A man who suffered from chronic illness had committed suicide. The sudden death of the man left behind a wife, a teenage daughter and a son. He was the sole breadwinner in the family.
Led by Member of Parliament for Nee Soon GRC Derrick Goh Soon Hee, the community in Nee Soon Link came together to help the family cope with their tragic predicament.
Mr Goh told Petir.sg: “The family received $3,000 in financial support from the Northwest Emergency Relief Fund. We encouraged and comforted the family, giving them all the help and care they needed. We helped the family get back on their feet.”
Today, it is heartening to hear from Mr Goh that the mother has since found work. Her son studies at a polytechnic while her daughter attends a local university.
“The daughter interned at a grassroots leader’s AI company and learned coding to prepare for university. She is hardworking and a keen learner, giving tuition to earn extra money. She also volunteers with Nee Soon Link Youth Network. I look forward to seeing her develop her leadership skills!” said Mr Goh.
Early in his political career, an elderly resident had sought Mr Goh’s help at his Meet-the-People session. The man had lost $500,000 through an online scam. That was his life savings from selling his five room HDB flat.
“The elderly man was devastated and very disappointed. He felt lost and unsure how to deal with the issue,” he said.
With help from volunteer lawyers, Mr Goh and his team contacted relevant agencies to provide assistance. Helping this elderly resident led Mr Goh to often speak in Parliament about the need to stamp out online scams.
Looking back to when he first started as an MP, Mr Goh realised that though Nee Soon Link was new, friends, families, colleagues, and residents readily assisted when the community needed help.
He said: “Everyone in the community has a heart to help one another. This many hands approach – helping those in need – is what makes Nee Soon Link a great community. I am proud of them. “
Rejuvenating Nee Soon Link to meet the diverse needs of residents: Derrick Goh
Mr Goh has worked to renew, refresh, and revitalize Nee Soon Link since becoming an MP.
The constituency is a 40-year-old housing estate with six new HDB precincts. Mr Goh said he focuses on four key areas to meet “the diverse needs of residents”.
First, he oversaw the completion of the Home Improvement Programme for 41 blocks of flats. Residents were pleased with the modern designs and quality of improvements within their flats, he said.
Second, he improved the transport network linking the new Build-to-Order precincts to Yishun town centre. He said: “There were no bus services at first. We managed to request a new bus service and added four new bus stops for residents.”
Third, he provided services for young families, seniors as well as uplifted the vulnerable within the constituency. With many young families in Nee Soon Link, he noted that there was high demand for childcare and infant care. Mr Goh’s team brought in four new childcare and infant care centres which provide 800 places to meet residents’ needs.
Separately, over 1,100 seniors learned digital payments, as part of Mr Goh’s efforts to promote digital inclusion. His team organised regular food rations and initiated programmes to support vulnerable residents in the rental blocks. Nee Soon Link has 40 per cent of the rental blocks in Nee Soon GRC.
Fourth, he worked on renewing the old Yishun Mall – the town centre of Nee Soon Link and upgrading the infrastructure within the constituency. This includes building a covered linkway between Block 426A at Floral Spring @ Yishun and Block 417 and a staggered pedestrian crossing along Yishun Avenue 1 in front of Block 430B, which residents have long been looking forward to.
Mr Goh said: “There has been a deficit of infrastructure at Nee Soon Link. Yishun Avenue 1 has six lanes, and the crossing is next to a kindergarten. It’s dangerous for mothers and children to cross the road. This issue has existed for seven years, so I convinced LTA to build the crossing.”
Mr Goh has been discussing with Land Transport Authority of Singapore on possible plans to expand the entry and exit points of Yishun Dam Road to help vehicle traffic clear faster during peak hours.
Residents can also look forward to an underground community club in a park, he added. “The community club is now in the planning stage – residents have voted for their favourite design – and I hope the community club will be ready next year,” he revealed.
Apart from improving infrastructure, Mr Goh believes in fostering community bonding and reviving the kampung spirit at Nee Soon Link. With his team’s support, residents living in private condominiums within the constituency formed resident networks for the first time.
Mr Goh’s private sector experience also helped. He said his experience underscores the importance of implementation and execution, “essentially getting the job done.”
“Work is not done until it’s well implemented. This is where working with agencies has been very helpful, especially if they understand your perspective and objectives,” he said.
“Whether it’s bus services, covered walkways, or road crossings, when you help them see from your angle, they too are responsible. When they understand better, they can execute better. They can then help the community at large,” he added.
Effective parliament require good policies and proper implementation: Derrick Goh
Turning to national politics and governance, Mr Goh said for Parliament to be effective, good policies must come with proper implementation to benefit Singaporeans.
“Trade-offs need to be discussed and debated. This allows for courageous conversations where real issues are discussed. Only then can Singaporeans fully understand the issues facing Singapore to make good decisions for Singapore and all Singaporeans.”
Over the years in Parliament, he has spoken up on issues like resolving neighborhood disputes, pushing for community mediation to be mandatory and accelerating the growth of small and medium-sized businesses.
He noted that neighborhood disputes in Singapore have increased fivefold from around 400 a month pre-Covid to around 2,000 a month now. “4,000 families are angry with each other. If you want harmonious living where people come home and feel rested, we must help them manage disputes,” he said.
Small and medium businesses employ most Singaporeans and form the backbone of the economy, he pointed out. “When these entities do well, they can pay our residents (well). If Singaporeans have good jobs, they can also continue to upgrade their skills. SMEs form the backbone of Singapore’s economy.”
Derrick Goh’s vision for Nee Soon Link: making it more vibrant with improved services
Whether it is representing his residents in Parliament or resolving their issues, Mr Goh described the work of an MP as meaningful.
“One of the key things that drives me is seeing that I have made a difference in the lives of the residents in Nee Soon Link. Some residents have fallen into hard times. Some are due to the luck of the draw. My volunteers and I have been able to give them a leg up, to help them uplift their lives and see them a lot more successful. That makes me happy,” he added.
In the near term, Mr Goh hopes to make Nee Soon Link more vibrant by improving its infrastructure to match the rest of Nee Soon GRC. He plans to further enhance services for those who need extra help. How does he manage the enormous challenges of being an MP? Mr Goh said he focuses and relies on earning residents’ trust so that they will approach him to discuss issues.
“We can (then) discuss with government agencies and through our volunteers, to resolve them. Although some of the resolutions may not be full, when residents see that you have tried your best to help them, they feel satisfied and happy that you have been their MP,” he said.
