Town Councils investments - be accountable to constituents

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/10/town-councils-investments-be-accountable-to-constituents/





Town Councils investments - be accountable to constituents
Thursday, 30 October 2008, 11:46 pm 196 views
Lim Chih Yang / Writer



The on-going financial crisis seems to claim victims in all shape and sizes, from all walks of life and from even the most unlikely of organizations.

Even as the various banks and financial institutions rush to contain the public anger over the failing of Lehman Brothers’ product, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported on 28 October 2008 that PAP Town Councils had invested in the same discredited products.

CNA’s report only says that, “Town councils said only a small percentage of their total investments were spent on those affected products.”

It seems the unlikeliest of union when one considers Town Councils’ sinking funds and a failed product from a major investment bank on Wall Street. Is this another black mark in the face of globalization? Not likely. It would nevertheless be prudent that as responsible stakeholders of Singapore, we would ask ourselves pertinent questions on the use of PAP Town Council sinking fund to invest in Lehman Brothers product.

For the uninitiated, it is perfectly legitimate that all Town Council manage sinking fund. This is common for condominium managements, for example, where they manage sinking funds to repair damages to the estate’s common areas or maintaining the elevators. In fact, from the report, it seems that the fourteen PAP Town Councils each manages between $30 million to $150 million in sinking funds. Another report back in 2007 put the amount managed by all the sixteen town councils at about $1 billion. Town Council sinking funds was previously governed by the Trustees Acts. Current guidelines stipulate that each town council can use 65 per cent of the funds to invest in government bonds, while up to 35 per cent can be invested in other financial instruments like corporate bonds and equities. Obviously, corporate bonds and equities carry a much higher risk of default than government bonds.

Re-assuring the public

When the report was first released by Channel NewsAsia, the various PAP Town Councils sought to reassure the public that despite the losses in Lehman Brothers products, the investments are minimal.

Dr Teo Ho Pin, Coordinating Chairman of the 14 PAP Town Councils and Mayor of North West District said:

“Maybe a couple of percentage out of the total investment portfolio (were used in those investments), so the exposure will not affect the overall investment portfolio or the sinking funds per se. There’s definitely no fear that any of the PAP town councils’ sinking funds will be wiped out. All the supporting PAP town councils’ sinking funds are in safe hands.”

In fact words like “conservative”, “err on the side of caution”, “guarantees the principal amount”…rattled off the mouth of the various PAP Town Councils management. Jurong Town Council had in fact stated that they did not invest in any of the failed products but had invested about 18% of its sinking fund of $85million into riskier products.

“The position that we’ve taken is really to be very cautious with our investments because we’re very clear that these are public funds, and therefore we decided to err on the side of being conservative in our investment policy. The public do not have to worry… there will not be enough funds in order to take care of their needs.” - Halimah Yacob, Jurong Town Council.
Perhaps I may be old fashion but I had always thought that Town Councils collect conservancy charges for the purpose of maintaining the estates.

When did these Town Councils start operating as fund managers?

Big exposure - to risks

Of bigger concerns are the losses that the Town Councils’ may have incurred in this current financial fallout. Words do not mean much in terms of assurance, not when even behemoths like Lehman Brothers could go bankrupt and file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and AIG was nearly brought to its knees if not for the US $85 billion bailout by the Fed.

Assuming that a median sinking fund of $60 million is managed by each of the fourteen PAP Town Council, this will work out to a whopping $840 million in total managed by all the fourteen PAP Town Council. Now given that the guidelines stipulate that only a maximum of 35 per cent of the sinking fund could be invested in corporate bonds and equities, let us assume that only 5% of the sinking fund is used to invest in relatively riskier investment assets like corporate bonds and equities. That will still work out to a whopping $42 million that are exposed to risky assets.
In a bear market that we are facing now, losses of more than 50% in risky assets are not unheard of. Is our sinking fund held by the Town Councils safe from the ravages of the financial crisis?

Town Councils must account to constituents

In the interest of public transparency and accountability, should not the PAP Town Councils give a detailed account to their constituents on the use of the sinking funds and its investment returns – or losses? In fact, given that the sinking funds are public funds, should not the PAP Town Councils provide regular updates to their constituents on their stewardship over the funds?

