MAYOR’S SPEECH FOR DM2017 Introduction Our special guest ESM Fellow Grassroots Advisers Ms Ms Ms Cheryl Chan SECDC Councillors Community and corporate partners Government agency representatives Grassroots leaders Ladies and gentlemen

Thank you for coming to SECDC’s District Meeting 2017. May I have a show of hands how many of you are attending the District Meeting for the first time. Thank you for being here and wanting to hear and know more about SECDC and for those who have been here previously, thank you for coming back. We want to believe we have done something right the last time that made you return. Of course some of you may have no choice. You have heard a while ago, my General Manager, Siang Wei share with you the report card of what we have done in the past year. I hope you agree that much has been done but only because we have the excellent support and partnership from all of you present today. We hope to do more and more partners. That is why I have titled my sharing today: “SOUTH EAST CDC, YOUR SOCIAL BROKER: Harnessing Resources, Meeting Needs, Strengthening Communities.” As you have heard, this year, we commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the formation of the CDCs which was the brainchild of our special guest ESM Goh Chok Tong

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1. Recap – what is community development and role of the CDCs

Set up in 1997, ESM Goh, then as PM said of the CDCs: - “ The CDCs is the social parallel of Town Councils… I believe that when a local community is given the authority and responsibility to look after its own well-being, it will produce better results than when being managed by the bureaucracy…This spirit of community help and mutual support will strengthen social cohesion and make for a harmonious and happy community.. “ Then-PM Goh Chok Tong, Swearing-In Ceremony of CDC Mayors 29th March 1997

2. How has CDCs evolved - Providing social and employment assistance

- Formed in early 1997 with 2 CDCs and up to 9 CDCs by end 1997. At that time there we initial concerns over the role of the CDCs and whether they are actually SupraGROs – competing with the other existing GROs. Lots of ground work took place to clarify the role of the CDCs. - Year 2000. National social assistance and employment support delegated to CDCs. - Local schemes by CDCs created for additional assistance to those in need. - Year 2001. 9 CDCs re-organised into 5 CDCs. For the next 12 years, CDCs continued to play this role of administering social and employment assistance programmes (both national and local) as well as working with community partners to meet the needs of the vulnerable. CDCs made a brand name for themselves with their ABC vision – Assisting the Needy, Bonding the people and Connecting the community. - Year 2013. ‘Social Assistance’ function consolidated under SSOs. - Year 2014. Moving of SE Career Centre to LLI

3. Looking Forward

- We stay focused on ensuring that we are always Resident Centric in our work. We look at emerging issues and recognize that each community has its own manifestation of local community concerns.

- Over the years, we have build up strong networks of relationship between government agencies and community partners. As a middle office to connect ground with government agencies and initiatives and customise solutions (P-G-P)

- In the process, also builds community by enabling and involving local community resources (Youths, Corporates, GROs, and Community partners, Agencies) to address these challenges together.

- Ownership and going beyond government providing solutions to everything – we harness local resources to meet emerging needs. You would have seen some examples during the sharing by GM earlier.

- Need to anticipate and respond to future challenges, namely: i) Demographic changes ii) Security and social cohesion iii) Need for greater inclusivity iv) Economic Uncertainties

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4. Challenge i) : Demographic Changes o i) Increasing life expectancy and health issues - Ageing Population: two years ago in 2015 we have 460 000 Singaporeans above 65 years of age. By 2030, it will more than double to 960 000 i.e., 1/5 of Singaporeans aged 65 and older. - Increasing Life Expectancy: 3rd in world for life expectancy (83 years). - Healthy Life Expectancy 73.9 years. ( World Health Statistics Report 2017, WHO) - Parallel increase in prevalence of chronic diseases ( Diabetes, stroke, hypertension, Dementia, and other chronic conditions) - Last 10 years of life – have to deal with serious health conditions and serious impact on personal, family, community and society

o Diabetes in Singapore - Singapore 2nd highest incidence of diabetes among developed countries, after USA. - Today, about 1 in 9, or around 450,000 Singapore residents aged 18 years and above had diabetes. The number of diabetics aged 18 years and above in Singapore could rise to 1 million by 2050. (Source: National Health Survey 2010)

- Age Profile: 1 in 3 Singaporeans over age of 60 has diabetes. Risks increases with age.

- Ethnic Profile: Indians (6 in 10) and Malays (5 in 10) consistently had higher prevalence of diabetes compared to Chinese (2.5 in 10).

- Cost of Diabetes - Diabetes is a major risk factor for other serious medical conditions. Every year in Singapore, 1 in 2 heart attack patients has diabetes. 2 in 3 with new kidney failure cases due to diabetes. 2 in 5 stroke patients have diabetes. (National Registry of Diseases Office, Singapore)

- The cost burden from diabetes, is expected to rise from beyond around $1 billion in 2014 to $1.8 billion by 2050. Due to healthcare costs and productivity losses. (National Registry of Diseases Office, 2016)

o Areas to Address

- Diabetes is “invisible” in its early stages. 1 in 3 diabetics does not know he suffers from the disease. (MOH National Health Survey 2010) - 78% of Singaporeans (40-69 years) gone for health screening in last 3 years. Of these, about half with abnormal results do not follow up.(HPB Survey 2016) - Also, 1/3 known diabetes are unable to control their blood sugar levels - Yet, Type 2 Diabetes can be managed properly as lifestyle plays a big role.

