Polyclinic walk-ins, pickleball court among new Chua Chu Kang GRC initiatives in first 100 days: MPs

CNA

a day ago

SINGAPORE: Priority polyclinic walk-ins for the elderly and the young, new connectivity options and a pickleball court are among the new initiatives that have been or will soon be rolled out in Choa Chu Kang, its Members of Parliament said on Sunday (Aug 10) in an update 100 days after the 2025 General Election.
To help residents with living expenses, around 12,000 eligible households can also expect a constituency-wide programme in end-2025 to purchase essential items like rice and oil for S$1 (US$0.78).
Speaking to the media about the developments in the People's Action Party-held (PAP) Group Representation Constituency, the four MPs - Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng, Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow, Dr Choo Pei Ling and Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim - introduced a number of initiatives that have been completed or are in the works since the party won Chua Chu Kang GRC.
All four MPs were out and about greeting residents and stall holders at Teck Whye market from around 8.30am on Sunday, which is exactly 100 days after Polling Day on May 3.
"We have stepped up our engagements with residents, through chit chat sessions, through regular kopi talks and dialogues. And this will extend across the entire GRC," Dr Tan said.
"I believe that ... with that very constructive engagement, it becomes even more productive for us, more efficient for us to be able to carry out the initiatives that we talked about."
Chua Chu Kang GRC saw significant changes to its boundaries in GE2025, which now includes newest housing town Tengah.
Of the four MPs, only Mr Zhulkarnain has represented the GRC for multiple terms. Dr Tan, the anchor minister for the constituency, was moved at the last minute from Marine Parade GRC to Chua Chu Kang GRC on Nomination Day, while the remaining two MPs were fielded for the first time.
The PAP team won against a Progress Singapore Party team with 63.6 per cent of the vote in the recent polls.
WALK-INS AT POLYCLINIC
Dr Tan said that one "immediate feedback" he received from his Meet-The-People sessions was access to healthcare, referring to Choa Chu Kang Polyclinic in particular.
Currently, residents can book their appointments at the polyclinic via a mobile application. However, Dr Tan noted that there was a segment of Choa Chu Kang residents who was not "digitally savvy" to do so.
"Upon talking to our elderly residents, and particularly also for the very young, particularly when they have an ailment ... they want to have some walk-in to the polyclinic itself without having an appointment," Dr Tan said.
The team discussed the issue with the National University Health System, which then acceded to the request for walk-ins.
The polyclinic has started allowing walk-ins until 12pm, with priority given to seniors above 70 and children under two years old. The initiative will be extended to the new Tengah Polyclinic when it is open in the first half of 2026.
Asked why there was a 12pm cut-off time, Dr Tan said that if the consult was urgent and the patient needed to do follow-up tests, having an earlier slot would ensure they receive their results in time.
"When we first start off, we have to ensure that in the morning, when patient turns up, you can do whatever necessary tests that's available, and in the event that it's an urgent referral, you can also quickly make a referral to the hospital as well," he added.
CONNECTIVITY AND AMENITIES
The MPs also spoke about improved connectivity in the GRC, including sheltered linkways and bus services in newest housing town Tengah.
Dr Tan said the team managed to secure more covered linkways so that "residents can look forward to a very contiguous, covered linkway access", noting that the team was able "expeditiously secure the kind understanding and the support" of the Land Transport Authority.
He also noted that fellow MP Jeffrey Siow is the Acting Transport Minister.
Said Mr Siow: "Our focus ... going forward is to make sure that the parts of Choa Chu Kang town are both connected to the rest of Singapore, as well as internally within people are able to move and get around to where they want to go."
Earlier in June, Mr Siow and Dr Choo said that eight new bus services will be introduced in Brickland and Tengah - the wards they oversee - by the end of next year.
One of these, bus service 872, was launched on Sunday morning to connect Tengah Bus Interchange with Chinese Garden MRT.
A new private bus service bridging Brickland and Buona Vista will begin on Monday, Mr Siow said.
He also announced a new bus service 984 that is due to become operational in end-2025. The service will connect Brickland residents to Bukit Panjang and Jurong East MRT Stations.
As for Tengah, Dr Choo, who is in charge of the ward, noted that the number of dwelling units in Tengah will increase from the current 12,000 to 15,000 by the end of this year.
Newly moved-in residents at Tengah had previously complained about the lack of connectivity and amenities.
On Sunday, she went through the list of new facilities that had opened in the past 100 days, including four new preschools, bringing the total to seven. A new 24-hour coffee shop and a 24-hour supermarket have also opened.
A new commercial cluster across the Tengah Garden Avenue will open within an upcoming BTO estate, and Tengah Forest Drive will also have a new mosque, which will be the fifth in the GRC.
The mosque will be located near Brickland Road and will be accessible to residents from Keat Hong as well, said Mr Zhulkarnain.
A new pickleball court will be built near The Bricks, a sports facility at Choa Chu Kang Avenue 7, in the first quarter of next year.
LONGER-TERM CHALLENGES
Speaking to reporters, Dr Tan said team was able to quickly implement infrastructural plans such as covered linkways, which he described as "low hanging fruit".
But there are also longer-term plans to address the "last 50 metres" of one's commute home and cannot be easily fixed due to the presence of critical underground infrastructure.
"We also have to be cognisant of the fact that below what you see, (in our) subterranean there's a lot of infrastructure. There are power cables, there are water pipes, and there are also multiple infrastructures (that have) been laid there for many, many decades before that," he said.
These are the kinds of infrastructure that might not have available plans and drawings due to their age, but the team will continue to "explore" them, he said.
Another issue was rapidly aging population in Chua Chu Kang GRC, particularly Teck Whye, in contrast with the younger families in Tengah, Dr Tan said.
"So in that sense itself, because of the changing population demographics, a longer type of planning includes studying the trend and also the movement of residents in and within Teck Whye," he said, adding that the team was studying the care arrangements of younger families with lower income.
Dr Tan also made reference to his previous stint as MP of Marine Parade GRC, which has since become a part of Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC.
"Some of the initiatives that I carried out successfully in the past, in my other GRC, in Marine Parade ... I'm thinking of imbibing, taking some of it and replicating it here, but those would take time for us to conduct a more detailed study," he said.
Asked if there were differences between Choa Chu Kang and Marine Parade, Dr Tan pointed to the undulating terrain in Teck Whye, which contrasted to the flat, low-lying land in his old estate.
"And as a result of the undulating nature of the terrain, then all the more connectivity is actually going to be key to get the residents to move out of the house and to walk," he said.
He noted how flats built on hilltops also made for good views and presented opportunities for the lived environment.
"So the key thing is that, how do we therefore merge, how do we integrate the beauty here in terms of the nature, the greenery, and harmonising that undulating landscape with a very nice lived environment that can actually cater to a population, a resident population of all ages?
"I think that's a challenge, and that's something that I'm trying to see how I can get creative architects, landscape architects, to help us in the next bound, to see whether we can come up with something that is cogent and, of course, that is affordable."