Welcoming a new child for the first time can be challenging for new fathers. However, at Zhenghua, fellow fathers help ease some of the burden through shared experiences.
Edward Chia Bing Hui, a Member of Parliament for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, said that the grassroots organisations within the GRC and Bukit Panjang hosted the first-ever men’s only “Just for Papa” event in January to promote mental wellbeing awareness and support for fathers.
He told Petir: “A young gentleman came. His wife was about to give birth. He said he wanted to be a good father and hear from other fathers about the challenges they face.”
A total of 93 fathers, both experienced and new, shared their experiences and challenges of raising children at the event.
This initiative, organised in collaboration with The Centre for Fathering and Dads for Life and supported by the North West CDC and National Youth Council, encourages fathers to take a more active role in caregiving. This allows mothers to focus on their careers or have more personal time.
Mr Chia said: “This forum is not so much as us driving the initiative. ‘This is ABCDE. What I think you should do.’ We want the community to come together to share their experiences and support each other emotionally. This also helps with the mental health of our Papas.”
His team organised a second event on October 12 where 50 fathers discussed navigating the challenges of fatherhood in the digital age.
The long-term aim is for fathers in Bukit Panjang to initiate their own ground-up initiatives, leveraging an existing WhatsApp network of approximately 40 members to kickstart a sustainable local support group.
Noting the large number of young families in Zhenghua, he said his team hopes to organise similar sessions more regularly to develop a community for fathers in Zhenghua.
Making childcare and infant care accessible to young families is also a top priority. He believes that providing support to couples raising children is essential if the government wants couples to have more offspring.
“We talk about empowering working women. The most direct way is to provide more childcare and infant care facilities so that parents won’t worry as much about childcare.”
Over the last three years, Mr Chia has successfully established two large childcare centres in Zhenghua to meet the needs of young families.
Edward Chia implements local initiatives to help families with rising cost of living
In addition to supporting young families, he has helped his constituents address the rising cost of living. There are nearly 500 lower-income families living in rental flats in Zhenghua, he noted.
“For cost-of-living issues, those with fewer resources are most impacted. In addition to government-wide support, we implemented more local initiatives and financial assistance programs to support these families,” he said.
In August 2023, Mr Chia’s grassroots team collaborated with Hao Ren Hao Shi, a non-profit organisation, and West Spring Primary School to distribute essentials to families in need within the constituency under the Good Grocery Truck initiative.
His team also works closely with the National Trades Unions Congress (NTUC)’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) to assist residents in finding jobs. They do this by assigning career coaches to those who need help.
“Every person’s situation is unique. A career coach needs to walk this journey with them as they search for employment,” he said.
Edward Chia: As residents’ expectations change, we require fresh approaches to meet their needs
Reflecting on his initial time as an MP, Mr Chia said he faced several challenges. With COVID-19 restrictions in place, one difficulty was getting residents to recognise him when the usual opportunities to engage with them were suspended for health and safety reasons. The biggest challenge, however, was time – the need to double down on efforts to organise events and engage residents once Covid-19 rules started to relax.
He said, “We were playing catch up. As a first-term MP, we must work very hard to get to know our residents well, and to know our grassroots leaders well. Sometimes launching new initiatives is not easy either. People are used to doing things the way that they are accustomed to,” he said. “So, I have to motivate the team and inspire them. I point out that residents’ profiles and expectations are changing, our challenges are new as well, we need fresh approaches and ideas to meet residents’ needs.”
“There are so many things that need to be done in a short time. And everything is interconnected. Because without a good team that embraces new ideas, you can’t execute those ideas,” he added, grateful to have grassroots leaders and volunteers and party activists committed to and passionate about serving residents.
Edward Chia takes a stewardship approach as an MP
Mr Chia said taking a stewardship approach motivates him as an MP — to do his part and contribute during his time in office. He aims to build on the good work done by his predecessor Liang Eng Hwa, MP for Bukit Panjang, in Zhenghua over the past three terms. “I want to hand over Zhenghua to my successor in a better state.”
He clarified that “better” does not mean more initiatives or infrastructure. Rather, it refers to “how close knit the community is and how much residents support one other”. His vision for Zhenghua is a closer and more united community.
He added: “In politics, trust is the main currency. If I can hand over a community with higher trust in the government, the PAP, and each other, then I have fulfilled my role as a steward during my time as MP for Zhenghua.”
