Opening address by Senior Minister of State for Law and Finance Ms Indranee Rajah SC at the Community Mediation Centre's Mediators' Appointment Ceremony and Appreciation Dinner 2015

01 DEC 2015

1 Dec 2015 Posted in Speeches

Distinguished guests, mediators and friends

I am really happy to join all of you here today at the CMC’s Mediators Appointment Ceremony and Appreciation Dinner. It is always nice to meet people like yourselves – the ones who have the heart to serve the community, the ones who basically mend fences, build bridges, bring people together. I’m glad to see so many of you here tonight, including many familiar faces.

Appreciating and recognising contributions of volunteer mediators
This year is a milestone year for all Singaporeans as Singapore celebrated our Golden Jubilee. The celebration was nation-wide, with many joyous activities organised by both the public and the private sectors.
In the 50 years of nation-building, Singapore has developed from third world to first. People know our home as a clean and modern city. But, our biggest success is our social harmony. Tonight’s dinner is a very special thank you to all of you who have contributed to this success.
The CMC was set up 17 years ago to provide community mediation services to the public. It was established after a study done by the Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution, led by Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee. He is unable to join us today, the first time in a very long time that he has not been able to make a CMC Appreciation Dinner, but he is away with his family. I have no doubt that his thoughts are with us here today because mediation, I know, is something very close to his heart.
This Committee played an instrumental role in introducing mediation as an alternative way for residents in Singapore to resolve their relational disputes. Less acrimonious than formal litigation, community mediation has helped to preserve social peace and harmony by encouraging communication and preventing a further breakdown of the relationship after the conflict has been resolved. Seventeen years on, I am happy to see that we have done well – with more than 7,500 cases mediated. Our consistent settlement rate of about 75 per cent is a great achievement and a source of pride.
This is made possible by our panel of committed volunteer mediators who take time to attend to cases which are often complex and time-consuming. I would like to take this opportunity to commend all of you on your commitment. Please join me in giving our mediators a big round of applause!

Mending Fences, Building Bridges
The book which was launched earlier, Mending Fences, Building Bridges, is a collection of 50 stories on successfully mediated cases between neighbours, friends or families, put together by the community mediation fraternity for Singapore’s Golden Jubilee. As aptly conveyed by the book’s title, our mediators help to “mend fences” in the community when relationships break down because of conflicts. By facilitating conversations, our mediators help to “build bridges” for better understanding between disputing parties, so that they could work towards a harmonious relationship again after the conflict has been resolved.
Through these stories, our mediators share their perspective and they impart valuable lessons from which we all can learn. Not only do these stories provide insight to the nature of social and community conflicts in Singapore, the lessons highlighted in each story provide an opportunity for reflection about how each of us can play our part in keeping peace in the community.
I would like to give special thanks to all the mediators who have contributed stories to the book and especially to Dr Lim, who put in much effort to co-edit the book.
We will share this book with our partners and make it widely available by providing copies to public libraries and putting up an electronic version on the CMC’s website for public access. Do invite your friends and family to browse it.

Updates on efforts by the CMC to support the Community Dispute Management Framework
As you know, the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals commenced on 1 October this year. These Tribunals are specialised State Courts set up to hear difficult disputes between neighbours, and they are part of the enhanced Community Dispute Management Framework, led by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.
Judges at the Tribunals can issue orders and directions which are targeted to resolve problems between neighbours. They may also order parties to attend mediation at the CMC, at any stage of the proceedings, even if mediation has been previously attempted.
The CMC will be mediating cases where parties have been ordered by the Tribunals to attempt mediation. We have worked closely with the Community Justice and Tribunals Division (CJTD) of the State Courts to ensure that all referrals will be dealt with in a timely and seamless fashion. We will continue to review the workflow between the CMC and the CJTD and make any adjustments where necessary. We would like to thank the CJTD of the State Courts for their partnership.
I want to emphasise though, that the Tribunals are intended to be a place of last resort. They should not be the first step in resolving neighbour disputes. Parties should only commence a claim in the Tribunals after all other efforts to resolve the conflict, including mediation, have failed.
To better support the resolution of such difficult cases, the CMC has selected 26 mediators with the requisite experience and skills to mediate these difficult disputes and guide the parties to reach amicable resolutions.
The 26 selected mediators, as well as our volunteer mediators, receive continuing professional development to ensure that they stay relevant with the necessary mediation skills to perform their roles effectively. This is especially important, with community disputes becoming increasingly complex. For example, in 2013, the CMC started co-sponsoring eligible mediators for external training programmes. I am heartened to know that some of our mediators have benefitted from them.
Ultimately, a better trained pool of mediators will directly benefit the members of the public served at CMC.
With the amount of training provided, I am confident that all of you will be good shifus. May I take a leaf out of your books and hone my conflict management skills further, learning from people like yourselves.
For community disputes, neighbours should be encouraged to communicate directly with each other when they have a disagreement, to clarify matters between themselves and to also prevent further misunderstanding. We should encourage good neighbourliness, building the kampong spirit, and focus on neighbours cultivating good relationships and being tolerant of one another in the community.
Messages to encourage neighbourliness have also been actively promoted by agencies other than MinLaw, such as the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and the People’s Association, as well as through non-governmental organisations, such as the Singapore Kindness Movement. To further support such efforts, the CMC has also produced a video on five simple steps – presented in the acronym F.O.C.U.S. – to provide the public with tips on how one can overcome conflict by applying basic conflict management skills.
Sometimes, if self-help techniques do not work, parties in a dispute may need the help of a neutral third party in resolving disputes. Residents can then approach the CMC to mediate, and the CMC will invite the other party to attend voluntary mediation. Alternatively, residents can also seek help from their grassroots leaders. Grassroots leaders serve as community peacemakers, to diffuse tension between disputing parties and assist them to resolve their disputes.
The CMC has worked with the People’s Association to train selected grassroots leaders as community peacemakers, through workshops conducted by Dr Lim, which equip them with basic mediation skills.
We have trained more than 400 grassroots leaders, since the programme started last year. This is an on-going effort, and more grassroots leaders will be trained in the coming year.
With our mediators’ experience in handling community disputes, I am sure they will be great mentors to these community peacemakers. I encourage our mediators to work with them and guide them along, when necessary.

Community partnerships and outreach efforts
Over the years, the CMC has promoted mediation as the preferred way to resolve relational disputes in the community. We have participated in community events organised by our partner agencies such as the HDB, the People’s Association and the Singapore Police Force.
These outreach events enable the CMC to raise awareness on community mediation and cultivate a culture of mediation within our community, while also highlighting the importance of good neighbourliness and considerate behaviour.
Outside of the mediation rooms, our mediators also serve as the CMC’s ambassadors during these events to help relay similar messages. I have, in fact, met a few of these mediators at the community events that I have attended.

Conclusion
Today, we have 24 new mediators being appointed to the panel and 94 mediators who are re-appointed and promoted. Several of you will also be receiving awards to recognise your achievements and your long-time service with the CMC. It is good news for the CMC, to see such passion being exemplified through the spirit of volunteerism. I am heartened to know that we have a waiting list of people who have applied to be volunteers with the CMC!
I hope that the 24 new mediators and new applicants will draw inspiration from the long-serving mediators, emulate their achievements and continue to serve the community with enthusiasm.
Thank you all very much, and I hope you have a great deal of fun tonight.

Last updated on 02 Dec 2015