The Singapore Dream Is Alive And Well
Speech by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong at the Marine Parade National Day Dinner at Roland Restaurant.
The theme for this year’s National Day Parade is “Live Our Dreams, Fly our Flag”. Tonight, I want to speak on the Singapore Dream.
This will be more cheerful than talking about the Singapore Gripe. Of course, some Singaporeans, understandably, gripe over several current issues like the recent floods, home prices, crowded MRT trains and distance fare pricing.
But we should not lose sight of the many more things which are going well for Singapore. For instance, we have rebounded with a vengeance from last year’s recession. Or take a walk along Marina Bay and soak in the beauty and vibrancy.
So tonight, I encourage you to look at the bright side of things and live your dreams. This is far healthier than to live the Singapore Gripe and drone on like vuvuzelas.
I grew up in a house without electricity and modern sanitation. But my dream as a teenager was not to own a home with modern comforts. It was to go to university. In the 1960’s, very few students went to university. Getting a degree was indeed a dream.
At university, my dream was to get a PhD and become a professor. I never lived this dream. I was bonded to serve the government because of my university bursary.
However, I did not gripe about a broken dream. I was thankful to get a good and secure job. In those days, Singapore was poor and unemployment was high, at about 14 per cent. So getting a job, any job, was the first priority of people in my generation.
Our next priority was to get married and set up home. We aspired to buy a 3-room flat and a car. So our dream was caricatured as “1, 2, 3, 4” – one wife, two children, 3-room flat and four wheels. Why only two children? You may remember the family planning slogan of “Stop at Two” at that time.
Singapore achieved rapid economic growth through the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Incomes went up. So did the aspirations of the young. By the 90’s, the Singapore Dream had been elevated to the 5 Cs – cash, credit cards, car, condominium, and country club membership. Owning a HDB flat was the norm. So Singaporeans dreamt of owning condominiums. They also wanted to join country clubs to enjoy a genteel lifestyle.
Twenty years on, what are Singaporeans’ dreams today? With many more avenues now to get a polytechnic diploma or university degree, and a growing economy, our young should be able to get good jobs. And with our renewed productivity drive, our income will continue to rise. So, most Singaporeans should have the first two Cs – cash and credit cards. They can also aspire to own good quality housing.
In fact, our newer HDB estates are becoming like condominiums – lush landscaping, covered multi-storey car parks, children’s playgrounds, adult fitness stations and elderly wellness centres. Amenities in community clubs are also close by. What about a car and country club membership? Well, should the young wish to pursue these two Cs, they are attainable for a large number of Singaporeans. In short, if the 5 Cs are still what young Singaporeans dream about, with hard work, I think this dream is within their reach.
But I wish to raise a more fundamental question – at this stage of Singapore’s development, should we still be spinning this same dream of 5 Cs? Should we not re-think our priorities? Should our young not aim at something different, something more meaningful, a life more fulfilling? I am not suggesting that material goods are not important or that there is anything wrong with chasing after the 5 Cs. But the 5 Cs should not be our end goals.
As I have said earlier, so long as we can achieve good economic growth, most Singaporeans should have a good chance of attaining most, if not all, of the 5 Cs. Also, chasing the 5 Cs alone may not necessarily mean a rich, fulfilling life. Conversely, even if we cannot have all the 5 Cs, we can still lead a happy, satisfying and meaningful life.
Of course, there would always be Singaporeans for whom life is a daily struggle. Their needs are more basic – an HDB flat and cash to pay the bills. But I believe that they too have dreams. They may want opportunities to upgrade their skills and to give more to their children.
They surely want their children to do well. And I am confident that their children will. They will be developed, whatever their talent. So long as the children put in the effort, they too will have every chance of giving their parents a better life and living their own dreams.
Indeed, I notice that our young, or Gen Y, are broadening their goals beyond the 5Cs. They are putting more emphasis on leading a rounded, fulfilling life. They want work-life balance. They are active in sports and the arts. Many leave good paying jobs to pursue their passion or dreams. I have met a couple of young men who left their banking jobs to become chefs.
