC and Punggol East SMC, which were under the PAP, had healthy surpluses.

“Now the whole town council is in deficit. How did the large surplus turn into deficit? Where did the money go? There needs to be a certain transparency and accounting and a very fundamental setting right of the town council,” said Mr Teo Chee Hean.
  

  

#integrityfail #honestyfail

The Workers' Party will say the right things for your ears but their actions often speak differently.

You see this in the AGO's audit of the financial statements of their town council. 

When Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam directed the AGO to do an audit of AHPETC's accounts, Sylvia Lim assured the AGO of their full cooperation. 

What really happened in the process? Well, you read it right from the AGO's report.

Non-cooperation. 
Failure to provide all requested documents and information. 

AGO made repeated requests for the information but "notwithstanding numerous requests and reminders, AHPETC did not provide a number of the requested documents."

As a result, the AGO had to issue a formal letter to the chairman (Sylvia Lim) of AHPETC to provide the necessary information to the AGO and PwC. 

Even then, the AGO noted that a significant number of the documents were not provided. 

Just how lacking in integrity and honesty is WP? You hear it right from the high court judge.  

High Court Judge Quentin Loh used this Latin phrase to describe Sylvia Lim's statement to parliament on 12 Feb 2015 on the transfers of money to sinking fund.

                                   "Suppressio veri suggestio falsi"

It means:
- Suppression of the truth is equivalent to the suggestion of what is false.

Suppression of the truth = concealment of the truth.

USLegal.com describes suppressio veri as A TYPE OF FRAUD and suggestio falsi as AMOUNTING TO FRAUD.  

It's not a light matter to be describe thus by a high court judge.  

It shows a complete lack of responsibility and accountability when WP tried to shift the blame for their incompetency to the previous managing agent. It is dishonest as well. 

AHPETC falsely claimed that they could not obtain some supporting documents from the previous managing agent (CPG) in order to push blame of their own incompetence and irresponsibility to CPG. 
 
The TRUTH? CPG had handed in all the documents to them but they did not have a proper procedure to ensure that the documents they had taken over were safeguarded. 
 
[1.9 The evidence gathered by AGO indicates that certain documents were handed over by CPGFM. AHPETC informed AGO that it had carried out extensive search to locate the documents which AGO requested for and was not able to find the documents other than those that had been provided to AGO. ]

Read the AGO Report for yourselves --http://bit.ly/1NkPwSQ

Inability to see the larger picture

It's not without reason that Workers' Party is known as the flip flop party.

They seem to have a problem looking at policies from the macro level. Thus they flip flop from one position to another depending on the topic at hand.

[The hon. Member Ms Lee Li Lian argued yesterday that there must be more “affordable access to foreign domestic workers” and all families with a child or elderly have to have access to a foreign domestic worker. She says domestic help is a necessity. I tend to agree, and I think the Budget recognises that in making foreign domestic worker levy concessions and help make domestic help even more affordable. But what she may have forgotten is that her suggestion alone will see an increase in the number of foreign workers in Singapore. Based on information that we can obtain from the MOM website alone – public information – this suggestion means that there will another approximately 250,000 foreign workers in Singapore, just on that suggestion alone.

How then does this square off with the Workers’ Party’s proposal made not quite so long ago in this Chamber of having zero foreign labour growth? It simply does not. So it tells us that the policies have to be looked at, on a macro level. We cannot just go about making politically expedient points without linking it to the larger picture and making sure that it is consistent and that it works.] -- Edwin Tong

AGO Audit of AHPETC: When their words and their actions do not match

Workers' Party says the right thing but does something else different. You see this in the AGO's audit of the financial statements of their town council. 

When Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam directed the AGO to do an audit of AHPETC's accounts, Sylvia Lim assured the AGO of their full cooperation. 

What really happened in the process? Well, you read it right from the AGO's report.

Non-cooperation. 
Failure to provide all requested documents and information. 

AGO made repeated requests for the information but "notwithstanding numerous requests and reminders, AHPETC did not provide a number of the requested documents."

As a result, the AGO had to issue a formal letter to the chairman (Sylvia Lim) of AHPETC to provide the necessary information to the AGO and PwC. 

Even then, the AGO noted that a significant number of the documents were not provided. 

Misled Singaporeans About The Conclusion Of The AGO Audit Report On AHPETC

How can so many lawyers in WP not understand the conclusion drawn by the AG in the Auditor Report?

