SINGAPORE - Self-help groups in the Republic should continue reaching out to the disadvantaged and vulnerable in their community, and collaborate with other self-help groups to expand their common programmes to help students of all races, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Saturday.
As chairman of the Singapore Indian Development Association (Sinda), he was addressing attendees at an event organised by the association to recognise its partners and volunteers, held at HomeTeamNS Khatib in Yishun Walk.
The event is held every two years.
Sinda is one of four ethnic-based self-help groups in Singapore, along with the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC), the Eurasian Association (EA) and Yayasan Mendaki (Mendaki).
In 2022, Sinda served more than 26,000 beneficiaries, which was 21 per cent more than 2021.
At Saturday’s event, 236 partners, volunteers and schools were given awards for their contribution to the Indian community.
One of the recipients was 46-year-old Ramesh Patpanavan. The freelance nurse educator has been volunteering with Sinda for six years.
He said there are more people who need help but do not know what assistance is available for them.
One of the programmes Mr Ramesh is involved in is Sinda’s “door knocking” initiative, which promotes the association’s programmes and services, and seeks out residents who may need support.
This can be help with financial, marital or parenting issues, among others.
Through this initiative, Sinda identified 700 households in need that were previously unknown to the association.
Mr Tharman said that it is “in the interest of all Singaporeans that every community progresses and succeeds”.
“If we can create programmes by pooling expertise, pooling resources, pooling efforts that are of the highest quality, and provide access to students of all races to those programmes, we are better off,” he said.
“We should continue to evolve, particularly in how we collaborate among the self-help groups for a broader and more positive social impact on Singapore.”
Mr Tharman, previously also Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, informed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in June of his decision to retire from politics and all positions in the government to contest Singapore’s presidential election.
His last sitting day in Parliament was on July 6.
Mr Tharman visited the Teck Whye market and food centre on Saturday morning and said he felt “very encouraged” by the people’s reception.
Families having breakfast and those doing grocery shopping stopped to greet him and wish him luck. Some took pictures with Mr Tharman and his wife Jane Yumiko Ittogi.
Stallholders and shopkeepers shook his hand, describing him as “more popular than a rock star”.
“There’s been tremendous enthusiasm. Not all my walkabouts are in the public gaze. I do a lot more quietly with (people from) all walks of life. They’ve been very supportive, they know why I’m doing this,” he said.
On his candidacy, Mr Tharman said: “It was a decision I made in the interest of Singapore, and I feel I will be able to serve differently in the years to come – outside politics, above politics and with the full independence of mind that the presidency requires.”
Following the visit to Teck Whye, he joined leaders from Mujahidin Mosque to distribute korban meat in Queenstown.
