BTW, it is never about Moulmein... even if it is about being "political". It is about a sinking blue ship, on that blue sea blue sky.
Terry reported what he has gathered and heard, nothing more or less. That's the straight forward representation of facts finding from the ground.
As for Ng E-Jay, he has also come to the very conclusion that ATL's dishonest quotation is the key to the whole issue, just brush off all those noise and dust.
Questions that ATL Maintenance should answer
June 14, 2013 by Ng E-Jay
Filed under: Current Affairs and Politics
Written by Ng E-Jay
14 June 2013
ATL Maintenance Pte. Ltd., the cleaning contractor hired by AHPETC, should answer for its actions with regards to the cleaning for the Block 538 hawker centre at Bedok North, which was originally scheduled from 04 March to 08 March this year.
First and foremost, ATL Maintenance provided a full quotation for major spring cleaning, including provision of scaffolding for cleaning of high areas, to Mr Ng Kok Khim, PAP member and patron of the Block 538 Market Association. Mr Ng denied asking for such a quotation, and his statement was apparently corroborated by fellow PAP member Mr Tan Gin Xiong, who is the current chairman of Blk 538 Market Association.
Note that this does not rule out the possibility someone within Market Association could have asked for a quotation for another unrelated cleaning exercise, or the original intention was only to ask for a quotation for stall canvas coverings, but ATL Maintenance made an honest mistake and provided a comprehensive quotation for full cleaning for the exercise scheduled on 04 March to 08 March at Blk 538′s hawker centre.
ATL must therefore answer why it provided the comprehensive quotation to the Market Association. This is especially important because as ATL Maintenance is also the cleaning contractor hired by other government and PAP-related organizations, it should be well aware of the fact that hawkers never pay for spring cleaning, but only for their own canvas coverings to protect their stalls from falling debris and other dirt.
Secondly, it is clear that the hawkers had intended the cleaning of 04 March to 08 March to be a major spring cleaning involving the cleaning of high areas. That is why in their dealings with AHPETC and NEA, they had requested the allocation of a 5-day cleaning period, rather than a shorter 2-day cleaning period for quarterly spring cleaning which does not involve cleaning high areas. The hawkers had gone out their way to obtain canvas coverings, even bypassing AHPETC and ATL in the process. The last major spring cleaning was performed in March 2012, exactly one year prior.
All this goes to prove that hawkers had intended there was to be major spring cleaning in March, and that they regarded this spring cleaning as being mandated by NEA guidelines, not something over and above what is required.
ATL must have known about the hawker’s intention for major spring cleaning to be conducted, and should have ensured that proper scaffolding would be erected ahead of schedule, either done by itself or by a third party. If this is major spring cleaning mandated under NEA guidelines, ATL must also have known that it alone is responsible for erecting such scaffolding, as stated in their contract with the town council.
ATL however did not arrange for scaffolding to be erected, and they apparently did not check who would arrange for it, because they appeared to be caught off guard on the day of the cleaning itself when they discovered that there was no scaffolding present. ATL must have known that something was amiss, that the job had not been completed, and that the hawkers would realize the same. So why didn’t ATL take action to work the issue out with AHPETC and the hawkers?
ATL Maintenance has remained conspicuously silent throughout the saga. I believe it must be called upon to answer these questions.
Time, much debate, various versions and media releases by various parties have given us all a reasonable picture what could have transpired. Most people have come to a position that is vastly different from yours. And you have not presented anything different from what others have. You chose to interpret it differently.
This to you has nothing to with the hawkers or NEA or cleaning. This has everything to do with Moulmein.
Let face it everyone had paid a price for this silly episode. No one has been spared. If you cannot expect that it is no skin off anyone's back.