PROMOTING THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR A GRACIOUS SOCIETY

5.28 pm

Dr Lily Neo (Kreta Ayer-Tanglin): Mr Deputy Speaker, having responsibility and consideration for others are the building blocks for a gracious society. I would like my colleagues here to step up the promotion of these two vital ingredients that will help us become the gracious society we envisage. In his 1996 New Year's Day Message, Prime Minister Goh suggested that Singapore should aim to become a gracious society and called on Singaporeans to complement Singapore's economic achievements with social, cultural and spiritual development. Again, at the debate on the President's Address in 1997, he said that his focus was on the need for Singapore to develop "heartware" and not just economic competitiveness.

Sir, Singapore has achieved the economic success that we can be proud of, but have we achieved the same milestone in social success? The answer, I am afraid to say, is an obvious "no"! In the past few weeks alone, we were bombarded with articles in the Straits Times on "killer litter", maid abuse, maids falling to death while cleaning windows, road bullies, violent patrons in cinemas, bond breakers and so on. These are examples of more extreme irresponsible and inconsiderate acts. There are many less severe daily occurrences ranging from urinating in lifts, littering and leaving rubbish on the common corridors of HDB flats, to not giving up seats to elderly people or pregnant women in buses or MRT trains.

Sir, as a nation, we have attained remarkable achievements and we have received accolades from many countries including our neighbours. We have a world-class airport and seaport, a graft-free society, a diligent workforce and a high per-capita income. But as a people, especially when abroad, many Singaporeans fail to endear themselves to others by their lack of tact and by their too freely uttered comments on the inefficiencies and inadequacies of others.

Social graces and living graciously form part of the value system of a society. It is about how we live and the quality of our lifestyle. It is about individuals and the community and extended communities in which they live. Social graces are human acts that contribute to community and social bonding and thereby help build a more stable nation. Social graces are part of gracious society and life enrichment.

Sir, in slightly more than one generation, Singaporeans moved from the village "kampong" of low-rise buildings to the city of high-rise buildings. We are now entering the 21st century and beginning our move into cyberspace. In a "kampong" society, people knew their neighbours, their children played with their neighbours' children and, in general, there was a great deal of interaction at all levels. There was a sort of social support system and much sharing of joy and sorrow. By contrast, Sir, the modern city of Singapore appears to be a myriad of different people, looking distinctive and detached. Neighbours hardly know each other when, in fact, they need to be on even friendlier terms because they live in ever increasing proximity as years go by and they cannot help but bump into each other every day. Sir, life would be that much more pleasant if smiles and greetings were being exchanged at the start of each day. And, at the end of a hectic day at work, it would be better to return home to a friendly neighbourhood and an environment without animosity.

Sir, Singaporeans must be persuaded that social bonding and neigbourliness are beneficial to all. Back in the 1950s, researchers stumbled on a curious fact about the citizens of Roseto, Pennsylvania. Their age-adjusted heart attack rate was less than half that found in the neighbouring communities. The usual explanations were studied, and ruled out. There was nothing special about their diet, exercise, smoking habits, or genetic predisposition. But there was something different about the little town. The immigrants who had founded it in the 19th century had come from the same Italian village, and they had created a tight-knit community in its likeness. There were strong churches, a mutual aid society, and scout troops. Rosetans were unusually willing to draw on one another for financial and emotional support. They were rich in what today is called social capital or connections among individuals - social networks, and the norms of reciprocity and trust that arise from them that appeared to be the clue to their healthy hearts. Over the next decades, socially mobile young people rejected their parents' way of life. Newcomers moved in. By the 1980s, Roseto's new generation had a heart attack rate a little above that of their neighbours. As the Roseto story suggests, people whose lives are rich in social capital can cope better with traumas.

Being gracious is an attitude. Sir, our attitude towards others is shaped by the people we are around with and by the circumstances and situations we encounter. A lot of our attitudes were formed when we were young. Parental influence is a very big factor. If parents do not model graciousness in their daily living and interactions with their children and others, how can we expect their children to do so? The children then carry these attitudes into adult life. When they have their own children, it is a similar, self-perpetuating situation. We need to arrest this perpetuating trend now and reverse it by not just targeting the young but their parents also. The promotion of the basic elements of a gracious society - the responsible and considerate behaviours must be stepped up. While most people agree that we may not become a socially developed nation overnight, the earlier we strive for this, the better. Best and speedier results can only be obtained if we have the will and the concerted effort involving the Government, civil service providers and, more importantly, the people themselves. The main crux of the matter here is to be successful in convincing our Singaporeans that socially responsible and considerate behaviours are beneficial to all and that we want to achieve the status of a socially developed country to match our economic success. Singaporeans do not need regulations and deterrent punishments if they are convinced that socially responsible ways can make life better for one and all.

