EM Services cites manpower crunch for not making Sengkang bid

Sengkang Town Council's (SKTC) existing managing agent, EM Services, said it did not put in a bid to continue in its role after its contract expires next year, because of a manpower crunch.

EM Services chief executive officer Tony Khoo, replying to queries from The Straits Times, said yesterday: "As you are aware, managing township requires many people.

"As labour market is very tight these days, it is not easy to find the right people who have the relevant skill sets. As such, we have decided to give it a miss for this tender."

On Tuesday, SKTC - which comes under Workers' Party (WP) MPs He Ting Ru, Louis Chua and Jamus Lim - had said it would directly manage the town from next year, after a three-week tender exercise in April for a managing agent failed to attract any bids.

The news reignited debate about the barriers opposition-run town councils face, with some such as former WP Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong saying in a Wednesday Facebook post that the town council system was political by design.

Asked about the perception that facilities management companies prefer not to work for opposition-run town councils, and EM Services' experience managing SKTC, Mr Khoo declined to comment.

He said factors considered before putting in a bid for a managing agent tender include "pricing, manpower, duration, technologies", among other things.

He added that EM Services is currently managing only a part of Sengkang town, but in the April tender, SKTC had been looking for a managing agent for the entire town.

SKTC was formed on July 30, 2020, to manage the newly formed Sengkang GRC that was won by the WP at the 2020 general election. It had inherited managing agent contracts with EM Services and CPG Facilities Management.

The four-member constituency is made up of Buangkok, Compassvale and Rivervale, formerly part of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC and Punggol East, as well as the Anchorvale division, formerly part of Sengkang West. The areas previously under Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC and Punggol East are managed by EM Services until its contract expires on Jan 31 next year, while the areas under Sengkang West were managed by CPG Facilities Management.

SKTC's contract with CPG ended on Oct 31 last year, and a tender exercise for a new managing agent received only one bid from a company that had never run a town council. SKTC then took over management of Anchorvale division.

ST has reached out to CPG for comment.

Another big player in facilities management, C&W Services, declined comment when asked if it had considered putting in a bid.

Mr Yee said: "Not at all surprised that there is zero bid to manage Sengkang Town Council. I had always believed that eventually, the town council had to be self-managed whether we like it or not." He had added that the political nature of town councils was a key issue in the Aljunied Hougang Town Council (AHTC) case, which is pending judgment by the Court of Appeal.

In 2017, AHTC had sued its own town councillors, including WP chief Pritam Singh, former WP chief Low Thia Khiang and WP chair Sylvia Lim, over $33 million in improper payments made under their watch.

Part of the case hinged on the hiring of AHTC's managing agent FM Solutions and Services, set up by a couple who were WP supporters. The company had been awarded the contract without a tender after the WP won Aljunied GRC in the 2011 General Election.

The WP leaders had said during the court hearings that AHTC's then managing agent CPG was unwilling to continue in its role. They had also suggested that CPG, which they saw as being aligned with the People's Action Party, might "sabotage" matters.

SKTC did not respond to a request for comment.