One can only conclude that it was a deliberate attempt to mislead.

The conclusion of the Audit Report is that UNLESS the weaknesses highlighted are addressed, there can be:

- NO ASSURANCE that AHPETC's financial statements are ACCURATE and RELIABLE;

- NO ASSURANCE that public funds are PROPERLY SPENT, ACCOUNTED FOR AND MANAGED.

How does one reach the conclusion that no money is missing when you cannot be certain that the accounts are accurate and reliable?

How can one be assured that there is no criminal or dishonest activity when there is no assurance that public funds are properly managed, spent and accounted for?

Made False Claim Against CPG

AHPETC falsely claimed that they could not obtain some supporting documents from the previous managing agent (CPG) in order to push blame of their own incompetence and irresponsibility to CPG. 

The TRUTH?
CPG had handed in all the documents to them but they did not have a proper procedure to ensure that the documents they had taken over were safeguarded.

[1.9 The evidence gathered by AGO indicates that certain documents were handed over by CPGFM. AHPETC informed AGO that it had carried out extensive search to locate the documents which AGO requested for and was not able to find the documents other than those that had been provided to AGO. ]

Read the AGO Report for yourselves --http://bit.ly/1NkPwSQ

Defended his MP instead of defending residents' interests

MPs are elected to the representatives of people in parliament, to speak up on behalf of the people who elected them.

But instead of speaking to give an account of the financial mess in AHPETC in the interests of their residents, WP's chief Low Thia Khiang rose to Pritam Singh's defence when he was pressed to answer questions.

He said there was no reason why individual MPs should answer any individual question.

Party's interest comes before residents' interest. 

Empty Talk And Broken Promise

At rallies, WP boasted 20 years' experience running a town council and not just a town council but a very big town council. Sylvia Lim wowed to show that they are capable of running a town council well.
 
These all turned out to be empty talk. Broken promises.

When the town council's accounts turned out in such a mess, they cited human error, IT system and inexperience as reasons.

So are they experienced or inexperienced?

Do they say what they mean and mean what they say?

From million-dollar ministers' salaries to immigration, they have shifted their positions more than once.

Do they say only what is expedient for the moment because it will win them votes?

How much of what WP say at rallies can you trust?

Flip Flopping On Foreign Workers And Immigration

During the 2011 election, Mr Low Thia Khiang criticised the Government for allowing in too many foreign workers.

Then during  Budget 2012 debate, in response to the government's tightening of quotas for foreign workers, he asked for more foreign workers. 

He said:
The Government's strategy is to control the supply of foreign labor.....to increase productivity.....I agree that we should not place undue reliance on foreign labor,....However, we also know that our population is limited, we also need foreign labor to supplement the shortage of domestic human resources."  

"I think you have shifted your position because I have checked what was said previously during the 2010 and 2011 Budget and COS debates and also your Workers’ Party Manifesto in last year’s General Election when you criticised the Government for allowing in too many foreign workers. I think your position now accords with ours, and recognises that this is a very careful balance. First, because we have to ensure that our companies can stay competitive, and that Singaporeans thereby keep their jobs and their incomes continue to grow." 

- Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Budget 2012 Round-up speech 

However, one year later in 2013, during the Population White Paper debate Workers' Party proposed a freeze on foreign workforce growth. 

Mr Low said:
"Continued dependence on foreign workforce growth will just kick the can of economic restructuring down the road."

Flip flopping from criticising the government for allowing many foreign workers to asking the government for more foreign workers to calling for a freeze on foreign workers. All in the span of less than 2 years.

Does WP say what they mean and mean what they say, or do they say only what is expedient for the moment because it would win them votes?
http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/budget_2012/rus2.html

Ministerial Salaries: Shifting Positions

#1 Ministerial Salaries: Shifting Positions

 

Observe how WP shifted their positions.

2006 General Elections
Low Thia Khiang: Ministers' salary to be salary of poorest 20% of Singaporeans multiplied by 100 ( = $80,000 a month).

2007 in parliament
Sylvia Lim: Remuneration of political office holders to be benchmarked to that of leaders in foreign countries.


2012 in parliament 
Gerald Giam: Proposed benchmarking against the 'elitist' MX9 (superscale), the pay scale of the top 1.2% of senior civil servants and pegged to the private sector. His proposal is even HIGHER than the review committee's. 

