PA reaches out to new immigrants

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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - PA reaches out to new immigrants From: kojakbt_89 1:32 am To: ALL (1 of 3) 33257.1 May 17, 2010 PA reaches out to new immigrants Grassroots leaders will visit and invite them to community activitiesBy Melissa Kok A visit to the Peranakan Museum is among the activities on the People's Association's national education programme. -- ST PHOTO: AIDAH RAUFTHE People's Association (PA) is hoping that 5,000 new immigrants will get on board its national education programme each year to familiarise themselves with Singapore.It is an ambitious target, given that only 1,800 new immigrants have signed up for the programme since it was launched in 2007.To reach out to more, grassroots leaders will make house visits and calls to let the new immigrants know about upcoming community activities they can sign up for. Ms Lily Heng, 49, a grassroots leader in the Cashew ward in the Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, said she would get a list of new permanent residents and citizens living there every month.'We will have their names, addresses and nationalities, so we can do house visits or meet them at the citizenship presentation ceremonies to welcome and congratulate them, and introduce ourselves,' she said.The PA is also beefing up its national education programme by adding visits to churches and temples from July, to teach newcomers more about religion in Singapore. A PA spokesman said this was 'to help new immigrants gain insights into Singapore's main religions...and to promote racial harmony'. This is on top of walking tours of museums and places such as Chinatown and Little India, and a half-day tour of the neighbourhood the newcomers live in, so that they can familiarise themselves with the amenities close to their homes, such as libraries and community centres.The number of foreigners and permanent residents has nearly doubled in the past 10 years, from 1.04 million in 2000 to 1.78 million last year, prompting the Government to come up with ways to integrate the significant number of newcomers.Assistant Professor Chung Wai Keung, a sociologist at the Singapore Management University, said the PA programme is just the first step in a long process of integration. 'Being integrated into the society means the person can function in the society in the same way as anyone else in the society. This will be far more than just by knowing the name of a certain temple in this country,' he said.The walks-and-talks programme is 'too superficial' and an 'extensive institutional set-up' is needed to tackle the needs of the new immigrants for the long term, he said.Among those who attended one of PA's walking tours recently is Mrs Udeni Dissanayake, 32, a new citizen from Sri Lanka who learnt about the programme after being contacted by grassroots leaders in her constituency. Mrs Dissanayake, who visited the Peranakan Museum and Emerald Hill area last month, said the tour was an eye-opener because 'I didn't know about this mix of Malay and Chinese culture'.It was also a good opportunity to make new friends with Singaporeans and other foreigners. 'We talked, made friends and exchanged numbers. So we can meet again,' she said.But it seems that not many know of the programme: Out of 50 new immigrants The Straits Times spoke to, only one - Ms Chan Leng Leng, 37, a new citizen from Myanmar and a grassroots volunteer herself - knew about the walking tours. Canadian Erica Denison, 33, who is applying to be a permanent resident, said: 'One of the problems is that you don't even know what the PA is, let alone the programmes it offers, until you've been here awhile. Maybe they should reach out earlier, to employment-pass holders for example, as some stay for as long as five years and may opt to apply for PR in the long run.'Canadian Jasmine Dastoor, 42, a PR of 2-1/2 years, suggested: 'Perhaps when you've been granted PR and head down to collect your documents from the immigration authorities, there should be information pamphlets on such programmes available there.' Options Reply