SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong joined 700 residents of Ang Mo Kio and Sengkang West at a Hari Raya celebration on Sunday (July 14).

They were served lunch at a community park, and dessert that PM Lee helped to make.

Before the food was served, PM Lee used a long wooden paddle to stir dodol, a Malay dessert, that was being simmered over several woks.

Other MPs at the event - Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon, Mr Darryl David, Mr Ang Hin Kee, Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar and Mr Gan Thiam Poh from Ang Mo Kio GRC and Senior Minister of State Lam Pin Min from Sengkang West single-member constituency - also joined in.

In a short speech in Malay, PM Lee said that he hoped the event would strengthen the bonds among residents in Ang Mo Kio and Sengkang West.

"It is a few weeks after Hari Raya, but it is not too late," said PM Lee, adding: "We have good weather, we have good company."

Among those at the lunch was 66-year-old retiree Madam Rukijah Usman.

"Hari Raya or not, it doesn't matter, as long as we are here to spend time with friends and neighbours," said the Ang Mo Kio resident, who attended the lunch with several friends.