Mayor Zai's Blog

District Meeting with a difference !

Back with a new update! Saturday 29 September 2007 marked a significantdate in the calendar of the Central Singapore Community Development Council. Wecelebrated our 10^th anniversary with a celebratory dinner at Sheraton Hotel.

I was especially pleased with the events lined up prior tothe dinner. We had a great many visitors – shareholders, partners, teachers andvolunteers shared their evening with us. In fact, we also took a differentapproach of getting people involved by way of mini- ‘projects’ and discussions.As a result, guests were encouraged to interact with one another at theirtables.

There were numerous suggestions on getting members of thepublic involved in community efforts such as greeting one’s neighbour, and evenkeeping up with existing volunteerism movements in schools and organizations.We were fortunate to have with us representatives from our collaborators speakof the progress of our joint efforts. This was tremendously heartwarming tohear success story after success story.

In short, the CSCDC has been involved in helping

• Almost 10,000 households
• Over 2,000 job placements
• 200,000 participants
• 180 organizations

And with our revamped motto of A, B and C, it is easy toconvey our underlying actions to the public:

• Assisting the Needy
• Bonding the People
• Connecting the Community

 
After several discussion rounds, I was most pleasantlysurprised to find the guests actively engaged and after all that hard work,everyone deserves a good makan… So together with the rest of my Muslim friends,we broke fast and shared a round of dates before enjoying a wide buffet dinnerspread. The team did a great job in preparation of the event, and hearingfeedback from so many sources provides the CDC a better gauge of ourperformance in the community.

Cheers everyone! And here’s to another wonderful year ofmore ABC’s ahead.

" cAN pLAN fOR OLD AGE ? "

Sport is great

It’s been a while since I’ve last updated. The last few weeks were pretty busy for me, but here’s what I’ve been up to lately.

The Mayor’s Challenge Shield was held on the 1^st of September, and this year’s competition was a great success. The weather was just perfect and all the participants came with high spirits and energy. I played a coupla rounds, but of course, that was no match for the competitive young ones who played their best out on the field!

Growing up, I loved to run and play soccer with my friends, and I love to see Singaporeans engaged in sports. You can imagine what a pleasant surprise it was to find several foreigners participating in the Challenge Shield, from coaches to parents to the youth players themselves. Another sporting event I attended in August was The 25^th National Swimming Championships, where swimmers with physical disabilities competed for a place in the Paralympics. This just goes to show that sports can bridge the divide across individuals of different ages and races, and even levels of disabilities. I am glad that the barriers to sports for disabled athletes are being broken down slowly, and they are now making impressive progress in their respective sports. Did you know that 2 of the swimmers even qualified for the Paralympics? That is an outstanding achievement! I don’t think I would be able to swim as fast as they can.

It’s always healthy to pursue outdoor activities, whether leisurely or competitively, but do remember to warm up and move at a comfortable pace.

Orange Ribbon Finale

“The Orange Ribbon Celebrations” - Finale was the culmination of the two-month long celebrations on racial harmony this year. Nice weather, the day was good. We had a good crowd, a good mix of people. The finale, though simple, was something to be proud of, as this marked the completion of this year's Orange Ribbon celebrations.

The involvement in this project was across a wide spectrum - corporate partners, volunteers, grassroots, residents and schools.

The highlight of the finale was a wonderful 45 minutes item entitled “Our Journey” by the group that called themselves E3. The performance was an interesting blend of ethnic, pop and fusion music.. the mixture of Malay, Chinese and Indian music was really awesome. Very tastefully done; accompanied by an interesting & creative performance but yet at the same time, simple enough for all of us to make our own interpretations.

I am heartened by the amount of effort that has gone into making the “Orange Ribbon Celebrations” a success so far. I am confident that it will be an even bigger awareness programme next year.

But celebrations aside, there will be many challenges that we will face in the coming years ahead and some of which will put stresses on the fabric of our society. We have to remain steadfast and resolute. So there need to be a strong understanding amongst ourselves for what we stand for. It starts with simple things like saying “hi” and “hello” to each other, to our neighbours or being good friends and colleagues. Such small things make a difference in contributing to the bigger effort of building bonds and strengthening the community.

The weekend's events

Over the weekend, I attended a few events that were very meaningful and fun.

The first one was on a Saturday morning - The event that I attended was the “Fun on Foot” This event attracted more than 2000 people. It was a competition on finding out 'Singapore's first'. This event was part of the Heritage Fest this year.

I found the project to be a very good way of finding out more about our culture and heritage. It was interactive and interesting. This was a 'hands on' approach adopted in discovering more about Singapore. I am glad to see such activities being organised, as they would help to instill in us, especially in our young, awareness of our rich history and appreciation for who we are.

I can see that the move towards having a sense of belonging and a sense of attachment is happening here. It is not something that can be developed over night but it is definitely can be built up over the years. There are lots of new ideas and bottoms up initiatives that are emerging that involve participation of groups and individuals and I am really excited about this development.

As part of the event, I was invited to view the new exhibits entitled “Beauty in Asia” at the Asian Civilisation Museum. The ACM is a place that I think all Singaporeans should be very proud of... there is so much talent, capabilities and knowledge that had gone into turning this museum to what it is today. And I would recommend that all of us should visit it to find out more.

My day did not end there because I attended another meaningful event at the Esplanade Park. I was the GOH at the “The Boys Brigade CARES 2007” which was held at the Esplanade Park on Saturday afternoon. The members of the Boys Brigade brought the elderly and young children from our local welfare homes on the “Duck” and “Hippo” Tours. I was glad to see that our young people were sincere and enthusiastic in contributing to society in such a worthwhile manner. I am sure that friendships were formed while the boys and the elderly interacted and I hope they had something to learn from each other.

I was also heartened to see the “not-so-young” from the alumni of the Boys Brigade was active too, by coming back to contribute and guide the current members. This augurs well for BB. I would to congratulate the Boys Brigade's for on their sixtieth anniversary. 

On a separate note, it was reported recently in the papers that a foreign student was taunted and made-fun-of in school for being different and also speaking with an accent. Such incidents remind us that discrimination is very real. We cannot take for granted the peace and harmony that we enjoy at present. As the situation around the world changes and becomes more complex, we will faced with new challenges brought about by new technologies, influx of foreigners and workers. Thus, it is critical that we continue to play our part to ensure that the delicate balance of harmony that we had painstakingly build all these years do not get jeopardized. In particular, we must teach our young to be mindful and be sensitive. Always be opened minded and speak about issues freely yet responsibly.