Words can be evasive, divisive and worse, intrusive. While it is commendable that the PAP Town Councils had sought to allay the concern that the financial investment losses in Lehman Brothers products may lead to bankruptcies of the funds, nothing can be more re-assuring to their constituents than complete and transparent accountability to the public.

A 5% loss in $100 is no more than $5, but a 5% loss in $840 million works out to $42 million, certainly not small change.

Interestingly, Potong Pasir MP Chiam See Tong was more forthcoming with his Town Council’s accounts. He was quoted as saying that of the $6 million in sinking fund held by Potong Pasir Town Council, $3 million is spent on government bonds like LTA bonds, while the other half is in the fixed deposit.

The PAP Town Councils should take a leaf from Mr Chiam See Tong’s approach to accountability and provide real figures of their investment management. Only when a thorough report of the sinking funds’ performance with up-to-date real figures can the public’s concern be put to rest.

Sudden removal of herb garden heartless, says resident

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/10/sudden-removal-of-herb-garden-heartless-says-resident/#comment-27546

Sudden removal of herb garden heartless, says resident

Friday, 24 October 2008, 8:01 am 934 views

We received this email from Rafiz Mohyi Hapipi which he wrote to the Ang Mo Kio-Yio Chu Kang Town Council.

I am writing to express my deepest regret and unhappiness over the sudden destruction of the herb garden surrounding block 819 Yishun Street 81.

I have been a resident of this block and neighbourhod for the past 7 years. This was a peaceful and happy neighbourhood with a good mix of multi-cutural elderly, young adults and children. My two school-going children enjoy the company of Chinese and Indian friends as well as the care and concern of the eldery in the neighbourhood.

Since the day I moved into this neighbourhood, I have seen the elderly here tending to the herb garden that they have worked on for over twenty years. Others who retire later joined in and the herb garden became a regular routine activity that kept the elderly here active and cheerful.
At the same time, while they were working on the garden or having their short rests in between, the elderly here lend their watchful eyes over the children. My own children grew up with their friendly smiles and hugs. They learnt the value of multiculturalism through experience away from force-fed curriculum of National Education taught in schools. My own parents who are themselves retirees, although not staying with me, frequented my place and enjoyed the company of people their age here.

The last few days have been traumatic for the elderly here. With much grieve they saw the herb garden that they have put their sweat and soul in for many years being destroyed heartlessly. I saw tears and heard voices of despair as some of the elderly tried to salvage whatever is left from the plants into pots. Some had given up. An elderly Chinese neighbour at the second floor shared with me, “Sudah Dua Puluh Satu Tahun saya jaga ini pokok. Ini bukan pokok bunga tapi semua ini pokok Ubat yang banyak gunanya. Siapa lagi yang tahu? Kita (orang tua) saja yang tahu. Saya sedih. Macam saya nak cakap suruh buang saja semua jadi saya tak nampak. Apa boleh buat? Diorang boleh buat apa diorang suka. Dua puluh satu tahun diorang takda peduli tapi sekarang semua buang.”

“It has been 21 years since I cared for these plants. These are not flowers but all these are herbs that have many uses. Who else would know (about the herbs)? Only us (the aged) would know. I’m sad. I feel like telling them to dispose of everything so that I can’t see (anything left behind - note: some small plant in pots were left behind). What can I do? They can do what they want. For 21 years nobody cared about this area and now every they dispose.”)

I personally share my tears and grieve with them. I find the whole episode appalling. It is an outright contradiction to the messages of Active Aging that have been sloganised over and over.
My own daughter who is only a kindergarten student was upset when she saw the workers grabbed and dumped the plants aside. I personally feel that the actions in this episode is a reflection of heartless and cold-hearted mechanical policies.

Twenty years of effort have been destroyed. The pride of the aged here has been badly hurt. This episode will definitely be part of my memory and the memory of my children as well as the children in this neighbourhood.

Please relay my message to the Town Council Advisor.

Thank You.

