Edwin Tong on empowering grassroots leaders to evaluate information and resist foreign influence

Grassroots leaders (GRLs) must be able to discern information from misinformation and critically evaluate information, said Culture, Community and Youth Minister Edwin Tong. Replying to an MP’s questions in Parliament on Friday (Feb 16), he highlighted ways in which the People’s Association (PA) supports GRLs in their roles. These include regularly sharing key information on Government policies, regular dialogues on national and local issues and workshops to help them identify and manage misinformation. Mr Tong said as leaders in the community, GRLs are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that befits their standing and role, as well as act in Singapore’s interests. He said there are sound processes in place when appointing and re-appointing GRLs. He said PA constantly reviews the appointment system to ensure that there is sufficient rigour. But the most rigorous checks cannot preclude the possibility of a person subsequently behaving in an unbefitting manner, said Mr Tong. If this happens, immediate action will be taken to re-assess the person’s suitability to continue as a GRL, he added.