Transcript of Speech by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at National Residents’ Committee Convention, 15 Mar 2014

“The ABCs of Strong RCs and Stronger Communities”

Good afternoon,

Mr Lim Swee Say
PA Deputy Chairman

Mr Ang Hak Seng

PA Chief Executive Director

Ministers, Advisers, grassroots leaders, Residents' Committees (RC) chairmen, ladies and gentlemen

History of the RC Movement

            I am very delighted to be here for the inaugural National RC Convention for this RC Council. RCs have grown to become vital institutions in our communities. We piloted the first batch of RCs in 1977. We saw the movie just now, we started them in Tanjong Pagar and Marine Parade. In Tanjong Pagar, Mr Ch'ng Jit Koon and in Marine Parade, it was Mr Goh Chok Tong overseeing the project. We had then resettled many people from kampongs into new Housing and Development Board (HDB) estates. HDB estates had much better amenities and living conditions than the old kampongs, but they lacked that “kampong spirit”. So we formed the RCs to re-create this sense of community among the residents in our high-rise blocks and towns. The RCs have done a very good job. They have looked after the needs and the concerns of residents, big and small, and they have organised activities and events to bring residents together - there are outings and excursions, community gardening initiatives, house-to-house arrangements, know your neighbours, neighbourhood watch and so on. This created a sense of ownership and pride in our housing estates, which is quite remarkable. Because when people come to Singapore and see our public housing, they cannot imagine that it is public housing. Their image is of disorderly, dirty, graffiti, unsafe, rundown, unhappy, sometimes almost slummy areas. But in Singapore, orderly, well-maintained, sense of pride, people feeling like they belong and knowing their neighbours and being able to work together. It is quite remarkable. RCs have also strengthened the links between the Government and Singaporeans. Helping the Government to understand better what the needs of the residents are in all the different estates and how we can address them. And at the same time helping the people to understand what the government is trying to do, to work with them, and trying to help them and enable to work together in order to achieve common objectives.  

            So I would like to thank all the volunteers who are here today and many more who are not here for your hard work. You are on call 24/7. Residents know your phone number; they know your house number. They knock on your door all hours of the day and night and they expect you to solve their problems thoroughly to their satisfaction and often immediately. But as volunteers, you do your best. You are not obliged to serve, but you do, you serve with all your heart and soul and we are very grateful that you have chosen to do so. You have made a major contribution to our nation-building. So thank you very much to all of you!

The Way Ahead

            It is nearly 40 years since the first RCs were set up and Singapore has been completely transformed since then. We have very few kampongs left in Singapore. In fact, I think on the mainland there is only one in Intan’s area which is Kampong Buangkok and there is one in Pulau Ubin, and that is about it. Our lifestyles and our family structures have changed. There are fewer extended families, there are now many more elderly couples, sometimes elderly singles because the husband or the wife has passed on, living by themselves. So our families have shrunk and Singaporeans lead busier and more private lives, and are experiencing the stresses and strains of living in a rapidly changing and uncertain world.

            So in this changing environment, the RCs continue to play very important roles. You have to try and bring back the “kampong spirit” despite the very different physical and social conditions. You have to bring neighbours together even though they may be comfortable living their separate lives. You have to help Singaporeans cope with the changes and uncertainties together, rather than separately, one by one.

            And so you have, as Wee Kiak said just now, to adjust to the changing needs and norms of our society. And how? You have been discussing it for several months since we have started this, preparing for the RC Convention but in brief, I would put it as ABCs. A – adapt to your residents’ needs, B – bridge the Government and residents and C – connect residents with one another. So adapt what you are doing, bridge the residents and the Government and C – connect residents with one another.

Adapt

            First of all, RCs have to adapt activities and programmes to their residents’ changing needs, their lifestyles and their interests. They not only need to be relevant, but also interesting and engaging. And I think you have been doing that. For example, there are many more wellness activities for an ageing population, more IT courses as technology advances, as more uncles and aunties find they want to use iPads in order to connect to their grandchildren. Even “virtual communities”, groups formed on Facebook when a new HDB precinct is coming up, before the buildings are completed, before the keys are handed over, before anybody has moved in, the network is formed on Facebook, getting to know one another, exchanging tips, information, sharing problems and how to solve them, which contractors are reliable and which are not, and in the process we hope to see which residents are active and have potential as grassroots leaders.

