THEY came loaded with questions but left 90 minutes later with no real answers.
Uppermost in the minds of the close to 100 Seletar Camp residents, mainly Caucasians living in its 305 black-and-white colonial rented houses: Do we have to pack up when our leases expire on Dec 31, 2008, to make way for the development of Seletar Aerospace Park?
They turned up for a dialogue with their MP and government officials on Saturday but were disappointed and none the wiser about their future.
Mr Wee Siew Kim, MP for the Jalan Kayu ward in Ang Mo Kio GRC where the camp is located, had no answer.
He told the residents: 'I do not have a lot of answers but I would like to hear your views.' He added that the masterplan had not been finalised.
Residents pointed out to Mr Wee as well as JTC Corporation and Economic Development Board (EDB) officials who also attended the session that their homes make up just 20 per cent of Seletar Camp. This meant there was plenty of land available for aerospace activities.
They urged the Government to take only land that it needs, to which an EDB representative said: 'We do not ask for land that will not be taken up for development.' One resident, scientist Suresh Jesuthasan, told The Straits Times: 'We have no problems with the proposal to upgrade the aviation industry, as it is in everybody's interest that Singapore has a healthy economy.
'However, a good development plan can maintain the residential area, recognising that it will actually add value to the project.'
In the end, the furthest Mr Wee would go was to assure residents that, where possible, extensions on their leases would be given.
He said: 'We will not move people out ahead of time.'
Saturday's meeting was the residents' second approach to the authorities.
In July, a group of more than 10 submitted a paper to the Government suggesting how to preserve the idyllic, tranquil nature of the place, said lawyer Harpreet S. Nehal, who has lived in Seletar for three years.
KARAMJIT KAUR
