Community Mediation Centres
Resolving Conflicts in the Olden Days
In the olden days when conflicts arose it was inevitably settled in an informal
manner through the good services of the village elders or penhulus. Parties
are encouraged to air their views and open up. Solutions are suggested and
the best option adopted for resolving the conflict. In fact, some might add
that in the past, conflicts were resolved by parties out of high respect for
the elders and kampong heads. Nowadays, much skills and techniques are required
in order to resolve conflicts.
Now...
The Community Mediation Centre (CMC) was set up by the Ministry of Law to
provide an informal and user-friendly means of settling inter-personal, social
and community disputes between people.
Conflicts and disagreements among people can lead to disharmony and tension in society. They come about because of differing interests, perspectives or views among residents. They can also arise because of disputes over scarce resources or competing values and principles.
In Singapore, community disputes do occur between neighbours. These conflicts can range from very minor and petty disagreements to violent arguments over competing values and resources. In the olden days, disputes and conflicts among the members of the community were settled within the community by the village elders or leaders. As time passed and with the influence of the outside world the kinship relationships gradually gave way to more contractual and ‘less friendly’ relationships. The establishment of community mediation centres will provide a useful avenue for resolving these modern community disputes.
Mediation as a tool helps parties to resolve their disputes in an amicable manner. It is useful because disputants can meet and discuss how best the conflict or disagreement between them could be resolved without the need to proceed to litigation or resorting to violence. In the process, it helps clear misunderstandings and build community cohesion and harmony.