In Utmost Unhappiness,

Rafiz Mohyi Hapipi

Thank You For Reading My Blog, Aljunied Town Council Members

http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/2008/05/thank-you-for-reading-my-blog-aljunied.html

市镇会要用户用“集装箱”？

无须急于澄清民众反对的构想

组屋杂费不会和“清洁指数”挂钩

Town Council Fees

Sembawang Town Council

SBTC put up notice to inform residents of the name and telephone numbers of the officer in-charge of their area. All town councils should have this kind of info on their notice board.

Town councils need to be prudent

$1 billion in town council funds : what’re they used for?

Posted by theonlinecitizen on December 3, 2007
By Leong Sze Hian

I refer to the CNA news report “Prudent to protect sinking funds of town councils: DPM Wong” (CNA, Dec 2) and the article “Move to protect council funds” (Today, Dec 1).

According to Creative Technology’s (CT) annual report, Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council (HBPTC) was listed as one of the majority shareholders with 530,000 shares currently valued at about $3.2 million. I understand that CT’s share price from 2003 to 2007, has ranged from a high of $27.30 to it’s current price of $6.10 on 12 October 2007.

According to CT’s Statistics of Shareholding as at 19 August 2005, HBPTC held 200,000 shares. The CT high price for fiscal 2005 and 2006 was $27.20 and $14.40 respectively. Does this mean that the 200,000 shares could have cost as much as $5.4 million?

When did HBPTC purchase its CT shares, and at what price?

If it had held its total holding of TC shares on 1 July 2006, I believe it would have been valued at about $6 million.

According to HBPTC’s annual report, it had $8.4 million of quoted equities on 1 April 2005.
If this is the case, does it mean that it accounted for about 70 per cent of HBPTC’s total quoted securities portfolio of $8.4 million?

If the above assumptions and timelines are correct, why is its quoted securities portfolio so apparently non-diversified?

Isn’t diversification the key principle of prudent investing?

What guidelines do town councils use in investing their residents’ funds?

Another question which needs to be asked is: What are the profits from such investments used for and have they ever been used, since town council funds keep growing to more than $1 billion now? Perhaps the town councils should include this in their annual reports and make them public.

When we last checked, only 6 out of the 16 town councils have their annual reports easily available on their websites. Why are the reports of the other 10 town councils not available on their websites?

Read also: “Uniquely Singapore, F1 or F9: “Residents willing to pay more for service and conservancy?”

Prudent to protect sinking funds of town councils: DPM Wong

02 December 2007 1835 hrs (SST)

SINGAPORE : Protecting the sinking funds of town councils is prudent, said Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng on Sunday.

He said capping the amount town councils can invest in non-government investment vehicles at 35 percent will protect the money they have for the future.

Mr Wong made his comments while meeting residents and shopkeepers at Bishan North Shopping Mall on Sunday.

The new rule by the Ministry of National Development (MND) on investing town council money kicked in on December 1st.

The aim is to strike a balance between town councils trying to get a good return on their funds and not taking unnecessary risks with residents' money.

Mr Wong agreed with this new rule, saying if town councils rundown sinking funds because of wrong or bad investments, then the money will not be available for other uses if and when needed.

Inflation hit a 16-year high recently at 3.6 percent and is expected to hit 4.5 or 5 percent next year.

Government bonds and short-term fixed deposits give a return of around 1.5 to 3 percent which is lower than the returns from riskier market investments.

So when asked about inflation eating away the low financial returns, Mr Wong said inflation is only one factor considered when investing and protecting sinking funds.

DPM Wong said: "There are world prices due to many reasons and therefore we have this increase in inflation. But it goes up and down and we just can't depend on that alone as a measure to decide how we invest our town council funds. So we cannot look at one spot and say it may go up to 5 percent, or 4 percent inflation and therefore that particular decision by MND will not cover the inflation."

Mr Wong said residents he spoke to did not complain about the price of hawker centre food going up, although some were concerned about general food prices having gone up.
The shops are part of the heartlands.

Mr Wong spoke to shopkeepers selling produce like fish and vegetables, listening to the concerns they face.

Some concerns included higher prices of produce and limited display areas, said shop owner Mr Ker Yeow Chong, who've been running his business for more than 15 years.

Other MPs from the Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC also joined Mr Wong on his Sunday visit. - CNA/ch

Move to protect council funds - Ministry puts limit on estates' riskier investments

Weekend / December 1, 2007
Loh Chee Kong
Kongcheekong@mediacorp.com.sg

IN THE midst of an increasingly volatile financial market, the Government has moved to restrain Town Councils' investment activities as a precautionary measure.

