Closing remarks by SMS Sim Ann for Focus Group Discussion with Chinese Community on Neighbourhood Noise

Sep 16, 2022

INTRODUCTION

A very good evening to all. I would like to thank everyone for taking time to join us on a Friday evening to share your thoughts on neighbourhood noise and how we can better manage it for a more pleasant living environment for everyone. I was glad to hear the lively discussions at each group.

IMPACT OF NEIGHBOURHOOD NOISE

Based on what we had heard today, many of us have experienced noise in our daily living. This is especially so in a densely populated city like Singapore. The issue has become more prevalent in recent times, as we are now spending more time at home due to the adoption of hybrid work arrangements.

Neighbourhood noise is a serious issue that we are looking to address. In most cases, the noise disturbances are a source of irritation and can affect our rest at home. When left unchecked, it can escalate to conflicts among neighbours and disrupt our living environment. There are also instances where the noise disturbance is protracted. In such cases, the impact of noise is more severe and can affect an individual’s physical and mental well-bring.

That is why MSO and MCCY have convened the Community Advisory Panel (CAP) on Neighbourhood Noise to look at ways to address noises generated, knowingly or unintentionally, by fellow residents. The CAP is tasked with developing a commonly-acceptable set of community norms that we hope will form a reference point when it comes to defining acceptable or unacceptable noises, and good neighbourly practices that we should adopt in our daily activities.

COMMON OBSERVATIONS ON NEIGHBOURHOOD NOISE

As noise is an issue that concerns all of us, the panel has been consulting the community widely as part of their work to develop norms to better manage neighbourhood noise. Over the past three months, MSO and MCCY have been working with the Panel to conduct a series of public engagements, comprising both focus group discussions and surveys, and have engaged more than 3,000 members of the public.

We have seen some common threads across the discussions at today’s session and the others. This was encouraging, because it shows that there is consensus among participants when it comes to expected behaviours, which are useful findings for the Panel.

For starters, many residents have agreed that we should try to be more considerate and avoid conducting noisy activities during the quiet hours. While it's easier said than done, many have also spoken about the value of open communication with neighbours, because this should be the first step to resolving disputes. These observations emerging from the discussions have prompted us to look deeper into raising awareness and acceptance of quiet hours, encouraging better communication between neighbours and addressing extreme cases where noise is protracted or intentionally made to harass others.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR COMMUNITY ADVISORY PANEL

The CAP has their work cut out for them, and I thank you for your candid and active participation in their public consultations thus far. We are approaching the end of the public engagements, and the Panel has started to study your inputs on this topic. They will identify norms which have achieved consensus from the community, and put forth a set of recommendations which they will submit to Government by the end of the year.

These norms, which were developed together with residents, will ensure a shared ownership among the community, and encourage everyone to play their part to minimise noise. This also supports one of the main pillars of the Forward Singapore exercise, “Build”, which was launched by DPM Lawrence Wong earlier this year. We hope that the community norms developed will go toward transforming our living environment and build a more endearing home for all of us.

Thank you, and I wish you a restful weekend.

大家晚上好。谢谢早报读者在周末来临前，拨出宝贵的时间，参与我们的《邻里噪音早报讨论会》。我非常高兴看到各位那么积极地参与讨论会，探讨如何能更好地控制邻里噪音。

从大家的经历看来，很多人都在日常生活中受到噪音的困扰。尤其是在新加坡这么高密度的城市里，现在人们呆在家办公的时间更长，他们更能感受噪音所带来的困扰。

因此，邻里噪音是我们首要解决的问题。在很多情况下，噪音会影响我们的情绪，干扰到在家休息的时间。如果不处理的话，这很可能会引起邻居的纠纷，进而影响我们的居住环境。如果噪音持续一段时间的话，它所带来的影响将更严重，甚至可能会影响到个人的身心健康。

因此，《社区事务署》和《文化、社区及青年部》成立了《邻里噪音咨询小组》，针对探讨和解决社区中常见的噪音。咨询小组希望能针对噪音，制定一套社会规范，明确列出可以和不可以接受噪音的准则，以更好地维护和谐邻里关系。

由于噪音牵连甚广，咨询小组广泛地咨询来自各界人士对噪音的看法。在过去的三个月里，来自《社区事务署》和《文化、社区及青年部》的同事，同咨询小组一起展开一系列的公共咨询活动，其中包括象今天这样的面对面的讨论会和网络调查。至今，我们已经咨询超过3000名民众对噪音的看法。

我们在今天和之前的面对面的讨论会中，听到了不同民众对于噪音有着相似的看法。这显示，参与者已经明确表达，他们所能或不能接受的行为。这些共识将有助于咨询小组接下来将要展开的工作。

例如，很多居民同意我们应该在安静时间内更为他人着想，避免进行吵闹的活动。另外，也有居民分享，他们如何通过与邻居更好的沟通方式，解决彼此间的纠纷。大家的经历和分享，让我们明确的锁定接下来的大方向：包括提升大家对于安静时间的认识和接受度，并鼓励邻居间更好的沟通，以及制定行动针对那些利用噪音来骚扰邻居的不良行为。

感谢大家对《邻里噪音咨询小组》工作的支持和踊跃参与我们的公共咨询活动，活动已经将近尾声了。咨询小组的工作任重道远，小组已经开始深入探讨各位对于噪音的看法，并从中找出大众可以接受的社会规范，计划在年底向政府提呈相关的报告。

这套同民众共同创立的社会规范，将确保社群对他们的居住环境负起共同责任，并鼓励大家合力减少噪音。这也是配合“新加坡携手前进运动”的项目之一。我们希望所成立的社会规范能让我们的居住环境更理想，让每个人都能共享美好的家园。

谢谢各位，祝大家周末愉快！