SINGAPORE – Residents in two Tiong Bahru HDB blocks could get a second chance to vote on whether they want to undergo the Home Improvement Programme (HIP) after a narrow miss in November, said Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Foo Cexiang.
Whether the re-poll takes place will depend on the level of support from residents, he told The Straits Times on Dec 4. Mr Foo added that he and grassroots volunteers will continue to reach out to households that did not vote or voted “no”, and address their concerns.
“If residents are strongly supportive, I will make the request to HDB to have the re-poll,” he said.
The two blocks – Block 34 Kim Cheng Street and Block 35 Lim Liak Street – had
failed to garner enough votes to pass the 75 per cent threshold
by a narrow margin of two and one votes respectively.
They were among 29 blocks in the neighbourhood that voted in November on whether to carry out HIP improvements. Voting was successful for the other 27 blocks. All the blocks are four-storey walk-up flats built in 1949 by the Singapore Improvement Trust, the predecessor to HDB.
“We are going to proceed with HIP for the first few blocks, hopefully after Chinese New Year,” Mr Foo said. “And we need to do it well so we can further convince those on the fence now – that perhaps it is inconvenient, but the benefit to the blocks are much more.”
The HIP was launched in 2007 to spruce up older housing estates and resolve common maintenance problems, such as spalling concrete. It is carried out only if at least 75 per cent of a block’s eligible Singaporean households have voted for it. Permanent resident households are not eligible to vote.
If the vote passes, residents have to undergo some compulsory works, such as repairing spalling concrete, but can opt out of other improvements like bathroom upgrading.