On Thursday, the Ministry of National Development (MND) gazetted amendments to the Town Councils Financial Rules, which came into effect on Saturday.

The most notable change is a 35-per-cent cap on the amount Town Councils can use out of their sinking funds to invest in non-Government issued securities such as corporate bonds and equities, which are seen as "higher risk" investments.

There is no cap on the proportion used to invest in Government bonds or treasury bills.
MP Inderjit Singh, the vice-chairman of the Ang Mo Kio-Yio Chu Kang Town Council, told Today it was "not a sudden decision" as the MND had been monitoring the situation "for quite some time".

"I think what they discovered is that some Town Councils participate in riskier investments. The MND wanted to prevent Town Councils from being too aggressive. The idea is to protect the sinking fund as much as possible for future use," he said.

In response to Today's queries, an MND spokesperson said that changes to the set of financial rules "are made from time to time to bring them up to date and facilitate the effective administration and operation of Town Councils".

The spokesperson added: "Town Councils are required to set aside sinking funds to enable them to carry out long-term cyclical maintenance or replacement works for the estates. As such, (they) need flexibility to invest funds that are not required for immediate use, while ensuring the funds are not exposed to unnecessary risks."

Noting that the bulk of public sector investments is in Government-issued securities, CIMB-GK economist Song Seng Wun said: "I don't think (the cap) would affect any of them at the moment. It's more to ensure the Town Councils have a reference point."

Previously, Town Councils were given the same investment powers as statutory bodies under the Trustees Act, which spells out the type of investments they could make. But according to Dr Teo Ho Pin, co-ordinating chairman for the People's Action Party Town Councils, statutory boards ?including Town Councils ?were given greater leeway to invest at the turn of the millennium.

And under Section 33A of the Interpretation Act, a statutory body may invest "in such manner as it thinks fit" and "engage in any financial activity or participate in any financial arrangement for the purpose of managing or hedging against any financial risk that arises or is likely to arise from such investment".

Currently, Town Councils have various ways of managing their investments, including setting up finance or business committees or entrusting their money with external fund managers.
Said Dr Teo, who chairs the Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council: "If we just put the money in fixed deposits, isn't that more irresponsible? There were a lot of criticisms in the past when the statutory boards dared not invest their money."

The Town Councils have recently submitted their 2006/2007 annual reports to Parliament for gazetting.

According to Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council's 2005/2006 annual report, it has sinking funds of some $89 million. Of this, it holds shares worth some $8.4 million in book value, while investing $31m and $3m in bonds and unit trusts respectively.

Some smaller wards such as Potong Pasir invest solely in Government bonds. According to its MP Chiam See Tong, the Potong Pasir Town Council ?which has a kitty of $5 million ?employs a full-time finance manager to manage its $1.9 million worth of investments.

Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council was listed as a major shareholder in Creative Technologies' latest annual report, holding 530,000 shares currently valued at about $3.4 million.

Pointing out how the shares of Creative Technologies had fallen drastically in the last few years, Mr Leong Sze Hian, president of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, felt that the investment guidelines should be "beefed up" further to make sure that even with the cap on high-risk investments, Town Councils are prevented from putting too many eggs in one basket.
Said Mr Leong: "There's nothing to stop them from putting all 35 per cent in one stock.

Nowadays, Town Council funds go up to a hundred million. And 80 per cent lost in a single stock can mean a loss of about $30m."

Pointing out that there are always risks involved in an investment, Dr Teo declined to discuss the specifics of the investment in Creative Technologies.

But he reiterated that his Town Council adopted a "wide" investment portfolio. Said Dr Teo: "Our investment committee has made good returns on our investments so far, averaging about eight to 10 per cent per annum, which is better than the bank interest rate."

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

'Don't wait for the Government, solve it yourselves!'

The Electric New Paper
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/printfriendly/0,4139,137255,00.html

MORE THAN JUST TALK

At session with Minister Yeo, youths say they want want to contribute more
THE Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr George Yeo, had invited them to air their views, but Singaporean youths seemed keen to do more than just talk.