            Over this past year, the RC Chairmen and volunteers have had many discussions on this issue. About 3,000 have taken part and they have many good ideas. For example, one idea is to upgrade the RC Centres to become places for residents to hang out. We have already started upgrading 70 RC Centres, and 24 have been completed. The response has been good. The residents appreciate the new facilities and volunteers welcome the full-time RC Managers which allow the RCs to be open and used more fully. We are going to have another 13 centres completed this month. Within the next two years, we will upgrade about 200 more RC Centres so we will have improvements all over Singapore. I hope RCs and their volunteers will continue to share your ideas on how to adapt our programmes and activities to your new needs

Bridge

            Secondly, we need to bridge residents with the Government. RCs have always been important links between the Government and Singaporeans. On one hand, you help us to explain and implement Government policies, to ensure that residents can benefit from them and from the assistance programmes. So helping seniors to take advantage of the Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme to make homes elderly friendly. Keeping in touch with needy families, or those who are going through some family crisis, illness, bereavement or family discord, helping them go through the vicissitudes of life. At the same time the RCs are the voice of the people, working with Government agencies to resolve local issues, conveying the feedback from the public to the Government to refine its policies.

            As you know, we are doing much more now to help individuals, to make sure that the low income Singaporeans gets more support, to make sure that senior citizens can age with dignity, and that everyone can have peace of mind especially on healthcare. So the RCs can help residents to explain all these, to understand all these policies, to benefit from them, and to work with the Government to improve the policies. Take this year’s Budget. All the MPs supported the Budget, especially the Pioneer Generation Package but I know that on the ground, not everybody understands what is in the Budget, what is in the package, how they can benefit, how they can apply, what do they need to do, which parts are most useful to them in their own circumstances. So the RCs can help by communicating with them, not just a broad approach, what we are trying to do in simple terms to residents, but also specifically what the residents need to know, how they can apply for the programmes, how they can take advantage so that our systems can actually reach the groups, and they can know that we are helping them and they are not alone. One very effective way of doing this is through house visits, when you share the Budget in a context that residents can relate to, in words that residents can understand. The Budget is over, we have just finished this week, but there is the work of getting out to the residents, which is something we really have to be doing for many more months to come.

Connect

            The third thing which RCs have to do is to connect residents with one another because in this new age, there are too many things, the Government cannot know everything. The community have to work together, support one another and get things done. And so that is the RCs’ third role. Tackling community issues like littering and noise pollution, resolving disputes between neighbours, upstairs and downstairs, left side and right side, opposite blocks, trying to make people who have difficult relationships with one another, who are quarrelling, who cannot get along, to be able to live and let live, give and take, get on together. We help residents by distributing masks during haze so that residents know that their RCs are on standby and will be helping them when problems come. And now you see the haze is back, I think we may have work to do again this year. But I think this year we will be even more prepared than we were last year. During emergencies, RCs have to coordinate what is happening locally, get the resources, and help tackle the problems on the ground straight away. For example, last year there was a fire at Marsiling Road in one of the blocks and the RC Neighbours Connect Group in Marsiling Zone 1 helped to evacuate the elderly residents even before police and civil defence teams arrived, and organised people and made sure that they were seen to, no panic, everything taken care of. I think without the RC’s help, it would have been slower and maybe some lives could have been injured and maybe some lives could have been lost. So these are all ways where RCs can participate and build stronger communities together.

Building Strong RCs

            But that means we need strong RCs. We need good people, dedicated leaders who will put the residents first, volunteers and fresh volunteers reinforcing our ranks, connecting to a newer generation of residents. And we need people from many different backgrounds to match the profiles of our residents. At the same time we need to support and develop our volunteers so that the willingness is there, the spirit is there. We will be able to help you with the skills, knowledge, knowhow, resources and backup. Then you can do a good job. It is not an easy task you have. So we will give you the resources and training. People's Association (PA) is going to start a milestone programme to develop RC Chairmen and RC managers, and the National Community Leadership Institute (NACLI) will offer modules in subjects like leadership, organising house visits, communications, and such things, and how to use technology to do your jobs better. For example, how to use iPads to capture residents’ feedback during house visits. So the opportunities are there, the training is there, I hope you will take advantage of them and find them valuable in helping you do a better job.  

Conclusion

            This Convention is one way we are building stronger RCs. There are many good ideas which you have and which have come up in the discussions over the last few months because you have the experience, but you need to share and refine it, and bring it up. We need to harvest this collective experience, and build on what we have learnt together. This Convention is an excellent platform to share best practices, showcase successful initiatives and jointly discuss our shared challenges and opportunities. I look forward to hearing your presentations and to us all having a fruitful discussion together. I wish you all a very good Convention. Thank you very much!