CCs of Yesteryears

Before we ventured to view the show staged by PA at the ITE College East on 3 October 2015, I wrote to remember what had happened in the yesteryears.

In the early 1960s many community centres were fast mushrooming all over many rural areas including many smaller offshore islets in the Island known as Singapore. The purpose of those community centres which were built in the remote rural areas was to enable the People's Association to disseminate important government information and to channel feedback of the people to the government, thus forming a bridge between the government and the people. 

At that time, some villagers were not very supportive of the government. They lacked social cohesion and racial harmony. Many kindergarten classes were held at the rural wooden-structured wayang stages before the community centres were built. Some of those kindergartens were not run by the People's Association.

The People's Association needed a large number of community and youth workers to provide administrative and secretariat link between the PA and its network of CCs and to manage those CCs on a daily basis all years round. Some Organising Secretaries were seconded to assist in the management and training of the Workers' Brigade and the National Service Vigilante Corps. 

Rural Area Liaison Officers and kindergarten teachers had to be engaged to provide liaison and to run kindergarten classes. 

Vocational, continual education courses and classes were also conducted at the CCs to provide opportunities for attendees and participants to gain skills required for earning gainful livelihood. Youth, sports, culture, social educational programmes, quizzes, talks, forums, conferences and seminars were held at the CCs for learning, sharing, promoting social cohesion, enhancing racial harmony and achieving youth development.

As the liaison work grew bigger and more important, Organising Secretaries and Assistant Organising Secretaries were recruited and trained to plan, organise, evaluate, execute and implement government policies via the PA and its network of community centres then. Simultaneously, local community leaders comprising villagers of all races with people from all walks of life were also appointed to help manage the CCs on behalf of the People's Association. Many community leaders were very devoted and generous. They contributed locally not only in service but also in finance on a voluntary basis.

At the same time, many CCs were also built in the sub-urban and urban areas to achieve the same purpose. The Organising Secretaries and Assistant Organising Secretaries had to ensure that local monthly meetings were held to engage the respective community leaders in implementing various projects, programmes and activities so as to reach out to every nooks and corners with the purpose of attaining community development in the fastest possible ways. 

With urbanisation, some rural CCs began to close down and urban CCs were built in urban areas in the late 1970s. Gradually, new and modern CCs started to be built with participatory community share in the early 1980s. Today, what we see are very different from the CCs in the yesteryears. 

It had never been the hardware that had worked so well to bring the people together. They were just a mean to an end. Remember to thank the people who had enthusiastically made it happened with the heartware.

CCs in the yesteryears had become a fond memory of the faithful and dedicated former Organising Secretaries and Assistant Organising Secretaries who had survived the tough times.

A special thank to Lim Hai Yen and Jeffrey Tan for putting everything together to produce this play for all of us. 

Looking forward to viewing a play on stage that can reflect the meaningful history of PA and its CCs of the yesteryears.

Happy Viewing on 3 October 2015. Have a nice time.