Mountbatten SMC: Reviving the Katong Spirit

Mrs Jeannette Chong from the NSP has revealed her 5-year plan for Mountbatten, called Reviving the Katong Spirit.

I'm really impressed. Mrs Jeannette Chong's 5-year Mountbatten Community Plan details from how she would engage Mountbatten residents as a community, to raising health, financial and legal awareness among residents, and even promoting 'green' living and a greater appreciation for the arts and culture.

I like her ideals. I like her plan. But she doesn't go on to say HOW does she carry out her plan. So, let's take a closer look.

PLAN 1: Set-up an alternate grassroots organisation called ‘residents connect’
This is, to me, just another fanciful name for a Meet-The-People Session. Both function in the same way, and both require an active participation from the residents. Without the residents' participation, 'residents connect' cannot connect with the residents. Perhaps, she would do house-to-house visits to reach out?

PLAN 2: Facilitate and promote open dialogue sessions (town hall meetings)
I like this idea, really. At a town hall meeting, all issues can be aired and discussed by all residents. But I'm not sure how well she can handle this. She likened the informal session she had with Haig Court residents like a town hall meeting. The atmosphere at the informal session was tense, and poorly handled by her assistant, Mr Justin, who was on the verge of exploding. If she and her assistant cannot handle the meeting at the scale of about 100 residents, how will she be able to handle a town hall meeting that caters to ALL Mountbatten residents?

PLAN 3: Partner established agencies to bring career development clinics
PLAN 4: Partner established agencies to bring healthcare awareness and health education
PLAN 5: Partner established agencies to bring financial awareness and education
PLAN 6: Partner established agencies to bring legal awareness and health education
There is a lot of partnering done here. They aim to meet legitimate needs of Mountbatten residents. They sound like an awful lot of work though. With her team, Mrs Jeannette Chong should be able to get all these done. She hasn't considered being a full-time MP though. So, can she?

PLAN 7: Promote zero carbon footprint transportation
Basically, Mrs Jeannette Chong sounds like she is going to promote cycling as a means to achieve a zero carbon footprint. Time to get a bicycle!

PLAN 8: Promote the appreciation of arts, culture and sports
Mrs Jeannette Chong wants to bring vibrancy to the community, fulfill aspirations of the young, and foster have a sense of connectedness among the people to the community and to the nation. That sounds really great! But like I said, how? "Fulfill aspirations of the young"? Wow.

Anyway, I missed yesterday's NSP rally at Mountbatten CC. I was down with food poisoning. Thank you Wang Wei for giving me a ride to the clinic, thank you Tung for accompanying me, thank you Audrey, Sheila, Eileen, Patricia and Joshua was being there for me! :) I thought it was funny when I said in the car yesterday: "Nicole isn't worth my stomach."

Finally, the PAP have decided to have a rally at Mountbatten CC. When? Tomorrow night. Oh well. I shall look forward to news online, and the video on ge.sg.