<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt_89 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>9:30 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>39202.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Sep 24, 2010
Where it's an uphill climb for the PAP
Nineteen years after he emerged from almost nowhere to steal a victory over the PAP in Hougang, Workers' Party chief Low Thia Khiang remains popular among constituents. What issues, if any, could sway voters the PAP way at the next polls? Kor Kian Beng, Chong Zi Liang and Jeremy Au Yong find out.
http://www.straitstimes.com/Insight/Story/STIStory_582363.html
RESPONSIVE 'We see Mr Low at wakes offering his condolences. He is responsive to feedback too... We once told the town council that the area behind our block was too dark, and street lamps were added quickly.'
Madam Cecilia Li, a residential manager who has lived in Hougang for 17 years, on her MP, Mr Low Thia Khiang (above, seen at his Meet-the-People session).
-- ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
<!-- story content : start -->
IN JUNE, Hougang Town Council emerged second last in the first-ever report card on the performance of such councils.
The only town council to fare worse was Potong Pasir; it and Hougang are the only two non-PAP councils among the 16 islandwide.
The report card, known as the Town Council Management Report (TCMR), measures performance in four areas: cleanliness, maintenance, lift performance, and arrears management of service and conservancy charges (S&CC).
Hougang's scores for cleanliness, maintenance and lift performance were comparable to those of the 14 PAP town councils, but it fared poorly for management of arrears and that pulled down its overall results.
Many Hougang residents, however, do not think the TCMR scores are a good reflection of their town council's performance. They say their Member of Parliament and veteran opposition leader Low Thia Khiang, who also chairs the Hougang Town Council, has done his best.
Insight spoke to 42 Hougang residents, of whom 38 dismiss the TCMR results and say the scores will not sway their support for Mr Low.
What they see in Hougang and wards run by PAP town councils does not square with what they read about Hougang's TCMR results, such residents say.
Among them is Mr Randal Leau, 43, an insurance agent who has lived in Hougang for 10 years.
'It's just a report. It doesn't reflect what is happening around here. My job requires me to go around Singapore. Some people say PAP wards are nicer, but that's not what I see,' he tells Insight.
A provision shopkeeper at Block 322 Hougang Avenue 5, who gives her name as Madam Koh, says: 'Every morning, we see up to 10 cleaners clearing the rubbish here. How can it not be clean enough?'
Still, some hope that the TCMR results will lead to improvements.
Civil defence regular Shaik Dawood, 35, who helps his mother run a convenience store at Block 302 along Upper Serangoon Road, says cleanliness and maintenance are 'only average'.
Ms Ivy Yeo, 37, a hotel events manager, finds no discernible difference between the standards in Hougang and those in the neighbouring, PAP-held Aljunied GRC.
Last year, she moved from a flat at Lorong Ah Soo in Aljunied GRC to Block 851, which is just across the road from Hougang MRT station, and in opposition territory.
Says Ms Yeo: 'I didn't know I was an opposition ward resident until my neighbours told me about it.'
She says of the estate: 'So far so good. I don't see any areas that are unkempt.
'What would win my vote is an MP who can give me a good living environment that is maintained well. I have no complaints now.'
Territorial divide
WALKING along Upper Serangoon Road, it takes about 25 minutes to get from Serangoon Junior College to the Florida condominium at Hougang Avenue 7.
The 2.2km route links the two farthest points in Hougang - one of the smallest wards in Singapore.
Since electoral boundary changes in 2001, it has been engulfed by Aljunied GRC.
There are areas called Hougang that are not part of Hougang ward.
A large swathe of Hougang Central, for example, is in Aljunied GRC, as are Hougang MRT station and the bustling Hougang Mall.
Only the bus interchange is part of the opposition ward.
The Hougang ward has about 9,500 HDB units, mostly three- and four-room flats.
One way to tell if an HDB block belongs to Hougang or Aljunied GRC is to look at the signboard showing the block number.
Blocks under Hougang sport yellow-based signs; those under the GRC, blue-based ones.
Hougang has about 1,200 private housing units, including three condominiums, and 180 landed homes at Realty Park.
