Walkabout on 11 April 2015 - Punggol Area

After the Walkabout around the Pasir Ris area on 4 April 2015 (refer here), the SDA had another interaction session with the people of Punggol today.

The SDA team assembled at the Koufu Food Court at Punggol Plaza Mall at 168 Punggol Field for breakfast and briefing session at 9.30am.

Today's session consisted of the SDA members donning their signature lime green polo shirts and two of the Shadow Town Councillors, Mr. Derrick Tan and Mr. Lim Kim Soon, trained and ready to be of service to the people when opportunity arises.

 
The Walkabout Outreach kickstarted at approximately 10.00am starting from the alfresco dining area of the food court. The Anchor man charting today's walkabout path was Mr. Kaswadi B.  Atnawi. He can be seen shaking the hand of a friendly patron in this photograph herein.

 

The members were received by the diners warmly, from able young men to mummies with their kids. An elderly gentleman with a walking stick was seated down initially, but upon our approach, he made the effort to stand up just to welcome the members - this was a very heart warming moment for all the members.

The duo of Shadow Town Councillors touched base with the public after the SDA members have given out the Leaflets; and to gather some quality feedback from the residents about the general upkeep and support of this area.

 

 

SDA team continued reaching out to most of the people at the outdoors seating area, introducing themselves and disseminating more leaflets to the public. The residents were more than willing to share their dismay and feedback with these men with the friendly touch.

The team moved into the air-conditioned seating area of the same Koufu food court so as to interact with the diners within.

 

 

 

It was noted that most of the diners here comprised of young families, elderly citizens and a good mix of foreigners. The residents here gladly halted during their meals for a handshake and discussion with the members and Shadow Town Councillors.

Some of the pressing issues gathered from the SDA members till this point were that there are too many foreigners in this estate, with no reasonably-priced hawker centres in the vicinity to serve them; and that the narrow roads are very congested especially during peak hours.

There was an elderly lady who came over enthusiastically upon spotting the members in their familiar green shirts, and asked for copies of the leaflets.  She also asked about this issue's contents, which was explained in detail to her by one of the members, Mr. William Lim.

 

The general observation during this morning's Outreach Walkabout session reaped the consolation that members of the public were very receptive to a Party that genuinely care about them and what they think. They could be seen reading the leaflets all across the dining hall - some pausing their meals to do so, some reading over the enjoyment of their meals, while others were seen engaging in deep discussions together over the contents of these leaflets.

 

 

An hour later, the Outreach Program was still commencing strong. The members continued to introduce themselves and chatting with the residents about their concerns. 

The Shadow Town Councillors managed to collate more feedback from the residents who expressed dismay at the state of this area after so long. The promises of better amenities are not met with, and the upkeep of the existing facilities is poor. There is not a single hawker centre around the vicinity; even grocer shops or minimarts are scarce here - one could walk for blocks without even spotting a mama shop!

 

 

The climate of the Outreach Walkabout session came about shortly thereafter, whilst the diners were in the midst of sharing their grievances with the SDA members - the management of the mall came to interfere the meaningful session and informed the members that they could not distribute leaflets within the Punggol Plaza Mall itself.

Perhaps a road show booth is required in order for Party members to reach out to the people they could potentially be serving in the very near future and to give out leaflets thereof?

It was not the first time the members have conducted meet-and-greet sessions at this very exact location, therefore the prohibition was rather baffling this time round.

As such, the hardworking members and Shadow Town Councillors were driven out to the streets where they endured the glaring heat of the sun so that they could continue to touch base with the people. They also had to traverse around 150m in the sweltering weather in order to reach the nearest coffee shop in the vicinity. This was a good experience as the members now understood the pains that the residents staying in Punggol area are currently undergoing.

 

Finally, they reached the coffee shop at Block 108 Edgefield Plains, where they established contact with the residents having their meals here. The session here reaped some earnest feedback from the patrons as well, unloading their unhappiness with the lack of eateries and retail shops here.

Even over here, the members have been stopped from distributing leaflets and touching base with the people. That didn't happen during the past visits. If it were another political party conducting this Outreach session, would the same thing have happened?

The session concluded around noon-time for today,  with a fair bit of time having been wasted during the negotiation session with the first point of contact (read above for details / refresher). Nonetheless, the overall feedback gained was invaluable, and the members were contented that the residents entrusted them with their heartfelt concerns, giving them an insight on what they could do for the people realistically, in order of priority.

The above Interaction session is covered by SDA's field reporter, Ms Elle Chen.