Parliamentary Colleagues

Grassroots Leaders

Home Team Officers

Bukit Timah CDC was inaugurated exactly a year ago on 13 Dec 1997 to promote community bonding and encourage mutual help among residents in the CDC District. Since then, the CDC has successfully organised many activities that brought residents together, the most recent being the Senior Citizens Health and Sports Fair in September and a Family Sports Carnival in October.

Community Focus Plan

5 This initiative is the Community Focus Plan, or CFP in short. Briefly, a CFP is an action plan jointly drawn up by the grassroots leaders, residents and the Home Team agencies to address and tackle the safety and security concerns of the community.

6 Through CFP, it is hoped that we can bring back the kind of kampung spirit that is prevalent among communities in the 1950s and 1960s and which is fast disappearing in our present community. This kampung spirit is built on community self-help and mutual support, which is what in essence the CFP is all about. The CFP can be extended to include other areas of community self-help activities in the future.

7 I understand that our Residents’ Committees are already working jointly with the Police to create CFP projects. To ensure the smooth implementation of the CFP programme, a Working Group was formed sometime in August this year. The working group is represented by all seven constituencies of Bt Timah CDC and is chaired by Mr David Ng. Mr David Ng is a member of the Bt Timah CDC exco and an active volunteer and respected grassroots leader. The CFP Working Group has been tasked to oversee and provide strategic direction for the implementation of CFP programmes within Bt Timah CDC district.

8 Several community concerns are being addressed by the CFP

Working Group. However, the working group felt that problems

involving juvenile delinquency deserves immediate attention, and to this

end, Bukit Timah CDC will be embarking on a Youth Support and

Development Programme. This is a proactive initiative to keep youths

away from crime through a holistic approach towards youth problems.

Thus, the programme will not only address problems of wayward youths,

but will also look into developing youth leadership. Some of the

activities that we have in the pipeline include youth camps, job placement

programme, community voluntary works and skills development

programme.

10 For the CFP to receive support from the community, we must have programmes that bring the community and the home team agencies into a higher level of bonding. To this end, Ayer Rajah constituency will be embarking on a "New Neighbour" programme. This programme aims at welcoming new residents into the neighbourhood through joint house-visits by the Police and NWZ members, and through community gatherings that allow them to mingle with the present residents. This will not only bring residents closer to the police and grassroots leaders, but will also allow the police and grassroots leaders to gather direct feedback from the community on their concerns.

11 This brings me to another CFP initiative. In order to effectively discuss security and safety concerns of the community, grassroots leaders must be more aware of the security and safety profile of their neighbourhood. However, the present practice where the police gives a monthly account of crime in the neighbourhood during the RC meetings, does not allow grassroots leaders to have a full picture of the crime and law and order situation.

12 To this end, Jurong East Neighbourhood Police Centre has initiated a project called the Community Info Map. As the name implies, this is essentially a map containing important information about the community, such as the location of crimes, fires, and community facilities. ASP Hassan Said, the Commanding Officer of Jurong East NPC, will later on give you a briefing on this project and how it can help you in your discussion on the CFP.

13 An established component of the CFP is the Neighbourhood Watch Zone (NWZ) Scheme. Today, we are also launching the NWZ scheme in Jurong, Bukit Batok and Choa Chu Kang constituencies. With the formation of the NWZ at these three constituency, I am happy to announce that all 7 constituencies within Bukit Timah CDC have embarked on the NWZ scheme. The NWZ scheme aims at creating a sense of concern among residents for each other’s property and well-being. The recent case where a woman’s call for help during a robbery was ignored by her neighbours, underscored the need for residents to look out for each other.

14 As we embark on the CFP programme, let me reiterate that our

society must look after itself. The CDC has been formed for that very

purpose - to lead and mobilise residents and the community to look after

itself. Bukit Timah CDC has thus far succeeded in organising and putting

in place many programmes to ensure that the community’s social and

welfare needs are well looked after. Today, we chart a new course, and

move towards efforts to ensure our own safety and security. And,

working in close partnership with us in our endeavour is the Home Team.

They will provide the necessary expertise and guidance to help us create

CFP programmes that empowers the community to make Singapore truly

a secure and safe home for all of us.

15 It therefore it gives me great pleasure now, to officially launch the Community Focus Plan for Bukit Timah CDC.

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