The Workers' Party (WP) has fired the latest salvo in the ongoing war of words over the termination of Aljunied-Hougang Town Council's computer system and the contract between the People's Action Party-run town councils and the firm appointed to manage their computer systems.
In a statement issued on Saturday, WP chairman Sylvia Lim also addressed IT firm Action Information Management (Aim)'s statement that Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) had wanted to develop its own computerised management system after the WP took over the council following the general election in May 2011.
She said: "To allay any doubts about whether Aim had indeed terminated the software agreement with AHTC, a copy of the termination notice is attached for public scrutiny."
The letter, dated 22 June 2011, is signed by an Aim director. It states that the firm would cease to allow the town council the use of the intellectual property and system functions related to the existing software, "owing to material changes to the membership of the Town Council". The software would be terminated on 1 August 2011, it added.
Aim last month did reveal that it had sent such a letter on June 22. But it also said that the letter was in response to a June 10 letter from AHTC, in which AHTC had said it was developing its own computer system and sought to have an extension to the current system until its system was ready. Aim later released an exchange of letters, which showed this letter - 12 days earlier than the termination letter released by WP - was from the town council's interim secretary and thanking Aim for its assistance. Ms Lim's statement yesterday made no reference to this June 10 letter by her town council.
Ms Lim, who is the chairman of AHTC, also criticised Dr Teo Ho Pin's explanation earlier this week of why the 14 PAP-run town councils under his charge sold the rights of their computer system to Aim, a company owned by the PAP, saying it still did not answer the question of whether public interest had been served in the transaction.