The ward includes some 600 HUDC flats at Hougang Avenues 2 and 7, which were recently picked for privatisation.
What makes Hougang stand out of course is that it has been a bastion for Mr Low for the past 19 years.
The secretary-general of the Workers' Party (WP) is now into his fourth term as MP for Hougang, having served since 1991. Since defeating incumbent PAP MP Tang Guan Seng, he has fended off two challengers: Mr Heng Chee How in 1997, and Mr Eric Low in 2001 and 2006.
When the WP leader, a 54-year-old businessman, won the ward during the last general election in May 2006, he scored his highest-ever share of the votes at 62.7 per cent.
Insight's straw poll of 42 Hougang residents found that 30 have no complaints, five do not support him and the remaining seven are undecided.
(Kojakbt: 71.4% support Low, 11.9% do not, 16.7% undecided)
About 83 per cent of Hougang residents are Chinese and most are from the Teochew dialect group.
MP Low's Teochew heritage has been cited as his trump card. His election rallies in Teochew are crowd-pleasers.
However, for residents like Madam Cecilia Li, 60, a residential manager who has lived in Hougang for 17 years, what she appreciates are her MP's regular presence on the ground and responsiveness to feedback.
'We see Mr Low at wakes offering his condolences. He is responsive to feedback too,' she says.
'We once told the town council that the area behind our block was too dark, and street lamps were added quickly.'
Another happy resident is Mr V. Chan, 66, a retiree who has lived for more than 20 years in Block 719 of the HUDC estate.
He says: 'Everything is clean and well-maintained. I often see Mr Low walking around my block to check on things.'
Still, there are detractors.
Says Mr Alan Cheong, 61, a bank officer who also lives in Block 719: 'Our surroundings are so dirty. Our block hasn't been painted in more than 10 years. We need a fresh coat of paint.'
He is among 13 residents polled who take issue with the way that the ward is being run, and who have yet to decide whom to vote for at the next polls.
Issues on the ground include some residents' fear of losing out on Government upgrading programmes, an HUDC privatisation exercise that affects 600 households and a shortage of carpark space in some precincts.
Split over privatisation
THE HUDC privatisation proposed for 600 homes at Hougang Avenues 2 and 7 seems to have divided residents not just in terms of the pros and cons of the programme itself, but also on the Hougang politicians.
Privatisation means that the HUDC residents there will become owners of their estate and control its running.
They will also be exempt from HDB policies such as having to seek approval to sublet their flats.
The conversion costs that they will have to incur will be capped at $30,000 per flat for three years with effect from Aug 2. The Government will absorb the remainder.
For privatisation at the estate to go through, 75 per cent of the flat owners will have to give their support within this period.
Since the HDB announcement in late July, meetings have been held for the HUDC residents to discuss the issue.
Some residents interviewed are for privatisation as it offers potential for a collective or en bloc sale, while others oppose it as they could lose the homes they have known for more than 20 years and might not be able to find others just as nice.
Some residents also say they are disappointed that their MP, Mr Low, has not been involved in their meetings.
Instead, they applaud the PAP's Mr Eric Low for organising and attending the meetings.
Mr Cheong, the bank officer living in HUDC Block 719, is displeased with the MP's non-involvement.
He asks: 'Why is our MP not involved? Why is the PAP's Mr Eric Low the one most involved instead?'
However, there are also HUDC residents who are unhappy with Mr Eric Low's involvement as the grassroots adviser.
In a letter to The Straits Times forum pages on Sept 15, Mr Justin Zhuang, an HUDC resident at Hougang Avenue 2, said 'the privatisation exercise is unfair because it is loaded in favour of approval', arguing that the three-year cap on privatisation costs encourages residents to vote for the exercise before it is too late.
'This was also brought up several times by adviser Eric Low, who I had hoped would remain neutral, but did not,' Mr Zhuang said in his letter.
In an interview with Insight, Mr Eric Low refuted claims of bias, noting that he was not pressuring residents to support privatisation but merely helping to coordinate efforts.
He said he asked MP Low to attend the meetings, but the latter replied that he was 'too busy and didn't want to come'.