Plainly Dishonest

High Court Judge Quentin Loh used this Latin phrase to describe Sylvia Lim's statement to parliament on 12 Feb 2015 on the transfers of money to sinking fund.

                                   "Suppressio veri suggestio falsi"

It means:
- Suppression of the truth is equivalent to the suggestion of what is false.

Suppression of the truth = concealment of the truth.

USLegal.com describes suppressio veri as A TYPE OF FRAUD and suggestio falsi as AMOUNTING TO FRAUD.

Workers' Party's performance? 
Honesty and integrity - Fail!
Transparency -  Fail!
Accountability - Fail!

Attempted to shift blame to AIM instead of taking responsibility for S&CC Arrears

To distract public's attention from their pathetic performance, Sylvia Lim suggested the timing of the sale of the Town Council Managing System (TCMS) just before GE 2011 was politically motivated to trip the incoming WP MPs.

Look at the timeline and you will see just how ridiculous that assertion was. 

The sale of the TCMS was the result of a review that was called in 2009. 

Hey, it's 2009, well before GE2011, and it was for the purpose of assessing the software's risk of obsolescence. 

If there is anything suspicious about timing, it is the timing of Sylvia Lim raising the AIM issue.
Back in 2011 after taking over, she thanked AIM for helping them to migrate to their own IT system. She also thanked AIM for granting them extensions. 

One year later in May 2012, she said the handover from the previous PAP-run town council to the WP's AHTC had been relatively smooth and considered it a 'significant accomplishment'. (ST 5 May 2012)

But her story changed when the town council management report was released in Dec 2012 and the town council received a red band for S&CC arrears. 

http://bit.ly/1IcSkOw

http://www.mnd.gov.sg/towncouncilreviewreport/AnnexA_MND_TC_Review_Report.pdf

Does Not Answer To Parliament

Pritam Singh was queried by Law Minister Shanmugam on matters concerning the finances at AHPETC.

His answer? "Well, minister, if you were a resident, I'll answer your question."

Here's the exchange:

Mr K. Shanmugam:
... In May 2011, you said, and I quote, "If there is one thread that runs through the Workers' Party manifesto, it is the thread of transparency and accountability", you thundered... There is a thread, all right, but it weaves and leaves a tangled web. Would you tell us what is your position on each of these questions I've asked?

Mr Pritam Singh:
I fully believe when I do my house visits this Saturday, some of these questions (on AHPETC's lapses) will come up. Likewise, they will come up for my fellow WP MPs. We will answer all of them. Why? Because of a duty to the residents. We will answer to them. Well, minister (Shanmugam), if you were a resident, I'll answer your question. Thank you.

Chen Shao Mao according to Mr Lee Kuan Yew: Not so brilliant after all

Star catch Chen who was a sensation during GE2011 turns out a lacklustre performance in parliament. 

"Chen, however, has not turned out to be so brilliant. In Parliament he makes good prepared speeches, with a written script, but in the follow-up, he is all over the place. It simply does not gel with him. If he has a keen mind that has thought through the subjects deeply, he certainly has done a good job of concealing his performances. This is not just my view...…. The weight of public expectation of the man, given his rather impressive resume, has probably added to the disappointment.

- Lee Kuan Yew in ‘One Man’s View Of The World’

Failure to transfer money to sinking fund despite at least 20 years' experience running a town council

AHPETC showed repeated non-compliance with Town Councils Act and Town Council Financial Rules.

AHPETC’s financial position has consistently deteriorated between FY11 and FY13, even though the TC received full government grants from MND during these three years. 

It went from surplus to deficit while still receiving full government grants. 

Sylvia Lim sought to give the impression that they did not transfer money to the sinking fund because grants were withheld from them. But the truth is that they failed to transfer money to the sinking fund even when they were in receipt of full government grants. The transfers were subsequently done at the request of auditors.

Justice Quentin Loh said:
"It is a travesty for AHPETC to have ignored their duties and obligations imposed on them by the Town Councils Act and the Town Council Financial Rules. 

They owe a duty and a heavy responsibility to their constituents to run AHPETC properly and it is incumbent on them to put their house and finances in order. 

If AHPETC were a managing corporation....I have no doubt that AHPETC or its officers will be exposed to the possibility of civil liability or, in an extreme scenario, criminal liability."

 Reference:
http://bit.ly/1IAhMN6
http://bit.ly/1M6xIxB