"One of the things that often worry me is that some Singaporeans are lulled into complacency, believing that such racial and religious conflicts can never happen in Singapore. We have cultivated more than 45 years of social peace and communal harmony. It will be naïve for us to take racial and religious harmony for granted and assume that this state of affairs is natural or immutable. Good relations need to be nurtured constantly and maintained conscientiously. All of us, regardless or our race, religion or background, must do our part toalways guard against racial and religious bigotry and to instead constantly cultivate and practise mutual tolerance and respect for the different communities that make up our Singaporean society. " DPM Wong said this morning.
Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC Citizens' Consultative Committee (CCC) Bursary Presentation Ceremony cum Family Carnival - Speech by DPM & Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng
17 January 2010
My Parliamentary Colleagues,
Principals,
Community Leaders,
Award Recipients,
Parents, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning and a Happy New Year to all of you.
2 This is the second year that all five Divisions in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC have come together to hold a combined Citizens’ Consultative Committee (CCC) Bursary Presentation Ceremony. A total of $127,000 will be given out to 619 students from primary to tertiary levels at the Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC CCCs’ Bursary Awards today. We are proud of your achievements, and hope that you would be inspired and motivated to scale greater heights. Let me congratulate all the award recipients.
3 The year 2009 has not been smooth for Singapore. The global economic crisis sent ripples that were felt all over the world. Singapore was not spared. We have pulled through the difficult year and we are now expecting 3 to 5 per cent growth next year. Singapore had recovered much faster than many other countries that were hard hit by the economic crisis.
A cohesive society: The bedrock for economic success
4 A key factor why we were able to respond and recover swiftly was because we stood united as a cohesive society in the face of adversity. By standing united towards a single-minded goal, we were able to implement bold measures to achieve results that we would not have been able to do as individuals.
5 First, by staying united and cohesive, we were able to galvanise community resources and support to help fellow residents, such as those who had lost their jobs or whose families face financial difficulties during the economic downturn. In Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, for example, we organised job fairs to help workers who had lost their jobs find alternative employments. Others were directed to national schemes set up to help them upgrade and seek employment. We also gave another round of the CCC bursaries in June 2009 as we expected more families to be affected by job losses or wage cuts as the year unfolded. In short, we were there for one another in a time of need.
6 Secondly, a cohesive and united community can better cope with the common problems we face. This spirit of taking ownership and solving problems extends well beyond the measures we took to help residents in the economic downturn.
7 A good example is how our community come together to fight the scourge of loanshark harassments, accentuated by the economic downturn. Our grassroots leaders worked with the Police and Town Council under the Community Safety and Security Programme (CSSP). CCTV cameras were installed at units that were affected by harassment. Grassroots leaders visited residents to raise awareness and vigilance, and a community education programme was carried out to highlight the impact of borrowing from loansharks and spread information on the avenues of help that are available. In a nutshell, the grassroots leaders and volunteers took charge and implemented measures to safeguard the well-being and interest of our community.
8 Thirdly, and very importantly, a cohesive community also provides a foundation for peace and stability that is crucial for our economic recovery and continued growth. Singapore is peaceful and stable even though we are a diverse, multi-ethnic and multi-religious society. Our stability and peace is one of the reasons why foreigners choose to invest, study, work and stay in Singapore. This social cohesion and communal harmony form the bedrock of Singapore’s peace and stability upon which its consequential economic success is built. We can remain peaceful and stable only if we are vigilant and constantly guard against threats of racial, religious and social discord or conflict which can tear our society apart. We only have to look at recent incidents outside Singapore to understand how real and grave this threat is to any multi-ethnic society like ours.
9 Some countries in Europe have long had tensions brewing between immigrants and the local population. Typically, such tensions take on an ethnic slant as the immigrants and locals are of different ethnicity. Intolerance finds expression in many forms including democratic ones. For instance, late last year in Switzerland, a public referendum was held and it called for a prohibition against the construction of minarets, with the proponents claiming that minarets are a sign of Islamisation and this is incompatible with Swiss democracy. Last week, the Straits Times reported bloody clashes between African migrants and residents in an Italian town. Some 900 immigrants fled the town after they were attacked by residents. The media highlighted that the incident underscored the dilemma that while Italians shun laborious work such as picking crops and toiling in the factories, they at the same time, resent foreigners doing it for meagre pay.
10 In Australia, cases of Indian students being attacked in the country have been reported over the past year. In 2005, an assault case that took place in Cronulla Beach, Sydney sparked off a spate of riots against immigrants of Middle-Eastern descent. Nearer to Singapore, we have also read of the rise of religious tensions in Malaysia over the last week. We are watching the situation very closely. It is understandable for Singaporeans to be concerned about this development in our neighbouring country but our people have reacted with calm and composure. We must continue to do so.
11 One of the things that often worry me is that some Singaporeans are lulled into complacency, believing that such racial and religious conflicts can never happen in Singapore. We have cultivated more than 45 years of social peace and communal harmony. It will be naïve for us to take racial and religious harmony for granted and assume that this state of affairs is natural or immutable. Good relations need to be nurtured constantly and maintained conscientiously. All of us, regardless or our race, religion or background, must do our part to always guard against racial and religious bigotry and to instead constantly cultivate and practise mutual tolerance and respect for the different communities that make up our Singaporean society.
Imparting values through schools and families
12 While we prepare Singapore to reach the next level of economic growth, an area that the Government will continue to place great emphasis is the education of our children. Education opportunities allow our children to acquire knowledge and skills, so as to maximise their potential.
13 As we nurture and educate our young, our educational outcomes cannot be determined by narrow measures of academic performance alone, be it PSLE scores or ‘O’, ITE, Polytechnic grades and ‘A’ levels results. It was never meant to be so. Our education system must prepare our students for life, not as a short sprint but as a marathon. It is thus crucial for our schools to impart and seed in our children, good values, such as life-long learning, resilience, integrity, compassion and the most importantly, a sense of civic responsibility to give back to the larger community. Singaporeans were able to overcome the recession last year because we were resilient, adaptive and we stood united to help one another. We must continue to impart these important values to our children.
14 There is a Chinese saying “取之社会，用之社会”. It means that you should remember to give back what you have taken or benefited from the society. I urge all the award recipients here today to reflect on this and to do just that in time.
Conclusion
15 Finally, I wish the recipients every success in your studies. I urge that you also remember to thank your parents and teachers for their support and guidance and to share your achievements today with them. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to the grassroots volunteers for making today’s event a success, to the VWOs for their strong support and to all the donors for their generosity.
16 Drawing from last year’s success, we have incorporated the family carnival into the programme this year. This gives the recipients and their families more opportunities to interact with and get to know their fellow residents, Advisers and the grassroots leaders. Do enjoy yourselves this morning.