When contacted about this, MP Low said in an e-mail reply last night: 'I understand that the dialogue session (meeting) was organised by the People's Association. The MP for Hougang was not invited to attend the dialogue session.
'Under the HDB's procedure for privatisation of HUDC estate, the Member of Parliament plays no role.
'It is the role of the adviser to assist in implementing privatisation.'
But MP Low was reticent on other issues Insight raised with him, despite several attempts to get his inputs.
At his Meet-the-People session last week, he would only say: 'Let people bring up whatever issues they want. I don't really want to comment for your report. Let them say what they want. I try my best.'
Upgrading matters
UPGRADING, or the lack of it, remains a key concern among Hougang residents.
Madam Jenny Koh, 35, a housewife living in the HUDC estate, says: 'I'm leaning more to the PAP now because they, as the ruling party, will be able to provide more for the ward.'
However, retiree Ong Chin Hock, 64, who lives in Block 311, is tired of waiting for a new lift landing outside his ninth-floor flat. The lift at his block stops on the 10th floor.
Says Mr Ong: 'Maybe by the time I get the lift landing on my floor, it will be time to hand over my identity card.'
He is one of several residents who believe the PAP should have made good on the $100 million upgrading carrot held out for Hougang at the 2006 polls, even though it failed to win back the ward.
Indeed, some residents say it was a key reason they switched allegiance from the PAP to the opposition.
Among them was Mr Koh Pung Chor, 50, a taxi driver who lives at Hougang Avenue 5. He says: 'Why treat us opposition residents like enemies? Not voting for the PAP means no upgrading, but we pay taxes too.'
Actually, lift upgrading is finally coming to Hougang because the Government is at the tail end of its programme to ensure that, by 2014, all eligible HDB blocks have lifts that stop at every floor.
Last year, for the first time, Hougang and Potong Pasir were among wards selected for the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP).
In each of the two wards, about 10 blocks were selected. Exhibitions have been held to advise residents before they vote on whether they want the upgrading. At least 75 per cent of the vote is required for the LUP to go through.
A vote was held on Sept 4 in Hougang. Only three of the 190 or so households living in selected blocks along Hougang Avenue 7 rejected the scheme, says the PAP's Mr Low.
The Ministry of National Development told The Straits Times in July that it was sticking to its policy of giving priority to wards that 'supported the Government'.
Where votes might be won or lost in Hougang
Nonetheless, Ms Kalaivani Jayaraman, 39, an administrative executive living in Block 302, sees the upgrading as a positive change.
She herself already enjoys a lift landing on the 12th floor, but she is happy that elderly residents at her block will soon get to share this convenience.
In view of these events, who will she support at the next polls? 'The PAP of course - if it doesn't put us last in the queue for upgrading,' she declares.
Low versus Low again?
AS THE countdown to the polls continues, one question is whether Hougang will see a repeat of the Low versus Low showdowns of 2001 and 2006.
Over the years, calls have been made for Mr Low Thia Khiang to leave Hougang and to lead a WP team in a GRC.
Such calls have resurfaced since fellow opposition MP Chiam See Tong declared in late 2008 his intentions to contest Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC.
MP Low's only comment on his own plans: 'I don't want to assume anything. You never know how they are going to draw the boundary. This place may become Marine Parade GRC.
'Ultimately, the party will decide.'
As for the PAP's Mr Low, he says he does not know where he will be fielded at the next polls, or whether he will be fielded at all.
Soon after the 2006 polls, PAP leaders said Mr Eric Low, and the party's twice-unsuccessful Potong Pasir candidate Sitoh Yih Pin, would be fielded again, but in other wards.
So far, the PAP's Mr Low says he has not heard about the party's plans for him. Neither has anyone been sent to understudy him.
Nevertheless, he says, he is prepared to stand again in Hougang or elsewhere if the PAP so decides and if his health permits.
And he says his 150-strong team of election volunteers - three times as many as the 50 he had in 2006 - is 'election-ready'.
They have discussed and planned election strategies, such as choosing the best lamp posts on which to place election banners, and the best routes to take for their walkabouts and rallies during the campaign period.
Which Low will stay and which Low will go? Or will both stay for a third battle? Whichever way it plays out, the roads in Hougang look set to be abuzz at the next election.
