- Joined
- Jan 18, 2010
- Messages
- 7,177
- Points
- 48
Renovate for who? End up only the ball-carriers and the MP enjoy it. Another 44 millions of taxpayers' money!
Clubhouse features for void-deck RC centres
Sofas and lounge stools, dark-brown tiled flooring, a red feature wall with a mounted television set, and ceiling-to-floor mirrors for yoga and dance classes.
Such condominium clubhouse-like features could become common in residents' committee (RC) centres - located at the void decks of flats - in the future, if the RC centre in Marine Crescent Ville is anything to go by.
Yesterday, an island-wide $44-million plan to update RC centres was unveiled by the People's Association (PA), the umbrella body of grassroots organisations, including RCs.
The plan will cover 460 RC centres over the next four years, and is said to turn these centres into more than just hangouts for karaoke sessions and tuition classes.
There are currently 572 RCs in Singapore. RC centres that are more than 15 years old are eligible for upgrading.
Each RC centre will have the autonomy to choose its own design and layout, as well as offer unique programmes, such as health talks and yoga classes, to cater to specific needs of residents.
A full-time RC manager will be employed so that each upgraded centre can have longer opening hours.
Mr Lim Swee Say, PA's deputy chairman, said yesterday that the upgrading of RC centres is a "major turning point" in the development of RCs, since they were started in 1977.
Mr Lim, who is a Member of Parliament for East Coast Group Representation Constituency and also Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, added that RC centres in the past were more "standardised" in their facilities.
Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, an MP for Marine Parade GRC, also noted that RC centres were initially "very elementary", with a cement floor and a few chairs.
Mr Lim said that with the upgrades, the centres will be customised and more relevant to the needs of residents in different estates.
For instance, Marine Crescent Ville's RC centre - one of six upgraded centres - has newly-installed wall mirrors so that residents can hold dance and yoga classes in the centre.
Currently, 12 other RC centres are being upgraded and another 60 will be upgraded this year.
[email protected]