SINGAPORE – Ministerial community visits (MCVs), which were put on hold for two years owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, resumed on Sunday with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong turning up in Yio Chu Kang.
He told the media during a tour of the ward that the fourth-generation (4G) ministers from the People’s Action Party leadership will make these fortnightly visits on weekends and plan to go to as many constituencies as possible.
Visits have been lined up until September 2023, with a break in December 2022, and will take place at about 20 constituencies.
When asked by the media, DPM Wong said MCVs will also take place at opposition constituencies.
“We do it every term in the Government, but since the last election in 2020, we have not had an MCV because of Covid-19. Now that the restrictions are eased, I think it’s about time we resume more activities in the community but at the same time also the MCVs,” he added.
DPM Wong, who was hosted by Yio Chu Kang MP Yip Hon Weng on Sunday, said greater priority will be given to constituencies with first-time MPs and the plan is to continue these visits beyond September 2023.
The new MCVs differ from those in the past in that they will involve bringing the Forward Singapore initiative to residents. Forward Singapore, launched in June, is a government exercise calling on Singaporeans to offer ideas to shape and strengthen the nation’s social compact.
“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 so that that will better inform us in our own policy reviews as part of our Forward Singapore exercise,” said DPM Wong.
He added: “Now that we are going about leadership transition as well and the 4G ministers are very much the ones in the Forward Singapore workgroup, 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.”
The new visits will also move beyond grassroots organisations and involve a wider range of community partners and stakeholders.
DPM Wong listed the Yio Chu Kang Food Rescue, which was set up by community volunteers to reduce food wastage, as well as dementia-friendly neighbourhood initiatives in Yio Chu Kang as examples of ground-up projects the Government would like to better understand and work together with groups on.
“We want to strengthen our partnerships with these different stakeholders, look at ways in which these different ground-up projects or different community organisations can do more, or for that matter, identify best practices that can be scaled up in other parts of Singapore,” he said.
When asked whether the scheduled visits running up to September 2023 means that the next general election will take place only after that, he said these visits are not relevant to elections.
“This is something we will do in every term except that we haven’t been doing it because of Covid-19 and that’s why we are restarting, and it’s not that it will stop in September,” added DPM Wong.
He explained that scheduling has been planned only until September 2023 in the light of the ministers’ and MPs’ schedules.
“We certainly plan to continue beyond September,” he said.