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Where it's an uphill climb for the PAP
Nineteen years after he emerged from almost nowhere to steal a victory over the PAP in Hougang, Workers' Party chief Low Thia Khiang remains popular among constituents. What issues, if any, could sway voters the PAP way at the next polls? Kor Kian Beng, Chong Zi Liang and Jeremy Au Yong find out.
http://www.straitstimes.com/Insight/Story/STIStory_582363.html
RESPONSIVE 'We see Mr Low at wakes offering his condolences. He is responsive to feedback too... We once told the town council that the area behind our block was too dark, and street lamps were added quickly.'
Madam Cecilia Li, a residential manager who has lived in Hougang for 17 years, on her MP, Mr Low Thia Khiang (above, seen at his Meet-the-People session).
-- ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
<!-- story content : start -->
IN JUNE, Hougang Town Council emerged second last in the first-ever report card on the performance of such councils.
The only town council to fare worse was Potong Pasir; it and Hougang are the only two non-PAP councils among the 16 islandwide.
The report card, known as the Town Council Management Report (TCMR), measures performance in four areas: cleanliness, maintenance, lift performance, and arrears management of service and conservancy charges (S&CC).
Hougang's scores for cleanliness, maintenance and lift performance were comparable to those of the 14 PAP town councils, but it fared poorly for management of arrears and that pulled down its overall results.
Many Hougang residents, however, do not think the TCMR scores are a good reflection of their town council's performance. They say their Member of Parliament and veteran opposition leader Low Thia Khiang, who also chairs the Hougang Town Council, has done his best.
Insight spoke to 42 Hougang residents, of whom 38 dismiss the TCMR results and say the scores will not sway their support for Mr Low.
What they see in Hougang and wards run by PAP town councils does not square with what they read about Hougang's TCMR results, such residents say.
Among them is Mr Randal Leau, 43, an insurance agent who has lived in Hougang for 10 years.
'It's just a report. It doesn't reflect what is happening around here. My job requires me to go around Singapore. Some people say PAP wards are nicer, but that's not what I see,' he tells Insight.
A provision shopkeeper at Block 322 Hougang Avenue 5, who gives her name as Madam Koh, says: 'Every morning, we see up to 10 cleaners clearing the rubbish here. How can it not be clean enough?'
Still, some hope that the TCMR results will lead to improvements.
Civil defence regular Shaik Dawood, 35, who helps his mother run a convenience store at Block 302 along Upper Serangoon Road, says cleanliness and maintenance are 'only average'.
Ms Ivy Yeo, 37, a hotel events manager, finds no discernible difference between the standards in Hougang and those in the neighbouring, PAP-held Aljunied GRC.
Last year, she moved from a flat at Lorong Ah Soo in Aljunied GRC to Block 851, which is just across the road from Hougang MRT station, and in opposition territory.
Says Ms Yeo: 'I didn't know I was an opposition ward resident until my neighbours told me about it.'
She says of the estate: 'So far so good. I don't see any areas that are unkempt.
'What would win my vote is an MP who can give me a good living environment that is maintained well. I have no complaints now.'
Territorial divide
WALKING along Upper Serangoon Road, it takes about 25 minutes to get from Serangoon Junior College to the Florida condominium at Hougang Avenue 7.
The 2.2km route links the two farthest points in Hougang - one of the smallest wards in Singapore.
Since electoral boundary changes in 2001, it has been engulfed by Aljunied GRC.
There are areas called Hougang that are not part of Hougang ward.
A large swathe of Hougang Central, for example, is in Aljunied GRC, as are Hougang MRT station and the bustling Hougang Mall.
Only the bus interchange is part of the opposition ward.
The Hougang ward has about 9,500 HDB units, mostly three- and four-room flats.
One way to tell if an HDB block belongs to Hougang or Aljunied GRC is to look at the signboard showing the block number.
Blocks under Hougang sport yellow-based signs; those under the GRC, blue-based ones.
Hougang has about 1,200 private housing units, including three condominiums, and 180 landed homes at Realty Park.
The ward includes some 600 HUDC flats at Hougang Avenues 2 and 7, which were recently picked for privatisation.
