Participatory Community Development

I have an interesting discussion with a RT chairman this morning. We spoke about participatory community development programmes at the ground level. It is commonly acknowledged that getting people to come out, let alone volunteer themselves to take part in the community programmes is a difficult task. More so asking them to take the driving role will never get a programme to start. For example, appealing to people to participate in the street patrolling will never work as their reason will always be this is the job of the policeman, and hence it is not necessary for them to be involved. Similarly, asking people to clean up their neighbourhood park based on self help programme is always being rejected simply because as tax payer they have entrusted the local authority to clean up and hence it is none of their business to help. To many, nothing wrong of sharing similar thought and I will concur if provided that we have widen our thinking for the community at large.

A safe community is what everyone envisioned for themselves, their family and place of living. We have the right of looking forward for a safe and peaceful community. However, right should come with full responsibility. While the security force is tasked with safeguarding the life and property as well as order of the society, other stakeholders such as residents, inesses and agencies share equal responsibilities. As house owners, we should reduce the opportunity for crime to be committed. We can walk on the street as a group and make it visible to the potential crime offenders. Businesses can provide logistic support to the community at large. For example, installing communal CCTV at strategic area or the passage from houses to the commercial centre, providing guarded service to the customers and of course know the neighbour well. As for agencies like local authority, crime prevention through environmental design can be incorporated into all facilities and infrastructure development. It is an action by all and for all. To me, the wisdom of none of my business is gone of the days.

If we have done a cause and effect analysis on any urban issues, be it security and safety, service delivery, development, pollution and etc, the root cause of the problem is always YOU AND ME, and not either you or me. Any consequences will have vicious circle of returning back to us the adverse effect, one day either soonest or later. For example, if we do not help out our neighbour next door who is in distress after robbery, for sure we might be the next target of crime because the robbers knew that no one in this neighbourhood is helping each others when the time is warrant. If the incidence of crime is so high, for sure the neighbourhood becomes black spot area and hence property value will be affected. For those who think that as long as i and my family are all right, never got injured due to criminal, the depreciation of property value will hit them as well. Nobody can hide from community development even though you are not part of the team emotionally.

Both of us agreed that perhaps to wake members of the community up is to create a crisis situation. However this might be construed as agencies are non performing. Another way of doing is creating a "kampung" setting with neighbourliness spirit and environment. People is knowing each others. People is willing to help each others. Caring towards each others and the public domain is not an issue. This, of course a tall order as many of the urban people especially in PJ hardly know each other, let alone mingle around. However, if you do not know other, how can you love him is the common saying and rightly so. The Local Authority perhaps has the responsibility of creating common safe and conducive space for greater interaction, top tip condition of the public facilities and facilitating or organising events suit to the need of the people. If all these have been put in place but no community initiative is forth coming, then i believe accusing local authority of not people friendly will lose it own cause naturally.