SINGAPORE — Ministerial community visits around the island have resumed after a break of two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the first on Sunday (Oct 30) by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at Yio Chu Kang.

Following this, a minister from the fourth generation (4G) of leaders will carry out these visits at almost all constituencies, including opposition wards, once every two weeks on weekends except in December.

Sunday's ministerial community visit was the first since the 2020 General Election, DPM Wong — who leads the 4G team — told reporters on the sidelines of his visit.

He was hosted by Mr Yip Hon Weng, Member of Parliament for Yio Chu Kang, which is set to be the first constituency to fully incorporate dementia-friendly features by 2025.

Mr Wong said that the 4G team will do things differently in two aspects as part of its year-long public consultation exercise, Forward Singapore, which began in June this year.

“We would like to take Forward Singapore to the ground, which means that we will do more to engage residents where they are, get their views and feedback on the range of policy issues that they care deeply about,” Mr Wong said.

In addition, the team will also involve not just grassroots organisations but a “wider range of community partners and stakeholders” in an effort to better understand projects taking place within the community, he added.

In Yio Chu Kang, for instance, voluntary welfare organisation Awwa will set up a new assisted living facility for seniors at Block 609 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4.

The constituency, which has a large proportion of seniors, will be the first in Singapore to launch such a facility.

When asked if there was a reason only 4G ministers are conducting the visits, Mr Wong said: “No… But I think now that we are going about leadership transition and the 4G ministers are very much the ones in the Forward Singapore work group, I think it’s right that they, being in charge of the different policy reviews under the different pillars of Forward Singapore, are also the ones visiting the community.”

He added that the individual ministers may focus on specific areas of Forward Singapore that he or she is already involved in, then look at the respective communities and identify relevant issues or projects of interest.

Mr Wong said: “Quite aside from the community partnerships, there is resident feedback. That can always be done through dialogue sessions.

“So you can open up, you can have dialogues, you can go to market visits, hawker visits, you can meet residents where they are.”

Mr Wong also responded to a question on whether the next general election will happen after September next year, which is when the ministerial community visits are scheduled up to.

“That's not relevant to elections at all. This is something we will do in every term, except we haven’t been doing it because of Covid-19 and that’s why we are restarting it now,” he said, adding that the visits will continue beyond September.

DEMENTIA-FRIENDLY INITIATIVES

On Sunday morning, Mr Wong flagged off a brisk walk with residents at Block 612 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 before touring some of the dementia-friendly features in the neighbourhood.

This included three murals at Block 612 that featured upcycled MRT train seats.

In a media release, the Yio Chu Kang constituency office said that it will improve its infrastructure under the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme as well as repair and redecoration works.

Aside from that, Awwa will set up a new facility — to be operational from April 2023 — that will pilot an assisted living service for seniors.

The facility will include a tele-consultation room built in collaboration with Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Awwa also plans to install an alarm system comprising sensors in the homes of seniors who live alone, so that its staff or volunteers can help or notify the appropriate emergency services.

Separately, a personal alert button system will be installed at 80 seniors’ rental units in Yio Chu Kang as part of a pilot programme.

Two devices will be placed in each unit, such as in the living room or high-risk areas like the toilet. Seniors can press the red "help" button to get round-the-clock assistance, such as if they fall down.

Yio Chu Kang is one of 15 dementia-friendly communities islandwide. Yishun was the first housing estate to come on board since the initiative was rolled out in 2016.

Dementia is a condition where brain cells die at a faster rate than normal, causing a decline in mental abilities and leading to failing memory, intellectual function and personality changes. 

The condition is increasingly prevalent as Singapore’s population ages. The disease affects one in 10 people aged 60 and above, and the number of dementia patients in Singapore is expected to rise to 80,000 by 2030.