Everyone has a role to play in preserving the safety and security of the ommunity, and that includes the foreign workers too. With about 6,000 foreign workers mainly from India, Bangladesh and Thailand living in dormitories along Seletar West Farmway 6, they have been roped in to join the neighbourhood police and residents in weekly patrols of Jalan Kayu.

The Jalan Kayu Rangers Community Safety and Security Project is a joint initiative of the Jalan Kayu Citizen’s Consultative Committee (CCC), the area’s neighbourhood committee, Sengkang Neighbourhood Police Centre, as well as the management of the foreign dormitories. MP Mr Wee Siew Kim officially launched it on 23 December 2007. It is another initiative as a result of the feedback from residents on some rowdy behaviour and littering around the neighbourhood. With the foreign workers being part of the patrol team, it is envisaged that they will be able to reach out and communicate more effectively with their peers in helping them to better understand Singapore’s laws and culture. This initiative will also facilitate greater interaction between the foreign workers and the residents, thereby further integrating the foreign workers into our society and promoting better understanding between the foreign workers and the residents.

All the 40 foreign rangers were specially selected. After a four-month training programme, they are equipped with knowledge on anti-littering and antispitting rules in Singapore as well as first aid skills. They take turns to go out in teams of three or four together with one or two policemen and the neighbourhood committee members on a monthly basis during weekend evenings. With the launch of the JK Rangers, Jalan Kayu will definitely be a safer and more conducive place to live in – both for the foreign workers and the residents in the area.