SINGAPORE: The work to build awareness and understanding among Singapore's various communities is a never-ending one.

Otherwise, Singaporeans risk being "rusty" and not be able to move fast enough when a crisis strikes.

Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng said this when he addressed over 400 participants at the National Community Engagement Programme Seminar on Saturday.

It has been two years since the Community Engagement Programme (CEP) was launched. The aim is to create social cohesion and harmony for weathering any crisis.

The programme has expanded deeper and wider, thanks to efforts of various stakeholders.

Still, efforts at social cohesion and racial harmony are a never-ending process, said DPM Wong, who is also the Home Affairs Minister.

"While we can take pride in our state of communal harmony, we must also be realistic. We should not lull ourselves into thinking that no Singaporean will subvert our communal harmony simply because years of harmony seem to have made extremism and bigotry alien to our society and culture. This would be a naive and mistaken view. Social reality is always dynamic and evolving," he said.

Going forward, Mr Wong suggested using a diversity of approaches to reach out to the young and other groups of people, like foreign workers.

He also commended the CEP groups for responding quickly when JI leader Mas Selamat Kastari escaped. He said the groups rallied together - regardless of race or religion - to help the security agencies.

Abdul Halim Kader, president of Taman Baacan, said: "The idea we got is that many communities can play a part in helping the government during crisis times. Each of us Singaporeans, regardless of race, background, we have a role to play......."

The CEP framework comprises the grassroots organisations, People's Association, the police and civil defence force. But Mr Wong said that ultimately, it's the people on the ground who make the programme successful.

"The heart of the CEP is really the many people and groups on the ground who compose it by expressing it in their own way, through their diverse activities and efforts," he said.

During the seminar, community leaders were also updated on Singapore's security situation. - CNA/ir