What makes Hougang stand out of course is that it has been a bastion for Mr Low for the past 19 years.
The secretary-general of the Workers' Party (WP) is now into his fourth term as MP for Hougang, having served since 1991. Since defeating incumbent PAP MP Tang Guan Seng, he has fended off two challengers: Mr Heng Chee How in 1997, and Mr Eric Low in 2001 and 2006.
When the WP leader, a 54-year-old businessman, won the ward during the last general election in May 2006, he scored his highest-ever share of the votes at 62.7 per cent.
Insight's straw poll of 42 Hougang residents found that 30 have no complaints, five do not support him and the remaining seven are undecided.
(Kojakbt: 71.4% support Low, 11.9% do not, 16.7% undecided)
About 83 per cent of Hougang residents are Chinese and most are from the Teochew dialect group.
MP Low's Teochew heritage has been cited as his trump card. His election rallies in Teochew are crowd-pleasers.
However, for residents like Madam Cecilia Li, 60, a residential manager who has lived in Hougang for 17 years, what she appreciates are her MP's regular presence on the ground and responsiveness to feedback.
'We see Mr Low at wakes offering his condolences. He is responsive to feedback too,' she says.
'We once told the town council that the area behind our block was too dark, and street lamps were added quickly.'
Another happy resident is Mr V. Chan, 66, a retiree who has lived for more than 20 years in Block 719 of the HUDC estate.
He says: 'Everything is clean and well-maintained. I often see Mr Low walking around my block to check on things.'
Still, there are detractors.
Says Mr Alan Cheong, 61, a bank officer who also lives in Block 719: 'Our surroundings are so dirty. Our block hasn't been painted in more than 10 years. We need a fresh coat of paint.'
He is among 13 residents polled who take issue with the way that the ward is being run, and who have yet to decide whom to vote for at the next polls.
Issues on the ground include some residents' fear of losing out on Government upgrading programmes, an HUDC privatisation exercise that affects 600 households and a shortage of carpark space in some precincts.
Split over privatisation
THE HUDC privatisation proposed for 600 homes at Hougang Avenues 2 and 7 seems to have divided residents not just in terms of the pros and cons of the programme itself, but also on the Hougang politicians.
Privatisation means that the HUDC residents there will become owners of their estate and control its running.
They will also be exempt from HDB policies such as having to seek approval to sublet their flats.
The conversion costs that they will have to incur will be capped at $30,000 per flat for three years with effect from Aug 2. The Government will absorb the remainder.
For privatisation at the estate to go through, 75 per cent of the flat owners will have to give their support within this period.
Since the HDB announcement in late July, meetings have been held for the HUDC residents to discuss the issue.
Some residents interviewed are for privatisation as it offers potential for a collective or en bloc sale, while others oppose it as they could lose the homes they have known for more than 20 years and might not be able to find others just as nice.
Some residents also say they are disappointed that their MP, Mr Low, has not been involved in their meetings.
Instead, they applaud the PAP's Mr Eric Low for organising and attending the meetings.
Mr Cheong, the bank officer living in HUDC Block 719, is displeased with the MP's non-involvement.
He asks: 'Why is our MP not involved? Why is the PAP's Mr Eric Low the one most involved instead?'
However, there are also HUDC residents who are unhappy with Mr Eric Low's involvement as the grassroots adviser.
In a letter to The Straits Times forum pages on Sept 15, Mr Justin Zhuang, an HUDC resident at Hougang Avenue 2, said 'the privatisation exercise is unfair because it is loaded in favour of approval', arguing that the three-year cap on privatisation costs encourages residents to vote for the exercise before it is too late.
'This was also brought up several times by adviser Eric Low, who I had hoped would remain neutral, but did not,' Mr Zhuang said in his letter.
In an interview with Insight, Mr Eric Low refuted claims of bias, noting that he was not pressuring residents to support privatisation but merely helping to coordinate efforts.
He said he asked MP Low to attend the meetings, but the latter replied that he was 'too busy and didn't want to come'.
When contacted about this, MP Low said in an e-mail reply last night: 'I understand that the dialogue session (meeting) was organised by the People's Association. The MP for Hougang was not invited to attend the dialogue session.
