SINGAPORE \u2013 The five Community Development Councils (CDCs) play an important role because they see local needs that may not show up neatly in a policy paper or in official data, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a community event on Sept 18, PM Wong said the Government will do its part to give Singaporeans greater confidence about the future despite the world becoming more dangerous.<\/p>\n
But another part of the response that is just as important is to keep communities here strong, which is where CDCs and their volunteers come in, he added at the event, which marked the appointment of 62 district councillors to North West CDC\u2019s 10th council term.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolicies can be designed nationally. But people experience their needs and challenges locally \u2013 in their homes, in their workplaces and in their neighbourhoods,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that is where the CDCs, and that is where all of you as district councillors and partners, play an important role.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said they help to bring national programmes closer to residents and connect residents with our schools, social service agencies, grassroots organisations and volunteers.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd importantly, you see things that may not show up neatly in a policy paper or in official data \u2013 the needs of a family, a gap in the community or an idea worth trying,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
PM Wong\u2019s remarks came a week after the role of mayors was raised during the parliamentary debate on political salaries<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n During the Sept 10 debate, Workers\u2019 Party chief Pritam Singh noted that the committee to review political salaries had recommended that wages for community-related roles such as MPs and mayors be delinked from the MR4 minister salary benchmark, and that the Government had agreed to study this<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n Singh said it remained unclear to many Singaporeans<\/span><\/a> what the job scope of a mayor is, and he asked if the authorities would include in its study the scope, role and function of the Office of the Mayors.<\/p>\n In his reply, PM Wong said the CDCs and mayors had mobilised a wider network of volunteers, responded to local needs and contributed to initiatives such as the CDC vouchers scheme<\/span><\/a> and the Jobs Nearby scheme.<\/p>\n Noting that the WP had proposed in its 2025 General Election manifesto that the Office of the Mayors be abolished, PM Wong said he wanted the mayors to keep strengthening Singapore\u2019s communities, and to build a more cohesive and caring Singapore.<\/p>\n On Sept 18, the Prime Minister said another dimension of the CDCs\u2019 work that is important is that, besides delivering programmes and providing local assistance, opportunities are created for residents, volunteers and businesses to contribute.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are some things that the Government can do. But there are many other things only people can give one another \u2013 friendship, encouragement, a listening ear, a helping hand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are things that only people can do within the community itself, and these are often the things that turn a collection of residents into a community, and our neighbourhoods into home.\u201d<\/p>\n At the event, North West District Mayor Alex Yam said the CDC intends to increase the number of ground-up projects it supports in the coming three-year term from 300 to 400.\u00a0<\/p>\n It also plans for its 20 divisions to get an increased grant of up to $80,000 to implement projects tailored to their specific communities.<\/p>\n These were two of the ways the CDC intends to encourage neighbourliness and meet local needs, said Yam, adding that ground needs \u201cmight not be quite the same\u201d in Marsiling, Bukit Panjang, Bukit Timah, Sembawang and Chong Pang.<\/p>\n North West CDC will also raise the per capita monthly income threshold for its financial assistance schemes from $1,000 to $1,500, which will help about 6,000 more residents qualify for its support schemes.<\/p>\n Yam said local assistance schemes have always been intended to complement national schemes, and that the raised threshold will benefit residents who may not qualify for broader schemes but are, nonetheless, genuinely struggling.<\/p>\n The per capita household income threshold for ComCare Short-to-Medium-Term Assistance is $800, though social service offices also conduct holistic assessments of each household\u2019s overall situation, including savings, employment and family support.<\/p>\n \u201cFalling just above the eligibility line doesn\u2019t mean your electricity bill becomes smaller, your groceries become cheaper, or your family stops needing help,\u201d said Yam, adding that this is precisely where a CDC should have the flexibility to respond.<\/p>\n From April 2027, the district will also distribute baby packs containing practical essentials and vouchers worth up to $200 to up to 3,000 families with newborns each year.<\/p>\n Of the 62 district councillors serving a new term in North West District, 25 are new. They include Mariam Natchiar, an educator at Xishan Primary School in Yishun.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mariam Natchiar is among the 62 district councillors serving a new term in North West District.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The mother of two has been a grassroots leader for about seven years, and chairs a Residents\u2019 Network committee. Stepping up to become a district councillor will let her learn from other experienced councillors on building a healthier community, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cCoupled with my role as an educator, I\u2019m quite keen to explore intergenerational activities to see how we can make healthy living a more fun thing to do, catered for every age group of residents,\u201d she\u00a0said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 The five Community Development Councils (CDCs) play an important role because they see local needs that may not show up neatly in a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":86142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=86141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/86142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=86141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=86141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=86141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
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