SINGAPORE 21 (Progress)

Mr Simon S. C. Tay asked the Prime Minister what progress there has been on Singapore 21 and ways in which such progress can be measured.

Mr David Lim (for the Prime Minister): Mr Speaker, Sir, may I, before I give the reply, thank Mr Tay for his question and opportunity to briefly update this House on Singapore 21. Realising the Singapore 21 vision, or S21 for short, is a long-term process. To briefly recap, Singapore 21 is made up of five key ideas. These are:

1. Every Singaporean matters, and can contribute to our society's development;

2. Strong families are the foundation of our society and our future;

3. Nurturing the Singapore heartbeat is important, because it makes us proud to be and want to be Singaporeans;

4. We want to make Singapore a centre of opportunities for all; and

5. Everyone should be an active citizen, and play a part in shaping our future.

These ideas are not new. But they collectively set a direction, and affirm the foundations on which we build the future.

When the Singapore 21 Report was published in April 1999, the Government considered how best to take the vision forward. An implementation committee best guaranteed results, but ran counter to the S21 notion that Singaporeans should take greater responsibility for shaping the future society they want. To do nothing, however, risked the Singapore 21 vision dying a premature death. We therefore decided that a facilitative approach would best create awareness and ownership of the Singapore 21 ideas.

The S21 Facilitation Committee decided that it could play its role by raising public awareness of Singapore 21 and by encouraging individuals to play an active part in realising S21 goals. It maintains a S21 website, publishes a monthly newsletter, and organises an annual public conference to highlight significant contributions to the vision and to discuss S21 issues.

However, the committee does not prescribe how individuals and organisations should respond to S21. It leaves it to each person and organisation to respond in ways they feel appropriate because the success of Singapore 21 depends on its values being internalised by Singaporeans and manifested in their lives.

This approach has worked fairly well. Singapore 21 has become a familiar term to many. Good ideas are often raised, and activities are often organised, in the spirit of Singapore 21. Many people-sector organisations, like CDCs, or self-help groups and other NGOs have organised outreach activities to explain Singapore 21 to their members and constituencies. Some private companies are now helping their employees to balance their work, family and community commitments. The public service is also cultivating a spirit of openness and responsiveness amongst its officers to take in ideas from the public, as well as encouraging them to be active citizens.

The Committee has deliberated on how we can track the progress of a long-term goal like Singapore 21. It noted that many Ministries and agencies, such as the Ministry of Community Development and Sports, already have indicators that measure aspects of Singapore 21. The national volunteerism rate, for example, is an indicator of the level of active citizenship.

Most of these indicators do not fluctuate significantly on a year-to-year basis, so it may not be very meaningful to measure our progress in the short-term against them. Ultimately, what we are aiming for are qualitative and emotional results, such as a deeper sense of identity, ownership and commitment that cannot be measured by counting events and keeping scores. Indicators are useful, but we should not over rely on them to track the progress of Singapore 21.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the Singapore 21 vision cannot be realised by a committee alone. It becomes a reality only if the whole community takes an active part in building our future society. If each one of us lives according to these principles, then, over time, we will be able to see and to feel the progress that we have made.

Mr Simon Tay: Sir, may I commend the Minister of State for the work that he is doing in the Facilitation Committee and the recognition that there needs to be some monitoring or tracking. While I recognise the problems of trying to use ---

Mr Speaker: Mr Tay, no speeches. Can you ask the question?

Mr Simon Tay: Yes, Sir. May I ask the Minister whether they will move towards an index - trying to bring together things like the volunteerism index he mentioned - and other factors and somehow, although imperfectly, reflect the trends, because when the Minister said they are doing "fairly well", I would like to know how he thinks we are doing fairly well, why does he think we are doing fairly well.

Mr David Lim: Mr Speaker, Sir, when I say that we are doing "fairly well", I look at anecdotal evidence, I look at how much recognition there is for the term "Singapore 21", and how people raise issues under this banner and argue their case and their cause in the name of active citizenship, on the principle that everybody does matter or can make a contribution. And I think we see these arguments being made from time to time.

As to indicators, I indicated in my reply there are several agencies that already seek to monitor various social indicators. I do know that MCDS is working on a more comprehensive set of indicators but, perhaps, it would be more appropriate for them to explain that.