9 November 2006

     Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Marine Parade): Mr Speaker, Sir, I speak in support of the Motion to thank the President for his Speech.
 
     I am indeed encouraged by the Government's focus on building an inclusive society, the promise to leave no one behind and the call to strengthen social cohesion.  However, I notice that the Government has focused on the more tangible matters of strengthening social cohesion, like investing in education, skills training and the strengthening of social safety nets.
 
     Sir, I wish to suggest that another area which can improve social cohesion is the inculcation of basic character values in Singaporeans.  There are many core character values which I feel that we should encourage and develop so as to become second nature amongst Singaporeans.  These values, like kindness, consideration for others, being grateful and being humble are universal in nature.  But for some reason or other, they seem to be lacking in Singaporeans.
 
     Sometime back, I read in the Straits Times a letter to the Forum provocatively titled "Must Singaporeans behave like pigs?"  The letter contained an observation by an Australian about the behaviour of Singaporeans.  Although the writer of the letter, Mr Martin Goh, tried to prove his Australian friend wrong about the behaviour of Singaporeans, eventually, he conceded and he admitted defeat.
 
     Mr Goh wrote his observations about Singaporeans who rushed into trains without giving way, about Singaporeans who did not give up their seats to a mother caring a child, about Singaporeans rushing to take lifts, about Singaporeans rushing for table space during lunch, and about the litter left on the table by Singaporeans.  The letter struck a raw nerve in me.  Instinctively, I felt indignant and upset.  I challenged the writer and his Australian friend mentally  -  who are you to pass such judgments on Singaporeans and to call us pigs?  But on reflection, I realised that there was some truth in what the writer had described about the behaviour of Singaporeans.  For the record, I disagree with the use of the word "pigs".  In fact, in the very next week, a few other writers joined in the Forum discussion, and quite a few of them concurred that indeed there were several occasions when the behaviour of Singaporeans was found wanting.
 
     Mr Speaker, Sir, I am concerned about this lack of social grace amongst Singaporeans.  Perhaps a better description is the lack of consideration.  Time and again, in the local newspaper, there are daily comments about the poor or boorish behaviour of Singaporeans, and many of us would have witnessed this poor behaviour one time or another in our daily life.  I once had an accident in Malaysia along the North-South highway.  Within moments, a few Malaysian vehicles stopped to offer their help.  I am not sure in Singapore, if you had an accident, would any vehicle within a short moment of time stop to help.  Maybe they would.  But, more likely, they will be there to see your vehicle number so that they can buy 4D.
 
     Sir, it is not just social grace that is lacking.  There seems to be a lack of civility, a lack of consideration, a lack of tolerance amongst Singaporeans.  We are quick to complain and quick to demand for our rights.  If we were to fall, and no one comes to our help, we are quick to contempt others for their lack of care.  But, yet, if we see others fall, many of us are also slow to stretch out our hands to help others.  To me, this lack of social grace reflects on the poor character development of Singaporeans.  In fact, like what Dr Maliki said, sometimes I think we have become a nation of complainants.
 
     Over the past five years, perhaps due to the poor economic outlook and the intensity of economic development, we have lost sight of what is important to us in life.  In 1996, the then Prime Minister and now Senior Minister, Mr Goh Chok Tong, highlighted the need for Singaporeans to be a more gracious society by the 21st century.  We are into the tenth year since that speech.  Have we really become a more gracious society?  Maybe, when we go overseas for humanitarian assistance.  But back in Singapore, in our daily lives, how do we fare?  Judging from daily critical reports in the newspapers, I fear we are not doing well.
      I feel that for Singapore to develop as a more gracious society, we have to continually exhort our citizens to rise to the occasion.  We have to continually focus on the fundamental values which would be good for Singaporeans to possess.  After all, what makes a country great is not just the laws of the country; it is not just the efficiency of the system; it is not just the meritocracy nor the beautiful buildings. But what makes Singapore great is the people of Singapore and the values of its citizens.
 