'Under the HDB's procedure for privatisation of HUDC estate, the Member of Parliament plays no role.
'It is the role of the adviser to assist in implementing privatisation.'
But MP Low was reticent on other issues Insight raised with him, despite several attempts to get his inputs.
At his Meet-the-People session last week, he would only say: 'Let people bring up whatever issues they want. I don't really want to comment for your report. Let them say what they want. I try my best.'
Upgrading matters
UPGRADING, or the lack of it, remains a key concern among Hougang residents.
Madam Jenny Koh, 35, a housewife living in the HUDC estate, says: 'I'm leaning more to the PAP now because they, as the ruling party, will be able to provide more for the ward.'
However, retiree Ong Chin Hock, 64, who lives in Block 311, is tired of waiting for a new lift landing outside his ninth-floor flat. The lift at his block stops on the 10th floor.
Says Mr Ong: 'Maybe by the time I get the lift landing on my floor, it will be time to hand over my identity card.'
He is one of several residents who believe the PAP should have made good on the $100 million upgrading carrot held out for Hougang at the 2006 polls, even though it failed to win back the ward.
Indeed, some residents say it was a key reason they switched allegiance from the PAP to the opposition.
Among them was Mr Koh Pung Chor, 50, a taxi driver who lives at Hougang Avenue 5. He says: 'Why treat us opposition residents like enemies? Not voting for the PAP means no upgrading, but we pay taxes too.'
Actually, lift upgrading is finally coming to Hougang because the Government is at the tail end of its programme to ensure that, by 2014, all eligible HDB blocks have lifts that stop at every floor.
Last year, for the first time, Hougang and Potong Pasir were among wards selected for the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP).
In each of the two wards, about 10 blocks were selected. Exhibitions have been held to advise residents before they vote on whether they want the upgrading. At least 75 per cent of the vote is required for the LUP to go through.
A vote was held on Sept 4 in Hougang. Only three of the 190 or so households living in selected blocks along Hougang Avenue 7 rejected the scheme, says the PAP's Mr Low.
The Ministry of National Development told The Straits Times in July that it was sticking to its policy of giving priority to wards that 'supported the Government'.
Where votes might be won or lost in Hougang
Nonetheless, Ms Kalaivani Jayaraman, 39, an administrative executive living in Block 302, sees the upgrading as a positive change.
She herself already enjoys a lift landing on the 12th floor, but she is happy that elderly residents at her block will soon get to share this convenience.
In view of these events, who will she support at the next polls? 'The PAP of course - if it doesn't put us last in the queue for upgrading,' she declares.
Low versus Low again?
AS THE countdown to the polls continues, one question is whether Hougang will see a repeat of the Low versus Low showdowns of 2001 and 2006.
Over the years, calls have been made for Mr Low Thia Khiang to leave Hougang and to lead a WP team in a GRC.
Such calls have resurfaced since fellow opposition MP Chiam See Tong declared in late 2008 his intentions to contest Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC.
MP Low's only comment on his own plans: 'I don't want to assume anything. You never know how they are going to draw the boundary. This place may become Marine Parade GRC.
'Ultimately, the party will decide.'
As for the PAP's Mr Low, he says he does not know where he will be fielded at the next polls, or whether he will be fielded at all.
Soon after the 2006 polls, PAP leaders said Mr Eric Low, and the party's twice-unsuccessful Potong Pasir candidate Sitoh Yih Pin, would be fielded again, but in other wards.
So far, the PAP's Mr Low says he has not heard about the party's plans for him. Neither has anyone been sent to understudy him.
Nevertheless, he says, he is prepared to stand again in Hougang or elsewhere if the PAP so decides and if his health permits.
And he says his 150-strong team of election volunteers - three times as many as the 50 he had in 2006 - is 'election-ready'.
They have discussed and planned election strategies, such as choosing the best lamp posts on which to place election banners, and the best routes to take for their walkabouts and rallies during the campaign period.
Which Low will stay and which Low will go? Or will both stay for a third battle? Whichever way it plays out, the roads in Hougang look set to be abuzz at the next election.
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