Good evening ladies and gentlemen,

I am very happy to join you tonight to welcome the newly appointed members of the Ang Mo Kio-Cheng San and Hougang CDCs. It is also a fitting occasion to express our appreciation to the council members who will be stepping down at the end of their terms. They have given their unstinting support and commitment, and have made valuable contributions to the CDCs and the community.

Promoting active citizenship has been a key priority for the Singapore Government. We want to involve Singaporeans not only in discussing national issues, but also in the actual work of tackling community problems. This will help strengthen Singaporeans’ sense of ownership and commitment to Singapore.

We set up Town Councils in 1988 so that Singaporeans could take over the management of their HDB housing estates. We wanted grassroots leaders to take responsibility for local estate matters, and to have the authority to decide and take action themselves, instead of having to submit requests to the HDB. This was a success. About 10 years later in 1997, we started CDCs as the "social parallel" of Town Councils that would extend the local community approach to the building of community bonds and the delivery of social services so as to build a cohesive, compassionate and harmonious community.

The vision was for CDCs to be the focal point for community members and residents to work together and look after their own community needs. CDCs would take over some social services then undertaken by government agencies, such as Public Assistance and Medifund, and work together with VWOs and grassroots organisations without diminishing their current roles and influence.

The CDCs have made good progress in the short period since their initiation in 1997. Both the Ang Mo Kio-Cheng San and Hougang CDCs have contributed to the growth and development of the CDC movement.

For example, over the last three years the Ang Mo Kio-Cheng San CDC has organised more than 200 programmes and activities involving more than 150,000 residents. Many of these programmes focussed on the environment: "Adopt-a-Park" Scheme, Green Camp, Seashore Life Programme, Earth Day Celebration cum Can Recycling Project, Dengue and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever Education Programme and Nature Tours. Other programmes were organised in areas such as education, family enrichment, IT, and upgrading, retraining and job matching fairs for employed and retrenched people. The CDC was also an active supporter of national campaigns such as Grandparents’ Day, Clean and Green Week, Racial Harmony Day and the Singapore Learning Festival.

The Hougang CDC has also organised numerous programmes and projects for its residents. These include Cross Cultural Home Visits, where students visit families from different ethnic groups to learn about the different customs and cultures; and the Hougang CDC-CDEC Community Care Programme, under which the RC Centres, Singapore Civil Defence Force and the Singapore Police Force are given a list of the elderly and disabled residents living in the constituency, so that they can help keep a look out for these residents and give them prompt attention in an emergency.

But the work is far from done. The CDCs face major tasks ahead. First, they have to build on the strong foundation built over the last 3 years and continue to promote community bonding, social cohesion and an active people sector.

Second, as CDCs have got into their stride and demonstrated that they can cope, the Government will expand their scope and responsibilities, and devolve more functions to them. Since 1 July this year, the government has launched a pilot project in two CDCs – Marine Parade and Tanjong Pagar, to delegate the administration of financial and social assistance schemes like Public Assistance, short term financial assistance, and the Rental and Utilities Scheme to the CDCs. It also delegated the development and funding of community-based social services, such as Family Service Centres and Student Care Centres to these two CDCs. If the pilot project succeeds, which I am confident it will, we will also delegate these services to the other CDCs.

In addition, the Government has decided to delegate new areas such as childcare-related services, including subsidies for childcare and development of childcare centres, to all nine CDCs in the second quarter of 2001. We will continue to explore what other functions can be better discharged at local level and should be taken over by CDCs.

Third, the CDCs will have to pursue more and deeper joint activities with government organisations, grassroots organisations and VWOs. CDCs have thus far taken a relatively low-key approach, quietly working with grassroots organisations like the CCCs. As a result, Singaporeans may not fully appreciate the significant role which the CDCs play in helping frontline organisations like CCCs carry out their functions smoothly. As far as the immediate task of getting the job done, this works fine. It does not really matter who gets public credit. But it is useful for the community to appreciate the role of the CDCs, so that they will give CDCs their wholehearted support. CDCs should therefore build up their profile progressively, so that residents will recognise them in the same way as they recognise CCCs and CCMCs.

To meet these challenges, CDCs need to cast the net wide, to find talent and leadership. At the working level, CDCs must find and recruit dynamic, pro-active managers who will put in place the necessary systems for the smooth running of the CDCs, come up with creative ideas to overcome ground problems, and pursue new initiatives to achieve the CDCs’ goals.

The government recognises this need and has therefore been posting young and promising Administrative Officers to the CDCs. To date, 7 Administrative Officers have been seconded, including 3 currently serving in CDCs. It is a win-win situation for both the CDCs and the Civil Service, as these Administrative Officers will gain valuable experience from their work at the CDCs. They would have a first hand feel of working on the ground, and seen how government policies directly impact the lives of Singaporeans. They would also have the satisfaction of public service, implementing new ideas and changes which make things better for members of their community.

Of course, on the CDCs themselves, we also need active and visionary leadership, to look after the interests of the local community in the broader context of Singapore’s national interests. The members of the first Councils of the Ang Mo Kio-Cheng San and Hougang CDCs have brought both CDCs to where they are today. I am happy to see that the CDCs have managed to get more fresh faces and non-grassroots leaders on board, and I wish the new Council Members the very best as they lead the Ang Mo Kio-Cheng San and Hougang CDCs to newer, greater heights.

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