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- No. of elderly living alone has also increased. The number of seniors above 65 living alone expected to more than double from 35,000 in 2012 to 83,000 by 2030. o How can community play a part- SG Health @ South East

- Engage residents for active and healthy living to reduce incidence of diabetes. Identify seniors for early screening and support those vulnerable or living alone to actively manage it to prevent or delay complications.

- CDC as a middle office to aggregate community resources and government initiatives to develop Community Silver blueprint.

- Work with GROs as the front office to reach out to seniors and monitor the various aspects of their aging well being – Physical, psychological, social and emotional.

- At the same time, coordinate with government agencies and community partners to bring the resources into the community.

FINANCING OLD AGE o Dependency Ratio

- Lower fertility coupled with ageing population => Reducing retiree to working adults dependency ratio. Projected 2.1 in 2030, down from 4.8 in 2015 (Department of Stats). o Retirement planning - With increasing life expectancy, a growing proportion of retirees could outlive their CPF savings if they were on the Minimum Sum Scheme where payouts last for about 20 years.

- However, according to a Nielsen Survey commissioned by NTUC Income in 2016, 1 in 3 working Singapore adults not planning for retirement. Also, two-thirds of retirees do not expect their savings to last till the end of their life. o What can we do? - Need to ensure retirement adequacy for Singaporeans, especially low income workers and their families. Retirement planning and financial literacy for seniors. Re- training for better incomes

5. Challenge ii): Security and Social Cohesion o Security threat we face continues to be real and will impact on our social cohesion if we do not conscientiously invest in time and energy to maintain and strengthen.

4 o To put in perspective some of our national initiatives: o Why Racial Harmony Day on 21st July? MOE started observing it in 1997. - To commemorate 1964 21st July Racial riot- 23 killed, 454 injured. Political and religious tensions between ethnic Chinese and Malay groups. - Played a pivotal role in shaping Singapore’s fundamental principles such as multiracialism and multiculturalism. o Why Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles were formed? - Revived in 2002 by ESM Goh against backdrop of Sept 11, 2001 attacks in United States, and the arrest of Jemaah Islamiyah members who were plotting bomb attacks in Singapore.

- Re-positioned in 2006 to include Religious Organisations.

o Then, the role of IRCCs. i) Local-level inter-faith platforms to promote racial and religious harmony ii) To strengthen social cohesion Iii) To be primed to respond quickly to incidents with racial and religious tensions and to project solidarity on the ground during crisis. Therefore, need to know and understand local racial and religious sentiments and know how to soothe and minimise communal tension.

- Recent Acts of terrorism worldwide and regionally

- Are race and religious issues become more salient in Singapore these nowadays? o Local cases of radicalism vs Local incidents (eg Marine Parade MRT station vandalised. Personal anecdote- Chinese woman turn away Malay pest controller officer from her home)

- Nature of Racial/Religious Disputes In our Community o Common spaces- Common corridors, Void decks, Carparks, Noise, Smoke. Small incidents can spark tensions if not managed o Virtual space. Potential to go viral and polarise with social media

- Religious Organisations in South East District o Do we know that in SE District, we have 280 religious organisations, out of 822 in Singapore ie. 1/3 of ROs reside in SE district (MCCY) o Need to connect them with the community to help manage our common spaces too. o They can play a pivotal role in providing leadership to their parishioners in our effort at maintaining religious harmony

- What can we do?

o Common senses to manage our Common Spaces. Promoting better understanding of faith and religious harmony

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o SG Secure @South East - Harmony Efforts Pyramid. - Base level – create platforms for interfaith engagements - middle level – support sustainable ground up initiatives - top level – train community facilitators in inter faith engagement – specifically, to also engage IRCCs as champions to facilitate inter-faith engagement in the community.

6. Challenge iii) : Need for greater Inclusivity

To build communities, we need to harness the strength within the community. Facilitate engagement and involvement of as many groups in the community – formal as well as informal Groups with needs, as well as groups with passion and resources.

- Volunteerism trends (Individual Giving Survey 2017, NVPC)

o 3 in 4 volunteered or donated through informal channels. Volunteers are choosing to help beneficiaries directly, without going through charities. Greater informal volunteerism with rise of ground-up movements, social enterprises.

o More ground up initiatives with help of social media and crowdfunding sites such as Give.asia.

These are the resources!

At the same time, there are those in the community who have special needs and want to feel included and part of the community.

