• The Mandarin term “居民委员会” is a paraphrase of the English term “Residents’ Committee”.
• Residents’ Committees (RCs) were established in 1978 and came under the Prime Minister’s Office, before coming under the Ministry of Community Development.
• Since 1993, they have been operating under the People’s Association (PA), which determines how RC zones are divided.
• Each HDB block in the zone is represented by one or several representatives who are residents of the block. As of 2018, Singapore had a total of 654 RCs.
• The RCs’ functions encompass four aspects: to promote neighbourly, harmonious and cohesive relations among residents; to communicate and make recommendations to Government authorities regarding the needs of residents; to disseminate information to and obtain feedback on Government policies and actions from residents; and to encourage residents to be better citizens.
• The Government announced on July 2018 that RCs and Neighbourhood Committees (NCs) would be replaced by the Residents’ Network for new HDB blocks and private residences. The more than 860 existing RCs and NCs could decide if they wished to continue with the existing model or to merge with nearby grassroots organisations to set up a Residents’ Network with integrated resources.

Prime Minister Lee said that grassroots organisations serve as bridges between the Government and the people, and that Residents’ Committees and Neighbourhood Committees need to continue attracting new blood. (Lianhe Zaobao, 20/7/2018)

• There are “居民委员会” in Mainland China too. However, the nature of these committees, as well as their organisation and principles, differ from those in Singapore.