SINGAPORE -A boy’s family was locked out of their Housing Board flat in Marine Parade one night after his father had misplaced the key.

They turned to a grassroots leader from the People’s Association (PA) for help.

The leader activated his network and found someone who had a saw and used it to break the padlock so the family could gain entry.

Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong was just a boy at the time, and he recounted his personal experience to illustrate how the PA became the social glue for neighbourhoods.

Speaking at the PA’s annual Community Seminar at Our Tampines Hub on Saturday, he added that the association also became a vital link between the Government and the people.

The PA was formed in 1960 and DPM Wong said it has to refresh itself to better serve its mission to build cohesive communities, especially in light of the world becoming more uncertain and volatile.

“There is no doubt that there are challenges ahead, but the best way to tackle these challenges is to stay united,” said Mr Wong, addressing a group of 1,800 grassroots leaders and volunteers.

He suggested some areas the PA could focus on, starting with facilitating various platforms for dialogue to build consensus amid diversity. He said: “It is not always possible to reconcile what everyone wants today.

“For example, if you have a conversation on housing, half the room will say ‘please make property prices come down’, while the other half will say ‘please don’t take too drastic an action, otherwise my asset value will come down’.”

The PA can help facilitate this by developing more platforms for different groups to share their views candidly with one another and find ways to move society forward, he added.

DPM Wong also urged the association to stay connected with and relevant to young people.

“Every cohort thinks that the one that comes after them is not as good. That’s just human tendency, but we shouldn’t be too hard on our young people,” he said.

He urged the PA to go beyond engaging youth and instead empower them to take charge and lead projects on their own.

In his speech at the seminar, PA deputy chairman Edwin Tong addressed the manpower challenges the PA has been facing.

“In my visits to the constituency offices, I have heard directly from PA staff and grassroots leaders about the demands on workload and resourcing challenges that you face,” he said. “Our work is fundamentally about people and relationships. It requires a lot of face-to-face engagements to be truly effective.”

Mr Tong, who is Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, said the move is already under way for every constituency office to have an additional one to two workers to ease the workload. Also, efforts are being made to reduce the workload of PA staff by streamlining back-office functions and tapping technology, he added.