Unknown to Chinese-Indonesian Yeo Keng Kwang, the Asian Financial Crisis that plagued Indonesia – and Asia – in 1997 was a prelude to a better life for him.

Facing a financial quagmire, the Bintan-born man moved to Singapore, where its economic environment was the least unnerved among the Southeast Asian countries.

Within a year, he got himself a job, and soon saved up enough money to buy a flat in Bukit Gombak. In 2006, he got his much sought after Singapore citizenship. He considers himself fortunate that Singapore has been kind to him; that this tiny island of a concrete jungle has given him a new lease of life.

The 41-year-old, now an IT administrator and a father-of-one, wants to pay it back – and forward – to Singapore: he is a volunteer at Bukit Gombak Citizens’ Consultative Committee (CCC), which falls under the South West district.

“I always believe that I have a moral obligation to help Singapore, after what she has done for me,” says Mr Yeo, whose Singapore-accented English shows how far he has come.

Active in grassroots work since 2005, Mr Yeo is no mere follower – he takes the lead by being the vice-chairman of Sunshine RC, organises get-together sessions for residents and even ropes in his wife to help out.

“I think, by being a grassroots volunteer, I can show my appreciation for Singapore by helping the community. And since I did not do National Service, this is a good way to show I’m a grateful citizen!”

Like Mr Yeo, Shanghainese-turned-Singaporean citizen, Tien Yi, 35, shares such notions of reciprocation. She joined the South West CDC as a volunteer in 2005. She moved to Singapore 10 years ago, and now works as a nurse in a clinic at the National University Hospital.

“Singapore has been good to me. So, joining [the CDC] and helping out is my way of thanking Singapore lah,” she says.

What was a rarity a decade ago is now appearing to be a trend: newly-turned Singaporean citizens seeping into the grassroots level and blending among the heartlanders.

This trend should hardly surprise, considering the increasingly globalised society Singapore is turning into.

The statistics from the National Population Secretariat give a firmer look: in 2006, there were 13,209 foreigners taking up Singapore citizenship. In the first 10 months of 2007, there were 13,969 new citizens – surpassing the average of 9,600 in the past five years.

Within the South West district, there were 3208 new citizens in 2007; a three-fold increase from 1008 new citizens in 2002.

Veteran grassroots leader Thomas Kok, 66, believes this trend of volunteerism among new citizens would continue as many foreigners are now choosing to live in the heartlands. He is not surprised that these newly ‘minted’ Singaporeans bother to take time out of their jobs to engage in volunteer work.

“Whenever I attend the CDC’s receptions to welcome foreigner-turned-Singaporeans, I tell the new citizens that we are happy for them, and that they are lucky to be part of this country,” says Mr Kok.

“And they are actually surprised to see that so many of us at these receptions are actually volunteers who are contributing to the community. I think this has made an impact on them.

“Some of them also realise that they are here because of their skill or job, which has earned them their citizenship. So they feel the need to look for other ways to play a bigger part in society; to give back to the country,” he adds.

Singaporean Doreen Lum, who has been in the grassroots scene since 1992, believes the motivations of these new citizens touch on a more intimate scale.

“I think these new citizens [volunteer because they] would like to create a special bonding with their new home; to have a deeper sense of belonging in the community,” she says.

OF TEA PARTIES AND FOREIGN TALENT

But having more new-citizens-turned-grassroots members didn’t just happen by chance – dig deeper and you’d notice a more concerted effort to reach out to these newbies.

West Coast GRC MP Arthur Fong says: “We hold welcome parties for them, where we help introduce them to the community. All of us also send welcome letters, notifying them of activities and things like where the CC is. I know that other advisers also invite new residents to their National Day events and grassroots activities, so it’s a conscientious effort.”

In his Clementi constituency, he has met active new citizens from the Philippines to China – all bursting with enthusiasm.

“I have one lady, Nancy, a Filipino with a Pakistani husband. There’s also this guy from China – I went to this RC event in Zone 4, and he was the emcee, and he was great! He’s young too, which is good, as we want to attract more young members. Clementi is a mature estate, so when we find an active young member, it’s like a gem.”

Some like Bhowmik Dipankar Kumar Sujan, 40, are no stranger to volunteerism.

Before he moved to Singapore 11 years ago, the Bangladeshi assisted poor families in basic financial planning.

The father-of-one – who now works in a shipping company – signed up as a citizen partner under the South West CDC in 2002. He received his red passport last March.

For him, volunteer work often leads to a melange of cross-cultural chats, especially among the elderly, whom he tends to in his volunteer activities.

“I look very foreign, so the senior citizens like to ask me a lot of questions, like where I’m from, and what it is like in my country. It’s interesting. We get to find out more about each other’s culture,” he elaborates.

Indeed, engaging in volunteerism is not only an exercise in gratitude for these new citizen-volunteers, but a social activity as well. Ms Tien and Mr Yeo reveal that taking part in volunteering activities is a great way to “make more friends” and “meet people from all walks of life”.

Hopefully too, the inter-mingling will make more Singaporeans accept these new citizens into their fold, especially in the work place, adds Ms Tien.

“Some Singaporeans blame foreigners for coming here to compete for their jobs, but some of us are actually doing jobs which Singaporeans don’t want to do,” she adds, “so we actually keep the job market balanced.”

Look harder and you’ll realise that this emergence of new citizens within the grassroots arena is beginning to resemble a microcosm of our economy itself, where the oft-debated subject of foreign talent has pervaded every nook and cranny.

“These new citizens bring with them new ideas and ways of doing things. I’m sure they have seen their own kind of community work in their own countries,” says Mr Kok.

And perhaps these new citizens might be the ones to serve as a mirror for Singaporeans to examine their own community involvement, he says.

“The fact that these people stepped forward to play a role in the community shows that they really appreciate what we have taken for granted,” he says.

“Hopefully, this would spur the younger Singaporeans to take a less indifferent view of their community, and get inspired to contribute.”