By Violet Li
Quarters Ward candidate Jagdeep Singh Sukhija has a vision for senior citizens and multicultural communities.
The Lyndhurst resident orientates his campaign priorities around what he has experienced in his multiple identities: a senior citizen, a multicultural community member, and a former business owner.
One of the priorities is to promote more welfare programs for senior citizens.
He has been running a community group called Compassionate Hands since 2020 after he retired from his business. The group has a focus on promoting the welfare of senior citizens, which has helped him understand the pains of the cohort.
“That group has more than 175 senior citizen members. I look after them, like taking them to GP, taking them out for excursions to work, and conducting literacy classes and health-aiding workshops for them,” Jagdeep said.
“After all, their children are busy. They don’t have time for them for their parents. The parents are left alone. They get bored and lonely. They want more library services. They want sitting places where they can go, meet each other, gossip, discuss things, and sit for hours.”
As 30 per cent of the population in Quarters Ward has an Indian background, Jagdeep will make efforts to widen the community halls across the area for more community and multicultural events.
“The lack of big community halls is the foremost problem everyone is facing,” he said.
“Indian communities need them to celebrate their religious programs.”
As a business owner for almost all his life, Jagdeep will also focus on strengthening and supporting local businesses.
“Prices of the commodities have gone so high, and people are not feeling free to spend. Even the rates of the houses have gone up. People have no capacity to go and spend money in cafes or shopping centres,” he said.
“The council can assist the businesses, like giving them relief. There are so many ways that can be done.”
Jagdeep’s priorities for the community also include ensuring community safety with more CCTV cameras, upgrading park and community facilities, and facilitating youth mental health programs.
“When I was door knocking, people did tell me there’s a problem for street crimes. One lady said she used to walk around after dinner, like around 9pm. But now she didn’t do it. People are not going out at night. They don’t feel safe,” he said.
“The main problem our senior citizens face is that there are so many parks around, but they don’t have facilities like toilets. Seniors find it difficult for them because they take their grandchildren and they have to spend three to four hours in the parks.
“Also quite often, we read in the newspapers that here young people are smoking and doing drugs. I think involving youth in sports or any cultural programs can divide their minds.”
Jagdeep received the Holt Community Leadership Awards in 2024.
He is not a member of any political party and runs independently. He has been residing in Lyndhurst for the past 10 years.
