By: Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports and 2nd Minister for Trade and Industry
30 July 2005, 9.00 am at Sheraton Towers
Mr Zainudin Nordin,
MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC
Mdm Rashidah Abdul Rasip
CEO, Yayasan MENDAKI
Mr Sam Tan
Executive Director, CDAC (Chinese Development Assistance Council)
Representatives from SINDA and Eurasian Association
Dr Isa Hassan,
Organising Chairman, Joint Self-Help Group Committee
Ladies and Gentlemen
Today's conference is significant because this is the first time that all the self-help groups − the CDAC, Eurasian Association, Mendaki, SINDA − and your partners have come together to organise a conference on youth crime.
Youth crime is an obvious problem that we cannot afford to ignore.
Tackling youth crime
According to the Singapore Police Force, the number of youths arrested for crime increased by 9 percent in the first six months of this year, compared to the same period last year. More than 2,400 youths were arrested. Most of these youths were arrested for theft-related offences.
There are complex and diverse reasons why young people get involved in crime. Young people are often influenced by what goes on in their immediate environment − what they listen to and learn from their family members, friends and peers. They may imitate anti-social behaviour, or simply give in to peer pressure and temptation.
All of us − parents, schools, local communities and the government − have a stake and shared responsibility to guide our young.
On the government's part, the Inter-Ministry Committee on Youth Crime has a broad spectrum of preventive and rehabilitative programmes to tackle juvenile delinquency and youth crime. They work closely with the schools, voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) and the community to run these programmes. But while the government can provide technical assistance and resources, ultimately parents and the community need to assume leadership in addressing youth problem behaviours and youth crime. In this regard, I commend the self-help groups for harnessing their collective energies to systematically address these issues.
Speed and timeliness are crucial. It is important to identify and seize opportunities to address youth problem behaviours early on. I am glad the self-help groups are working with parents and children through early intervention programmes such as STEP-UP, Project TEACH, Youth-In-Action, Max Out and various Tuition Schemes for children and youth.
Project Victory, run by SINDA for the past 9 years, is an exemplary programme that emphasises the importance of early intervention for youths-at-risk. This school-based motivational programme seeks to improve the self-esteem and self-worth of students from Primary 4-6 who have been identified as vulnerable by their teachers. This year, 13 schools and 255 students are taking part in the programme. I am pleased that Sinda intends to extend this programme to the other ethnic communities.
Recently, the Probation Services of my ministry embarked on a Mosque Programme with MUIS, Al-Falah and Kampong Delta Mosques. Malay/Muslim counsellors are engaged to strengthen the bonds between the Malay/Muslim probationers and their families through religious, educational and social activities. A total of 30 probationers have benefited from this community partnership. Through this enrichment programme, probationers and their families develop a greater sense of bonding with their community.
Unity is Strength
I encourage the self-help groups and VWOs to work more closely together in addressing youth problem behaviours. Tap on the strengths of your respective organisations and networks. Come up with a complementary set of community-based programmes. Such a multi-pronged approach will enable our society to strengthen its overall handling of youth problem behaviour and the rehabilitation of youth offenders. I also encourage you to involve more young people in the design and implementation of these programmes. They can be a source of fresh ideas and feedback.
Your joint collaboration will further ensure that resources are not duplicated and can be used more optimally. More importantly, sharing these common programmes will enable young people from all communities to benefit from these programmes. The positive impact of these programmes may not come about overnight, but they will certainly bear fruit over the long term.
Today's conference gives us an opportunity to take stock of evolving youth trends, to review our services and programmes, to identify any gaps and find new approaches to deal with them. With our joint commitment, I am confident that we can continue to make headway in reducing the incidence of youth crime and ensure that our young people grow up to be morally upright and productive citizens.
I wish you all a fruitful conference.
Thank you.
MCYS SPEECH NO: 44/2005
DATE OF ISSUE: 30/07/2005