SINGAPORE - Community clubs (CCs) continue to remain relevant today, even though people do not huddle around a communal television set anymore like they did during the kampung days, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Saturday (July 30).
This is especially so in the last few years amid the Covid-19 pandemic, when CCs, grassroots leaders and community volunteers came together to distribute masks, hand sanitisers, and TraceTogether tokens, as well as food packs to those isolating at home.
PM Lee was speaking at the launch of a new community club in Sengkang East, which has facilities tailored for the younger residents in the community.
The new Rivervale CC, located next to Rivervale Plaza, is also the first CC in Singapore to be built using the more eco-friendly mass engineered timber construction method.
The material is renewable and pre-fabricated to reduce work done on site, and also lessens the need for extra cooling and heating of facilities, thus limiting its carbon footprint, according to a press release.
The CC also has a modern wooden facade and features such as a vertical green wall meant to complement other green spots in the area, such as the Sungei Serangoon Park Connector and Sengkang Neighbourhood Park.
It also has a co-working space called The Cube targeted towards young people and working adults.
A fitness centre operator was also brought in to offer functional body workout trainings which are popular with the younger residents, said a CC spokesman.
Elderly residents can tap the Gym Tonic initiative, which provides senior-friendly gym facilities and wellness programmes meant to help them age gracefully.
The new CC has a childcare centre and two enrichment centres to cater to young families in the area.
It also has a multipurpose hall, culinary studio, dance studios and classrooms.
At the launch, PM Lee said CCs are an important part of Singapore's social landscape as they provide shared spaces for community activities and create opportunities for residents to meet and interact.
CCs have evolved along with society as people moved out of kampungs into modern flats, he noted.
"But the need to have common spaces in our society is still there," said PM Lee.
Hence there is a need to continually evolve CCs to upgrade infrastructure and update programmes to meet changing needs of residents, he said.
PM Lee noted that plans for Rivervale CC were first announced in 2016, when Sengkang East was still under the People's Action Party (PAP).
In the 2020 general election, Sengkang GRC was won by the Worker's Party.
Whether in a PAP or opposition ward, work on the CC carried on as the need for a larger community space and for a wider range of facilities remain, said PM Lee.
He added: "We also continue to maintain a full grassroots network to inform residents about government policies, to help vulnerable households through many government schemes and to gather feedback so that we continue to have a good sense of the ground."
Mr Goh Yeow Tin, advisor to Sengkang East grassroots organisations, said he hoped Rivervale CC would serve as a second home to residents, "as they come here to attend courses, to use the facilities, or even as a social gathering point, where they get to meet like-minded neighbours and make new friends".
Mr Goh served with PM Lee in Teck Ghee grassroots for 33 years before he was moved to help in Sengkang earlier this year.
Electrical engineer Muthuvel Nandakumaram, who has two sons aged nine and five, said the old CC premises at a void deck were insufficient as the space was small and congested.
The new CC - less than a five-minute walk from his home - has many more facilities, said the 40-year-old. He plans to continue sending his elder son for taekwondo classes at the CC.
Official Opening Ceremony of Rivervale Community Club
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards
MCI (P) 031/10/2021, MCI (P) 032/10/2021. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. No. 202120748H. Copyright © 2021 SPH Media Limited. All rights reserved.