Clan associations need to attract young talent, ensure leadership renewal to serve community: PM Wong

SINGAPORE - Chinese clan associations in Singapore, many of which have been around for more than a century, will need to attract young talent and ensure leadership renewal to continue to serve the community.

Speaking in English and Mandarin at the Huang Clan Association’s 100th anniversary dinner on July 13, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong noted that aside from helping to preserve and pass on traditional culture and values, clan associations assist in integrating newcomers to Singapore. They also reach out to the disadvantaged in the community, he added.

“I believe that as Singapore enters the next phase of nation-building, the clan associations can play a bigger role in helping to unite our society,” PM Wong said, adding that leadership renewal is important.

“The clan associations must constantly be attracting young members to maintain their vitality and bring themselves to greater heights.”

PM Wong said that in the next few years, he will bring in new people and renew the members of the

Chinese Community Liaison Group (CCLG),

to allow the young generation of leaders to establish close ties with the community.

The role of the group, which was set up in 2000, is to strengthen the Government’s relationship with Chinese community organisations and deepen its understanding of the Chinese community. It is currently led by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong.

In his speech at the Shangri-La Singapore hotel, PM Wong said the CCLG has been working with the Chinese community to strengthen the trust between the Government and the Chinese community.

“This strong relationship of mutual trust is very important for the development of the community and Singapore,” he added.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, there are currently 242 Chinese clan associations representing more than 115,000 individual members.

They are registered under the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA), which is the umbrella body for Chinese clans in Singapore. There may be other clan associations that are not members of the SFCCA.

Addressing 1,000 guests at the event, PM Wong said clan associations help foster Singapore’s national identity.

Each clan body actively promotes Chinese culture, preserving the core traditional values of the Chinese people, which are still relevant in modern Singapore.

“At the same time, the clan associations’ support for Singapore’s multiracial policy also helps to promote our racial harmony and social cohesion,” he said.

In integrating newcomers to Singapore, PM Wong said clan associations should create different channels for home-grown Singaporeans and new immigrants to interact and understand each other better.

“In this way, new immigrants will be able to become more familiar with our multiracialism and multiculturalism, and find it easier to integrate into our society,” he said.

PM Wong noted that clan associations have also been reaching out to the underprivileged in the community for many years through scholarships and other assistance programmes.

Although the Government has introduced a number of measures to help the disadvantaged, this is different from the assistance rendered by community groups like the Huang Clan Association.

Their strong ties with the community can help the beneficiaries feel the warmth of the society, which is something harder for government agencies to achieve, said PM Wong, who is the Huang Clan Association’s life honourable adviser.

Established in 1924, the Huang Clan Association is among the oldest clan associations here with about 800 members. The “Huang” surname is transliterated as Ng, Wee and Wong, among others, in English.

Also in attendance at the event were Mr Tong, South East District Mayor Fahmi Aliman, labour chief Ng Chee Meng, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Finance Shawn Huang, and MPs Don Wee and Ng Ling Ling.

Mr Stanley Ng, 39, secretary-general of the Huang Clan Association’s youth committee, said the association has reduced the median age of its members from the 70s to the 50s, and witnessed a heartening 800 per cent increase in youth membership.

“As we look to the next 100 years, we foresee new challenges and boundless opportunities,” he said.

“Yet, I am filled with confidence that, guided by the enduring principles that have sustained us for the past century, we will continue to flourish and make even greater contributions to our nation, our communities, our fellow clansmen and beyond,” he added.