- Is our community a truly inclusive one? (People with Special needs, mental health)

o 2 in 3 respondents felt that Singaporeans more willing to share public spaces with children with special needs, but are not willing to interact with them. Ie. Singaporeans are more tolerant than accepting of those with special needs. (Inclusive Attitudes Survey 2016, Lien Foundation)

o 6 in 10 people with disabilities do not feel that they are socially included, accepted or given opportunities to achieve their potential (Attitudes towards Disability Study 2015, NCSS)

o Considerable stigma surrounding mental illness (eg. “Mental health is a sign of personal weakness” (Mental Health Literacy Study 2015, IMH)

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- What can we do: o For example, promoting inclusion and discussion on critical social issues through arts o Beyond the arts we can engage environment enthusiasts also

o SGCares @ South East - CDC as a social broker has built a network of partners (GROs, VWOs, Corporates, Schools, and govt agencies). - Can do more to reach out and connect the other arts groups, environmental and cause-based groups with the rest of the community and tap on their potentials/talents/ passion to also give back to the community. - Can verbally share how we supported Team Camp Vision, Project Happy Feet?

7. Challenge iv: Economic Uncertainties

- We started from a low base and it was easier to climb. Today, maintaining our competitive edge in a global arena is increasingly difficult, given significant global challenges

- Disruption is also a defining challenge. Need to adjust and keep up because of technology and globalisation. Examples- i) Sharing economy-Uber/Grab vs. taxi industry ii) E-Commerce (Amazon Prime) vs traditional retail.

- Greater push for Smart Nation. As shared by PM in this year’s National Day Rally

- What does it mean for us?

o Disruptive technologies, Smart Nation drive will shake up the labour market as well as the way we live.

- There are more PMEs looking for employment assistance. The NTUC U PME Centre saw an increase in professionals, managers and executives seeking assistance. A jump of 265 cases from the period March 2015 to February 2016.

- Workers in traditional sectors such as retail may be displaced through the disruption, but new jobs and opportunities are also created in new sectors.

- There is a growing demand for-engineers, programmers, data analysts and technicians. Other sectors like healthcare and the social services sector will also require more manpower.

- But do Singaporeans shun some sectors? Like Healthcare?

o Disruptive technologies, Smart Nation drive will may lead to digital divide - Eg. Many mobile subscribers are still on 2G despite the start of network shut down and many are the elderly. We aim for a fully cashless transport system by 2020. Are there implications for some people?

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- At various dialogue sessions I conducted with seniors, many share their concerns and reservations. We must make sure no one is left behind nor feel alienated as we transform to be a Smart Nation

- Only about 5% of those eligible for SkillsFuture had use their credits in the first year it was launched ie. 2016. There is much opportunity for our residents to tap on SkillsFuture courses to pick up relevant skills to help them maneuver through the economic and digital transformation.

- What can we do : SkillsFuture SG @SE

o Bridging the digital divide though harnessing our community resources like volunteers to help those who may be left behind by digital transformation o Do significant outreach to our residents and promote mindset of continuous learning across different segments of the community o Skills future – having a good understanding is critical for our citizens to appreciate what is in store

8. Conclusion: Harnessing our Community Resources

- How do we harness these volunteers and community resources to address some of the issues identified? Highlight areas in the 4 respective issues Community partners can play a part - i) We face significant demographic challenges and its implication on our health care sector, particularly for the elderly. We will respond with SG Health@ SE, - ii) We face security challenges in a world where terrorism continues to threaten our security and social cohesion. While the security agencies will do their part to keep safe, we must not allow this to threaten our social fabric. We will respond with SGSecure @ SE with focus on strengthening interfaith understanding - iii) to build strong communities, we need to be inclusive – connect those with resources to those with needs. We will respond with SGCares @ SE, - iv) Finally recognizing the changing circumstances surrounding us, we need to be nimble and adaptable and prepare Singaporeans for a new world. We will respond with SkillsFuture SG@ SE

- CDC as a social broker to bring Government and People sectors together to address our community issues. Ties back to ESM’s vision of CDCs’ role in community development when he set up CDCs.

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Annex A

Agencies Policy engagements

MOH, RHS (EHA, SingHealth, Social health integration. NHG), PGO Development of silver blueprint and Diabetes blueprint.

Ensuring retirement adequacy of lower income families and CPF, MND, financial literacy for seniors

Strengthen social cohesion and interfaith appreciation MCCY, NYC, NAC Connecting arts groups with the community, building communities through arts.

Work on sustainable living – bringing residents at the local NEA, Nparks, PUB level to understand challenges and potential in sustainable living.

Promote inclusion of people with mental health, through IMH, AIC, NCSS greater awareness and reducing stigma about mental illness Promote inclusion of people with disabilities

Promote continuous learning and re-training for all E2i, SSG, WSG, NLB Singaporeans

Work with MSF and WSG in identifying trends of cases needing SSO (MSF), WSG, HDB, assistance, especially during times of economic uncertainties

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