PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Opening of Fernvale Community Club and Fernvale Hawker Centre and Market

Good morning everybody!

Very happy to be here this morning again after four years to open the Fernvale Community Club (CC) and the Hawker Centre & Market.

First, let me start with a few words in Mandarin.

各位朋友们 大家早上好!

芬维尔民众俱乐部是宏茂桥集选区第二所融入小贩中心的民众俱乐部。这里 还没有正式开幕就已经很热闹了，小贩中心也有好几个摊位很受欢迎，大排 长龙。

民众俱乐部的作用，就是让居民能够有一个活动中心，让各个社区有一个焦 点，居民可以在这里一起参与各种活动，借此联络感情。

既然是为居民所设，我们在策划俱乐部的设施以及活动项目的时侯，自然也 考虑到了居民的意见。所以，这里除了有小贩中心之外，也有 24 小时开放的 健身房、银行提款机等等。在宏茂桥集选区，芬维尔年轻家庭最多，因此这 所民众俱乐部也照顾到年轻家庭的需求，设有托儿所、增益中心、儿童游乐 场等设施。

在此，我要特别感谢蓝彬明医生和他所带领的小组，从 2017 年开始筹建这所 民众俱乐部，后来由颜添宝先生接手这项工作，现在终于顺利竣工。也感谢 多位基层领袖的付出，以及大家齐心协力，改善芬维尔居民的生活

接下来，让我用英语讲几句话。

I did the ground-breaking ceremony here four years ago, in 2018. Because of the pandemic, the construction took a bit longer than expected, but I am very glad that it is now done, and this place is bustling.

Building a Community

Fernvale is a new part of Ang Mo Kio GRC. Many young families live in Fernvale, and many more will move in over the next few years, as more housing projects are completed.

When we plan new towns like Fernvale, we ask ourselves: how can we bring together residents from all races and walks of life? How can we encourage greater interaction, to help build a sense of belonging and foster vibrant communities?

The public infrastructure plays a big role in this. Residents need the shared spaces to meet, interact and build togetherness. We designed Fernvale CC with this in mind: to be a focal point for the community, to bring together residents not just from Fernvale, but from all across our GRC, and even beyond.

Fernvale CC is well-connected to our residents. Right next door is our LRT station. It is also next toSeletar Mall, and in a few years’ time, by the end of 2025, LTA also expects to complete new roads in this area: Phase 2 of the Buangkok Drive extension, and the new Sengkang West Drive linking Fernvale to the Seletar Expressway (SLE) and Tampines Expressway (TPE), which will make the CC even more accessible.

We have gone to great lengths to make Fernvale CC attractive to residents. We have developed the programmes based on your feedback. We have courses to suit the different needs and interest of the community, from wellness classes like yoga and line dance, to culinary courses teaching different ethnic dishes, and even coding classes. We also have a wide range of facilities and amenities, for example: a cosy café here, for people to gather, and extensive sports facilities including a jogging track, badminton courts, and even a 24-hour gym upstairs. Plus one whole floor dedicated to young families, with a childcare centre, playground and activity rooms.

One key feature is the Hawker Centre & Market. Many residents asked for this. Nowadays, many families prefer the convenience of eating out nearby and also to dabao home. So having affordable food options in the town is very important.

The Fernvale Hawker Centre & Market is family-friendly and well-ventilated. We have 28 cooked food stalls offering a wide range of food options. Also a market section providing “Buy and Cook” services – you can buy the raw ingredients there, and then bring them to the stalls and the stalls will cook the meal for you. It is really convenient.

So I am very happy to see the community and many organisations come together. Not just to support our hawkers, but also to support residents in need. For example, Fernvale’s Heart2Heart program is partnering the FairPrice Group and DBS to sponsor meals from the Hawker Centre for those who need help.

I am happy to see also that there are quite a few younger stallholders here. It shows that our hawker culture is thriving, and that is important because the hawker culture is a unique part of Singapore’s heritage. The hawker centres are community spaces, where we eat and bond together over the delicious foods from the vibrant and diverse cultures that make up Singapore. We know how much we miss our hawker food when we go overseas and crave for bak chor mee, mee siam, or kopi C siu dai. That is why we nominated our hawker culture to be added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity – and it was our very first item on the UNESCO list. So please show the hawkers your support – visit them at level 3 later and have a good lunch!

A lot of hard work and thinking has gone into building Fernvale CC. I would like to thank Dr Lam Pin Min, Adviser to Sengkang GRC Grassroots Organisations (GROs), the GRLs in Fernvale, CC staff, and grassroot volunteers for all your efforts and good work. I also thank Mr Gan Thiam Poh who took over from Dr Lam and has continued the good work.

I encourage the residents to make Fernvale CC your own, take part actively in the programmes, and make new friends here. We will continue to bring more fun and exciting courses and activities for our residents at Ang Mo Kio GRC and keep on building a harmonious and cohesive community in Fernvale.

Thank you very much!