I have a friend whose daughter has just graduated but chose to train as a yoga instructor. She wants to specialise in hot yoga, i.e. yoga practised in high room temperature. My friend accepts her daughter’s choice of career so long as she finds satisfaction in what she is doing.
Our young have a sense of adventure. They climb mountains, sail the high seas, motor-biked around the world and travel extensively. But they do not think only of themselves. Many participate in volunteer programmes. They contribute to charity. They are active in NGOs and are concerned about humanitarian and green issues.
I am happy at this trend to follow one’s passion and lead a more fulfilling life. But I worry that along the way, some of them might have dropped “1 wife and 2 children” from their dreams. In my view, having a family is a vital part of a fulfilling life. It should be at the core of every Singapore Dream.
When I look back on my life, the happiest moments were playing with my children, bringing them to school and nurturing them.
I watched them grow, I shared their struggle from teenage to adulthood, I shed tears when they married and rejoiced when they had families of their own. It is a feeling of immense satisfaction and achievement. And now, I feel totally contented whenever I can spend time with my grandchildren.
Tonight, whatever your age, I encourage you to spin your dreams. My own dream now is not about my own future. It is about the future of Singapore. If I have to reinvent the 5Cs, my dream is to help create the conditions for a generation of Singaporeans to have a good Career, live in Comfort, surrounded by Children, and be Considerate and Charitable.
Let me elaborate. More than just a job or a means to earn a living, Career means constantly striving to be better in your chosen field. No improvement is too small. It is also about realising your full potential and a basis for individual self-respect and dignity.
Comfort means material as well as emotional comfort. You do not need to have a lot of wealth but you must have enough to enjoy a comfortable life. You must also have the right attitude towards life. Otherwise, whatever you have will not be enough for you and you will never be contented.
Children refer to home and family and a new cycle of life. They are the main reasons why many of us want to have a good Career and a Comfortable home.
Beyond self and family, we want to contribute to and live harmoniously in a larger community. That is where the last 2Cs – to be Considerate and Charitable – come in. Being considerate includes having regard for the feelings and needs of others in our speech and actions. Just as we do not want to be hurt by others’ inconsiderate remarks, we should not pass hurtful remarks of others.
This goes beyond family members, friends and neighbours. We should be especially considerate, given the potential divisions inherent in our society – divisions between different races and different religions, between Singaporeans and foreigners, and between the young and old. Being Charitable is not just about giving money but your time and effort to help the less fortunate. It means compassion and empathy for others in difficulties.
This is my hope for Singapore. But you should have your own dream. I cannot dream for you; the government cannot dream for you. What the government will do is to create the fertile soil for you to sow and grow your dreams. The first essential condition is a vibrant and growing economy. Such an economy will offer many opportunities and well-paid, challenging jobs.
The second essential condition is a quality education system. We will be spending more on education and life-long worker training. The changes being made to our education system are transformational and exciting. They will reach out to every Singaporean and at every level, taking into account our children’s different abilities and interests.
At the top end, young Singaporeans will have more universities and more pathways to choose from. At the lower end, we have paid special attention to those who are academically weak through dedicated schools like Northlight School (NLS) and Assumption Pathway School (APS).
These schools have more teachers per student to provide closer supervision and stronger pastoral care and support. These two schools are showing good results. They will serve as useful models for more such schools to be set up later. With all these developments, whatever your child’s talent, be it academic or non-academic, he or she will be better prepared to work and live in a globalised economy.
With these two essential conditions, you should be able to build on them to create your own future and to live your dreams.
I wish you all the best and a Happy National Day!
Topics: 2010, Asia, CET, Continuing Education and Training, DPM Wong, Economy, education, extremism, Fly our Flag, Goh Chok Tong, Governance, government, Home Team, Home Team National Day Observance Ceremony, law enforcement, Live Our Dreams, MCYS, Ministry of Community Development, Ministry of Education, MOE, moniter, monitor, National Day, National Day Parade, national security, news, Pacific, public safety, Public Spiritedness Award, security, Singapore, SM Goh, society, tolerance, Wong Kan Seng, Youth and Sports
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