By Elysa Chen
30 July 2007

THE Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr George Yeo, had invited them to air their views, but Singaporean youths seemed keen to do more than just talk.

Mr Choo Zheng Xi, 21, went to the session with the purpose of inviting Mr Yeo to blog on his website, http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/.

At the Coffee Talk with George session at Hougang Mall yesterday, Mr Choo said: 'I want to bring the Government and the opposition together through my site, and give them equal air time.

'I want to break the stereotypes of both the people who work with the Government and those who question the Government.'

Mr Yeo said: 'Where we engage depends on who is engaging and how. It must be constructive and no calling names.'But he said he was 'completely open' to the idea of contributing to Mr Choo's website.

DON'T BE RUDE

'I try not to shy away from any discourse, but if someone is rude or abusive towards me, I'll avoid him,' he said.

When contacted later by The New Paper on Sunday, Mr Choo, a second-year NUS law student, said he was excited about the prospect of the Minister writing on his blog.

He has already thought of a topic for Mr Yeo: A National Day article on nationhood and national identity.

Mr Choo said he is working out details before sending a proposal to the Minister.The session was lively with more than 20 youths peppering the Minister with questions for more than an hour.

Miss Bernise Ang told the Minister she wants young people to get a 'broader involvement in the policy-making level'.

The 27-year-old is the founder of Syinc, an organisation that tries to link up Singapore youth organisations and provide a resource base of volunteers.

She asked Mr Yeo how the young would be able to influence policy-making.

Miss Ang is all for active citizenry and hopes young people can get more involved.This can be 'from implementation of small-scale projects to planning phases of national plans', she said.

So Mr Yeo suggested she could contribute by applying for an internship at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

After the session, however, MissAng said that she had to pass on the offer as she already had a full-time job in the banking industry.

Another participant, Sanjiv Nanwani, however, can contribute through such an internship.

He is on a two-month internship at the Ministry of Finance. The 20-year-old, with a 'great passion for the environment', is currently working on a report studying regulations and standards that can be implemented to make a 'greener Singapore'.

There was a stark difference between the attitudes of these youngsters and those mentioned by MrYeo during the session.

Discussing how some Singaporeans depend too much on the Government, he said:

'Sometimes, when I go down to meet residents, they treat me like a condo manager.

'The light bulb here is faulty, the trees there are too bushy... There's this feeling that the Government should attend to all these problems.

'Don't wait for the Government, solve it yourselves!'

Although this is one area Mr Yeo feels we should improve on, he is pleased with the way young Singaporeans are responding to their challenges, one of which is the rise of China and India.

He urged the youngsters to 'learn new tricks' and to work together to build the Singapore 'Operating System'.

He said: 'It's the operating system that gives us the advantage. Where in India or China can someone turn on the tap, drink and not be sick the next day? It's the result of a system that works.

'Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co. Regn. No. 198402868E.
All rights reserved.Privacy Statement and Conditions of Access

Town Council says fixtures at Jln Tenteram not authorised by it

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/viewPost6649.aspx
Posted on 16 Nov, 2007

Additional altars and shrine fixtures in the Jalan Tenteram estate are not endorsed by the Town Council.

In a reply to STOMP, the Jalan Besar Town Council said:"The two altars/fixtures outside the ground floor premises at Block 20 Jalan Tenteram are not authorised by the Council.

"The residents concerned will be advised to regularize the matter."

Earlier, a STOMPer had highlighted the issue of addtional fixtures such as shrines and altars at Block 20 Jalan Tenteram.

See earlier story:
"Are extra fixtures around my block allowed?"

Opinions about Town Councils

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/viewPost6318.aspx
yewteeman said on 25 Oct, 2007
Due to the vast area under the town council and it is not possible for the TC property officers to cover all area so it is better for TC act upon ''feedback''. This will keep the property officers happy to enjoy the aircon in the office.

If you do write to them, you will receive a reply like this:

Thank you for your feedback.In future, please write to the TC directly at feedback@jbtc.org.sg

greenpea said on 25 Oct, 2007
yewteeman said on 25 Oct, 2007 Due to the vast area under the town council and it is not possible for the TC property officers to cover all area so it is better for TC act upon ''''feedback''''.

