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