WE AGREE with Mr Gilbert Goh Keow Wah who wrote the letter "Neighbours do not interact" (my paper, June 3) that we must not take community spirit for granted but should always strive to strengthen it.

The trend in Singapore - as in other densely urbanised places which have experienced tremendous economic growth and globalisation - is for people to seek privacy in the midst of high-rise living, and focus on their careers and their immediate, personal concerns.

We tend to not notice the absence of community spirit here until, like Mr Goh, we start to live in a foreign country which is quite different.

Then, we come to realise that community spirit at home could be much better.

We should spare no effort to buck this trend. That is why at the recent People's Association (PA) Workplan Seminar, our deputy chairman, Minister Lim Boon Heng, re-emphasised that, amid a rapidly urbanising and globalised Singapore, our grassroots organisations and PA staff should facilitate neighbourly ties more, and thus contributing to making Singapore a better place to live in.

In his letter "Know thy neighbour today" (my paper, June 4), grassroots leader Muhd Dzul Azhan Sahban explained very well that the grassroots organisations create many opportunities for neighbours to get to know one another - through community programmes such as festive celebrations, the Residents' Committee Centres, and courses at the community clubs.

The grassroots and the PA can only promote and facilitate.

We urge residents to make the effort and the time to step forward and join us in building a stronger and more vibrant community.

Ms Ooi Hui Mei
Director (Corporate
Communications)
for Chief Executive Director
People's Association

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