We built over 100 community centres -- big ones in the city, small wooden huts in the rural areas -- places for education and recreation.

Table-tennis, basketball, badminton, Chinese chess, lessons in repairing radios and refrigerators and courses in technical trades were some of the activities.

We wanted to give people something positive to do, and get them lined up on the side of law and order.

Each centre would have a full-time organising secretary to administer it and cater to the needs of those who lived around it. To supervise the centres, the Social Welfare Department would be transformed into a community development department.