One Connect: One-stop helpline for private residents

PA aims to get all constituencies to run hotlines similar to Ang Mo Kio pilot

By Leonard Lim, The Straits Times, 9 Jul 2012

A ONE-STOP hotline piloted for residents in private homes to call about estate problems around Ang Mo Kio has been so successful that the People's Association (PA) is encouraging other constituencies to set up their own.

Started in July 2009, it allowed residents in Ang Mo Kio GRC and the single-seat ward of Sengkang West to call one number - and avoid having to figure out which agency to call - when say, a tree branch fell outside their gate.

While those living in Housing Board flats can turn to their town council, private home owners might be stumped about whether to contact the National Parks Board (NParks), National Environment Agency, Land Transport Authority (LTA) or Singapore Land Authority (SLA).

With One Connect, the 43,000 private estate residents in Ang Mo Kio and Sengkang West can just call the toll-free 1800-2255-123.

Yesterday, the programme was formally launched by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, an MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, at Greenwich V mall in Seletar.

'It can be quite time-consuming and frustrating to make telephone calls and get shunted from one agency to another,' he acknowledged. 'If the road needs to be repaired, you go to LTA. If the drain needs to be repaired, you must go to PUB.'

And if trees need to be pruned, it could be the NParks, the SLA or the LTA, depending on whose land the tree is on.

The PA, which runs One Connect, aims to get all constituencies to introduce similar programmes by the end of next year, and has set aside about $375,000 for this.

'We are encouraging other constituencies to introduce similar one-stop services for their private estates too,' Mr Lee noted in a Facebook posting later.

Next week, Moulmein-Kallang GRC and Whampoa are launching their version, called Hotline for Private Estates.

The One Connect@Ang Mo Kio-Sengkang West hotline is manned by PA constituency managers and supported by Neighbourhood Committee (NC) members who are volunteers living in the area. Residents say they have found the hotline useful.

Mr Ng Hak Hai, 50, who lives in Yio Chu Kang, said he and his neighbours have called about sewage problems and even a stray monkey; and the issues were usually dealt with within a few days.

Three-quarters of the nearly 700 cases handled during the two-year pilot involved maintenance issues such as clearing of drains, control of stray animals and illegal parking.

Yesterday's launch comes as the number of people living in private estates is growing. From around 200,000 about a decade ago, it has swelled to 270,000.

Residents in these estates are part of the community and the authorities want to engage them in the same way as those in public housing, Mr Lee said in his speech. There are more than 120 NCs, the equivalent of Residents' Committees in HDB estates.

In Ang Mo Kio and Sengkang West, One Connect also aims to boost safety through citizen patrols, and build bonds by getting residents to form interest groups.

Yesterday, Mr Lee announced the formation of a taskforce for One Connect co-chaired by Ang Mo Kio GRC MPs Inderjit Singh and Ang Hin Kee. It will follow up on issues raised in the hotline and look into residents' needs.