How do we go about achieving the gracious society we desire? Sir, I would like to offer the following suggestions:

(1) Government must lead the way. The Government must continue and further demonstrate to be a caring Government. Sir, this Government must show the way for the people to follow. More resources must be put into the focus on facilities as well as programmes to develop Singapore socially.

(2) Policy makers must conscientiously promote graciousness. Social and civil services policy makers should now focus more on community bonding. Our Government has done an excellent job in providing good quality housing to the people. The common corridor design of the older HDB apartments, which facilitates interaction among neighbours, has given way to new designs that allow greater privacy but lessen interaction among neigbhours. HDB must provide better designs but, at the same time, has neigbourliness as priority. Our policies, such as foreign spouses who have been repatriated because they have AIDS, resulting in a breakdown of families and hardships is not the right kind of message the Government wants to convey to the people.

Sir, these are just two examples. All our ministries, when setting out policies, should be consciously promoting and be instrumental in our efforts to become a gracious society. I hope our civil service will take the cue from PM Goh and work towards a more gracious society.

(3) All Singaporeans must make a concerted effort. No government can mandate people to be considerate and responsible. However, Ministers, MPs and grassroots leaders in society can promote these attributes and set the example. Sir, we can, together with our grassroots leaders, convey our national challenge to sustain a prosperous and gracious Singapore to our residents and imbue them with a sense of national purpose. Being neighbourly is a start to building a gracious society and we can make Singapore a nicer place to live in by our actions. The crux of the matter lies in making people see that socially responsible and considerate behaviours are beneficial to all. I would like to suggest that all of us promote the 5Cs of gracious living to our residents in our respective wards. These 5Cs are the attributes of being cordial, courteous, caring, considerate and cultured constituents. I believe that the People's Association's involvement in this promotion will have beneficial results especially in coordinating with our grassroots organisations and in co-sponsoring the different activities organised by our community centres.

(4) Graciousness as second nature in our young. Sir, our young will be the future of Singapore. Effort should be stepped up especially for this group when they are at the susceptible years. Starting from as early as pre-school, just in very simple story-telling with an activity to reinforce their learning will be useful. Children pick up things very quickly. Learning to be gracious is not quite like learning a textbook subject. The goal is to make graciousness second nature. More innovative ways of imbuing this attitude in our students have to be delivered in our school system. Currently, schools have life skills and community service programmes that they can broadly interpret and apply. The success of these programmes of course hinges on the leadership of the principals and the teachers concerned. The teacher who teaches it must model graciousness himself or herself. The teacher must believe in it. The emotional quotient (EQ) of its people is invaluable if Singapore is going to continue in its success in the new millennium. What emphasis the Government places on life skills and personal development in the school curriculum (of course balanced with the academic) will ultimately determine the success of Singapore becoming a gracious society.

(5) Expansion of national campaigns. The Singapore Kindness Movement, which focuses on small acts of kindness, was launched in January 1997, in response to PM Goh's call to develop a more gracious society. It has made inroads into schools with some imaginative programmes. It has also gone to the nurseries and kindergartens.

Sir, this movement should be further supported to expand its programmes to target more people in our population and to be more active and innovative throughout the whole year. The National Courtesy Campaign has also made good progress over the past 22 years and should therefore expand further to reap better results on wider audience. More mass media use by them can bring about a culture of kindness and consideration amongst Singaporeans.

(6) Promotion of culture and the arts. A vibrant society is not only reflected in its economy. It is also reflected in its culture and the arts. The appreciation and the love of literature and the arts are aspects of gracious living. We should heed the Chinese saying, lao ye jie he, which means "strike a proper balance between work and play". There are many areas for improvement to further develop our arts scene here. I am glad that the arts will receive a $50 million extra funding as part of Government's plans to turn Singapore into a world-class city with a vibrant cultural scene. The key to the success of Government's five-year investment in the arts is that the audience base must grow in tandem with the funding.

