Role of Clan Associations in Singapore - Heralding The Rise of the Civil Society

(The following article written by me was published in the quarterly journal of the Hainan Clan Association in September. It explores the main question of how Clan Associations in Singapore can continue to be relevant in the New Millenium and what their role should encompass.)

I thought the article written by Mr Jimmy Yap printed in the March 2008 Issue of the Singapore Hainan Hwee Kuan Bulletin gave a very good overview of the founding purpose and roles of Clan Associations in Singapore (and all over the world actually), as well as raising pertinent questions as to how the Hwee Kuan can continue to stay relevant in the New Millennium, recognizing the original circumstances for which their existence came about no longer exist.

My opinion is that even though circumstances have changed, we must acknowledge that the two main reasons for the Clan’s original existence must continue to be unchanged. These are: 1) To take care of the Hainanese Community in Singapore 2) To provide a link between Hainanese in Singapore and fellow Hainanese in China (and all over the world). In the globalized world of today, and especially a multi-cultural, much less multi-dialect society like Singapore, these two main reasons may seem to encourage communalism, nepotism and even societal division; and this might be the reason why much of Clan activities in Singapore today have been geared towards more benign forms such as promoting culture and heritage. While I feel that the promotion of Hainan culture and heritage should and must continue to be an integral part of the Hwee Kuan’s role, I think that for it to be relevant as an organization, it is not enough. For the Hwee Kuan to remain relevant, it must accept the continued relevance of its original roles, and more than that, it must pro-actively work towards them. The challenge then for the Hwee Kuan, is how to pursue these communalistic objectives, but with a fair and open attitude which will not only not polarize society, but bring it closer instead.

A few key ideas came to my mind when I was thinking of activities that could be carried out under the two objectives:

a) Taking Care of the Hainanese Community in Singapore

In his article, Mr Yap stated that much of the areas of responsibility of the early clans have now been taken up by the government – namely education, health, jobs, and implied that the Hwee Kuan should look beyond these areas. If the Hwee Kuan were to acknowledge the foremost responsibility of taking care of the Hainanese in Singapore however, then these very areas would form the key of their concerns. In this direction, the Hwee Kuan has already taken positive steps all along with the reward of scholarships to deserving students, and even more commendable – the provision of pro-bono legal services to clansmen in need. But these can be greatly expanded,:

• Providing free(voluntary) or heavily subsidized academic aid to students
• Helping Singaporeans who wish to find job or business opportunities locally and overseas through the Hainanese network
• Providing free(voluntary) of heavily subsidized healthcare aid

The attitude the Hwee Kuan should take in pursuing these activities, would not be to replace the government, but to supplement it. The primary focus group for these initiatives must be the Hainanese, but this should not be exclusive. We should and must be open to helping everyone in the society. However, I believe that if the Hainan Hwee Kuan starts pursuing these initiatives vigorously, the other Clans in Singapore will have to follow the lead. So the end product of this bold initiatives, would not be an unbalanced society in which only the Hainanese get extra aid, but rather, a very developed and balanced civil society where all the Clans are helping their respective clansmen while retaining a fair and open attitude towards everyone in the society.

b) Providing Links Between Singapore and Overseas Hainanese

The overseas Chinese community was historically very concerned with developments in China and contributed greatly to China’s economic and social development through the establishment of schools and other financial contributions. The underlying motivation however, was to maintain a link to their fellows kinsmen back home.

The situation today is undeniably different and many Singaporean Hainanese may probably have completely lost contact with their kinsmen back in China. Thus, there would be no overarching reason for them to have any sort of affection for Hainan or China. And leading on, there is no reason for any sense of belonging to the Hainanese community or the Hwee Kuan. To me, this is where the challenge and opportunity for the Hwee Kuan lies. How can we create a sense of belonging amongst Singapore Hainanese to the notion of being Hainanese?

The cultural and heritage awareness are a key solution to this and thus they must be continued, however, I think the Hwee Kuan must also take a much more pro-active role in creating a sense of community. In a similar spirit of our forefathers, these may be done by:

• Organizing community involvement projects for Singaporean Hainanese to return to Hainan
• Creating opportunities and facilitating for schools and students in Hainan to visit Singapore (whereby young members of the association can make friends and re-establish personal links with Hainan)
• Linking up Singapore Hainanese with Overseas Hainanese over business, or social projects

The key to creating such links and a sense of belonging is that efforts must be circular, and not one-sided. We will need to bring Singaporean Hainanese out of Singapore, and also bring Hainanese overseas into Singapore. The upcoming 11^th World Hainanese Clan Association Congress holds the perfect opportunity to kick-start and intensify such efforts.

The New Millennium is a bold one and for the Hwee Kuan to remain relevant, it must be equal in ambition and determination. The challenge for the Hwee Kuan will be first in convincing itself (and then others) that it has the vision and resources to take on such an ambitious civic role, and finally, to actually carry it out.