Community building still an important task: PM Lee
By S Ramesh | Posted: 03 July 2010 1929 hrs
SINGAPORE : Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said that
community building is still an important and continuing task.
Speaking at the People's Association's (PA) 50th anniversary
celebrations on Saturday, Mr Lee said the country's racial and religious
harmony is strong, but it will always be work in progress.
So the PA has for the first time developed five-year workplans for all
of Singapore's 84 constituencies.
Singapore's social context has vastly changed, said Prime Minister Lee,
who is also the chairman of the PA.
With a prospering economy, standards of living have gone up and so have
residents' expectations. And so the PA too has to adapt to this changing
environment.
Mr Lee said: "Yet, this has not reduced the importance of building
cohesive communities, where neighbours know and help one another,
organise themselves to get things done, and work with the government to
improve their lives.
"Last year, PA undertook a systematic workplan exercise to look beyond
the current programmes and think about what we want to be five years
from now. The exercise struck a chord with the constituencies which have
all come abroad."
That is where the five-year Community 2015 workplans aim to make
Singapore a great home and a caring community.
Dr Chua Ee Chek, Marine Parade GRC Grassroots Leader, said: "One of the
key highlights is what we are going to do to reach out to the elderly
residents in Marine Parade. As you know, in Marine Parade we have a very
high population of elderly, probably one in six is above 65 years old.
"What we want to do is to have a comprehensive plan; besides looking
after their wellness...we also consider about their well being in terms
of health, and the needy elderly residents."
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Deputy Chairman of the PA,
Lim Boon Heng, said: "This is an aspirational Vision. It belongs to the
whole community, and not PA alone.
"We need to bring the Vision to the community, and engage the community
to discuss and think about the statement. Only with residents' active
participation and ownership can the Vision be realised."
Besides the individual constituency plans, seven Group Representation
Constituencies (GRCs) have decided to develop their own five-year
workplans on a group basis.
Formulating the constituency workplans also involved several feedback
sessions, and in GRCs like Bishan-Toa Payoh, the youths were also
involved in interviewing their family members, relatives and friends on
the plans they would like to see in their constituency for the next five
years.
Josephine Teo, MP, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, said: "What the residents hope
to do was to contribute a greater sense of 'kampong', they wanted to
reach out those who are needy in the community. The residents also felt
it was important to do their part to keep the township clean and green."
Prime Minister Lee said now that the plans have been worked out, they
must be implemented with conviction and energy to deliver the desired
results. - CNA/ms
don't think there is "kampong" anymore.