Sir, it will be no good if we could afford stage production after stage production with no audience support. Hence, more effort must be spent in this area. The flagship-companies scheme must also include training and developing talent, churning out productions that are creative and commensurate with the audience level and opening their doors beyond the exclusive clique of the artistes and taking on the responsibility of bringing the arts to a wider audience. In many major cities of the world, parks are areas for relaxation and are ideal locations for sculptures. We do not have the luxury of the land here, but the banks of our rivers and canals can be further maximised for this purpose.

Sir, I would like to end by referring to what Prime Minister Goh said when he addressed grassroots organisations at the Triennial Conference in 1994, and I quote:

"Our challenge is how to sustain our prosperity and continually improve the non-material, moral and spiritual aspects of our lives. Beyond prosperity, we can build a gracious society, a good society, a society of distinction."

The Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Mr Lim Swee Say): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, Dr Lily Neo has identified having responsibility and consideration for others as the building blocks for a gracious society. I thank her for her many suggestions and I am very sure my colleagues in the various Ministries will respond and look into these suggestions put forward by her.

Sir, our vision in Singapore 21 is to make Singapore our best home. If Singapore is just a place for people to make money, earn a good living, and nothing more than that, then our vision will not come through. What we need to do is to continue to strengthen our social foundation, inject more civility into our daily life and make Singapore a more pleasant and gracious place for all to live in.

Sir, every day we come into contact with many people. Some are friends and colleagues we have known for years. So it is only natural that we treat them with human decency and courtesy. This is good, but this is not good enough. This is not good enough to make us a gracious society, because our real challenge is for everyone to learn to respect others, not just friends whom we have known for years, but also to respect strangers whom we may be meeting for the first time, regardless of their stations in life. This may not come naturally for many Singaporeans yet, but we must try. For example, when we sit down at a hawker centre and a cleaner comes along to clean the table, do we grab our things, cover our nose, turn our body and mumble to ourselves, "Hmm, so smelly!"? Or do we smile, look at him or her in the eyes and say, "Thank you for cleaning my table"? It is actually not so difficult, only if we try.

Likewise, if we are in a restaurant or in a shop, do we go around ordering the sales staff because the customer is king, or do we put across our request politely and thank them for the service and show our appreciation? The question really is: whose job it is to turn Singapore into a gracious society?

Sir, one day, there was a job to be done. Four persons came together. Their names were Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. Everybody thought that this job should be done by Somebody. Anybody could have done the job but, at the end of the day, Nobody did the job. So Everybody was very upset, because Anybody could have done the job. They expected Somebody to take the lead, but it ended up Nobody doing it. So, you have a situation whereby Everybody blamed Somebody, where actually Anybody could have done the job that ended up with Nobody doing it.

Sir, I think it is quite clear that we can only become a truly gracious society only if every Singaporean plays a part and make mutual respect for others our way of life in Singapore. I want to assure Dr Neo and Members of this House that the Government will surely do its part to ensure that we create the environment for this to take place. But as Dr Neo has suggested, all Singaporeans must make a concerted effort. In this regard, instead of calling for the Government to take the lead and for the policy makers to promote and act, why not let all of us in Singapore take the lead together so that we can get there sooner rather than later.

Sir, all of us can observe each other and learn from each other every day all the time. We can look around us, observe how our fellow Singaporeans behave and interact with each other. If we like what we see, let them be the windows of our life. Look out of the windows and learn from their graciousness. If we do not like what we see in their behaviour, then let them be our mirror in life. Look at the mirror and ask, "Do we behave this way too?" Reflect, and learn from other's mistakes.

In conclusion, Sir, I would like to say that in the spirit of Singapore 21, I join Dr Neo in calling all Singaporeans to step forward as active citizens, strengthen our social foundation and reinvent the Singapore society. Working together, we can, and in PM's words, "build a more gracious society, a good society and a society of distinction." Hopefully, let us do it sooner rather than later.

Question put, and agreed to.

Resolved,

That Parliament do now adjourn.

Adjourned accordingly at Nine Minutes to Six o'clock pm to a date to be fixed. Graph - Average Electricity Tariff and Fuel Oil Price (Cols. 771 - 772) Page - Rebates for Utilities Bill (Cols. 773 - 774)