True to some extend. the officer will not be able to cover the whole zone; ie check every blk, every floor, everyday.dont'' forget, the officer''s duty is not limited to chking of blk. the scope for TC officers are actually very very wide.

inaddition, they HAVE TO stay in office; to do paperwork! otherwise, how to issue work-orders, payments, reports, etc, to contractors???

happy5263 said on 25 Oct, 2007
Yes agree that town council officers can''t keep an eye on a vast area. They should inform the cleaners of the estate/blks to feedback to TC if they find clutters in void decks,vandalism or anything out of the norm. Give them some incentives for doing so and that''ll be a win win situation for all concerned. That''ll make residents not to complain about the bad service of TC and its officers.

cerebrum said on 26 Oct, 2007
These flyer/locksmith stickers create excessive workload for the cleaners. The common areas bear nasty sticky mark upon removal of advertisements. The cleaners are not to be blame. It is quite a challenge for a thorough removal of these advertisements which been glued firmly on common areas. All Town Councils in Singapore should penalize these flyer advertisers / locksmith advertisers for the offence of vandalism. That would serve as deterrence. The fine money collected would also help ease the respective Town Council’s burden in additional cost of work force and maintenance.

The HDB residents did not glued these advertisements on the common areas. Therefore, it would be unfair to all HDB residents if the additional maintenance cost lead to an increase in conveyance fees.

yewteeman said on 26 Oct, 2007
Does RC have any role to play in providing feedback to TC since RC members are living in the HDB blocks within their respective RC zone.

Is the scope of RC members include feedback to TC other than organising activities for residents to "score points" for their MP?

greenpea said on 26 Oct, 2007
to ans some of the qns posted1) RC, by right, represents the residents and are the eyes on the ground. Their role involves feedback to TC on any things they feel is not right, or to assist residents to convey their feedback.

2) most TCs will only call up the perosn on the flyer to ''warn'' them. However, TC do not carry out the tedious process of i) tracing the number of the person''s hp number with all 3 telcos. ii) issue a summon of only $50-100 (depending on TC) to the person, and incur the extra charges/time of the searching process

cerebrum said on 26 Oct, 2007
Do all Town Councils truly find it a tedious process to penalize? Is Aljunied Town Council guilty of being that? The fire tragedy in Hougang should not have happened.

All Town Councils should be more vigilant, it is the Town Council responsibility!

A Town Council is there for a purpose, it should execute the necessary process however tedious it could be. Nowadays, a HDB block could be 4 storeys to 40 storeys. By multiplying the number of offences per floor, the fine money collected could be quite a substantial amount.

greenpea said on 26 Oct, 2007
cedsac2003: well spoken.

TC ground officers don''t have it easy too. and not all are "staying in office enjoy aircon/shake leg" as many stompers had commented. unless one is in the line, you may never know the problems they are going thru. Balancing politics from MP, residents complaints, and trying to be ''understanding'' while still have to enforce; all at the same time.

well, in every line, there''s bound to be some black sheep that really shake leg... haha...peace :)

cerebrum said on 26 Oct, 2007
Cedac2003:- I admire your strong stand in speaking up for the Town Council. Still, I thought it is unnecessary to ‘curse’ on a next generation.

Greenpea:- In every occupation, there bound to be stress and difficult task.

That should not be an excuse for any Town Council. However, I do agree with your view, in reality, there bound to be some black sheep in an organization. Many stompers would agree that is the purpose of STOMP, to detect and eliminate the ‘black-sheep’.

singaporeboleh said on 14 Nov, 2007
Town Council By Laws stated that:

Display of signs14. No person shall display or cause or permit to be displayed any sign on any common property or in any open space except with the approval of the Town Council.

It is the JOB of the TC to enforce the rules empowered to them by the Laws.

singaporeboleh said on 14 Nov, 2007
To greenpea said on 26 Oct, 2007 to ans some of the qns posted

I search the PA sites and found the Roles of RC as:

Residents'' Committee The Residents'' Committees (RCs) in public housing estates promote neighbourliness, racial harmony and community cohesiveness among the residents within their RC zones. Run by residents for residents, the RCs also work closely with other PA grassroots organisations like the CCCs and selected government agencies to improve the physical environment and safety of the local precinct.