     We have to remind Singaporeans to be kinder, to be grateful to others, to be more considerate, to be humble, and to constantly be an encourager of our fellow citizens.  In July this year, at the Victoria School's 130th anniversary cum official opening ceremony, the guest-of-honour made a speech where he spoke of the need to be kind and grateful.  I felt it was a good reminder and I quote part of his speech as follows:
 
     President Nathan, the guest-of-honour, said:
     "First, I ask all of you whatever you do in your lives, be kind towards others.  Always find the time and space to do good for the community.  Your actions and efforts may not make the news headlines nor make you a household name, but every single effort counts towards making Singapore being recognised by others for humanitarian concerns."
Next, he said:
     "Be grateful. Cultivate what someone called the discipline of gratitude.  Be grateful to your family, teachers, friends, neighbours and those who make your life better, and make you a better person.  It is easy to ask what other people can do for us, but it is more difficult to ask how we can do more for others."
 
     Sir, if we can make kindness and gratefulness part of our daily mantra in our lives, I believe that Singaporeans will become a better and more gracious society.

     Next, Sir, I turn to the other values which I feel could be improved upon in Singapore.  One of them is to be considerate to our fellow Singaporeans.  The Christians have it in the golden rule, which is: do unto others what you have them do unto you.  And this is similar to Confucius saying of "do not do unto others what you do not want others do unto you".  As a simple illustration, if you do not want others to block you when you are coming out from the MRT train exit, then do not block others when you are trying to enter the train.  If you want the table at the hawker centre to be clean, then do not leave chicken bones and used tissue on the same table.  If every Singaporean can be a bit more considerate towards their fellow Singaporeans, then life will become more pleasant and social bonds amongst your neighbours will become stronger.
 
     Another value which I feel that we can improve upon is that of being humble.  Many people have spoken about how elitist Singaporeans have become.  And this is especially so because of the way we segregate those students who have done well in their academic studies from a young age.  In short, once you are identified as being a gifted student, a scholar material, you are set apart from the others and put on a fast track so that you can be groomed to excel.  Invariably, there is this sense that these people who have been earmarked to become scholars are amongst the best of the best, the so-called elite.  Unfortunately, this same system has also created a barrier amongst those who are considered the elite and those who are not.  Mr Sin Boon Ann called them "farmers".
 
    It is thus important for us to remind those Singaporeans who have done well in their lives that we must remain humble.  It does not matter that you have become richer.  It does not matter that you have become more successful or that you have reached high positions in your life.  We must not be arrogant but we must remain humble in our outlook in life.  Recently, Prof. Lee Wei Leng wrote an opinion piece in the newspaper in which she opined that a super elitist system may not necessarily be good for society as a whole.  I share her sentiments.  In fact, I would say that if our schools produce a top student with many "As" but who lacks humility and apathy for his fellow students, then the schools would have failed in their role as an educator as they have failed in building up the students.  A student who thinks that he has obtained a scholarship because he is super intelligent and does not attribute his scholarship to his parents, his friends and his teachers should not get the scholarship.
 
     Finally, Sir, I would like the Government to look into how we can promote the virtue of being an encourager.  We should constantly look for ways and means to encourage those who have done well in any part of their lives.  A kind word, a boost to the morale, would go a long way towards making life more pleasant for everyone.  For those who are down, we should look for ways to tell them to keep their chins up, that it is not the end of the world, that there is light at the end of the tunnel.  Each time I read in the newspaper about someone who has committed suicide, I felt terribly sad and I asked myself - if only someone had taken the time and the effort to give some comforting words to lift up the weak, some words of encouragement to that person, to be kind to that person, to show compassion - would it have made a difference to that person, would it have prevented the suicide?
 
     Mr Speaker, Sir, the lack of social graces, the lack of that amount of basic character values will not augur well for us as a nation and for us as Singaporeans.  We should not allow our rush to excel in our careers, to become richer or to become more influential affect these values as they will affect the social cohesion.  The Government can set the tone in its policies and we too, as MPs, as leaders of the country,  can make it our policy that we will strive to be kinder, more grateful, humble, considerate, and that we will be an encourager of our fellow Singaporeans.  If we can get more and more Singaporeans to adopt  and practise these values in their daily lives, I am certain that social cohesion will be much strengthened and we would be able to make Singapore a country that Singaporeans can be proud of and Singaporeans will love.
 
     Sir, I support the motion.