Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong has laid stress on the upgradation of workers which is an urgent issue for the Community Development Councils (CDCs) to focus on. He was speaking today at the swearing-in ceremony for the mayors.
Lee said, “The five CDCs should urge people in their respective districts to adapt to the economic changes and to adopt lifelong learning. That would allow them to become more employable and create brighter prospects for their families.”
The PM said while the SkillsFuture initiative supported workers in upgrading, realising lifelong learning and constant upgrading required more than programmes and resources.
Reminding about the mission of CDC, Prime Minister said, “The CDCs' mission to ‘Assist the Needy’, ‘Bond the People’, and ‘Connect the Community’ remains relevant, and they must continue to bridge the Government and residents”.
He said, “Not just hands and legs on the ground to implement the programmes. But also eyes and ears to identity emerging needs and gaps in the current social and employment assistance systems and you need to be hearts and minds to come up with new ideas for tackling these issues and addressing residents’concerns.”
Urging for driving the SGSecure movement, he said, “Singapore is strong, only if community ties are close and people have mutual trust, despite their different backgrounds, ethnicity and faiths. Rapport also needs to be built between the community and public institutions, such as the Home Team and the People's Association grassroots organisations.”
He added, “SGSecure seeks to do this, and the CDCs will need to collaborate with OnePeople.SG, government agencies, grassroots organisations, community and corporate partners for this.”
“It is patient work which will take years, but it will pay off handsomely if ever we experience a terrorist attack like… in Manchester, or a civil emergency,” said Lee, referring to the incident where a suicide bomber had killed 22 people at a concert arena in Manchester earlier this week.
At the swearing-in ceremony, Low Yen Ling was re-appointed as the Mayor of South West District, and named chairperson of Mayors' Committee. Dr Maliki Osman, Dr Teo Ho Pin, Denise Phua were also re-appointed as Mayors of the South East District, North West District and Central Singapore District respectively. Desmond Choo took over from outgoing Mayor of the North East District Teo Ser Luck, who will be returning to the private sector. The mayors will serve a three-year term till May 2020.