SINGAPORE: Singapore youths generally have the same ideals as that of the government, observed Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong at the end of a national conversation session at the Marine Parade constituency.
Mr Goh said this will make it easier for the government to work together with the generation of the future.
"Supposing they come up with very different ideals from what we think should be for the prosperity and stability of Singapore. It's going to be very troublesome," he said.
"Supposing they had all argued about welfare state and so on, then that's very troublesome for us because we know that without resources, without economic growth and so on, a welfare state will lead us to ruins."
Some of the goals set by participants during the conversation with Marine Parade residents included a more cohesive society and more sustainable economic growth.
The 45 participants comprised youths and working adults.
Mr Goh felt that the society has, in recent years, been drifting without a clear sense of direction.
He added that having the same ideals does not mean goals can be reached if the society is divided.
Mr Goh said Singapore has never been more politically divided, so the Singapore Conversation is a very serious effort to build a new compact between the people and the government.
"The worry is as we emphasise more freedom for the people, (society) becomes more cosmopolitan, takes in more foreigners, immigrants and so on, (and) our society begins to loosen as a result of these new trends," he said.
"The old (generation) is getting smaller in proportion. The young (generation) is getting bigger, with different experiences... and if they don't get a new sense of bonding in working as a group, can you imagine how we move into the future?"
Mr Goh also pointed out even though ideals may be similar, young Singaporeans may disagree with the processes and priorities in policy-making.
Youths felt that at this stage of the conversation, ideals that surface would naturally be similar to the government. But they believed there is still space for disagreements.
"When the conversation is couched in very generic themes and terms, of course, we have the same broad general ideals and there is a consensus," said Chris Lim, a participant at the session.
"But when the minute details of policies are discussed, that's when differences will start to appear, in the ways of how we do it. This is a question that remains to be answered in the course of our national conversation."
This is the first time Mr Goh has attended the national conversation session.
He has been conducting several community conversations with his residents at Marine Parade.
Mr Goh explained that these conversations were more unstructured, where residents could discuss policy issues.
Lawrence Wong, committee member of Our Singapore Conversation, said he is satisfied with the progress and outreach, three months after the initiative started.
Mr Wong was also present at the session in Marine Parade.
He said: "We've been trying to reach out to as broad spectrum of society as possible, and I think we've had very good representation of people who come enthusiastically to share, and we've got very good ideas. There's certainly more that we can do."
Separately, at a session of Our Singapore Conversation held with the Malay Muslim community at Bukit Batok East, participants raised the issue of cultivating patriotism in every Singaporean, especially the younger generation.
"What is important to me also is that they talk about patriotism, which is something I did not find in the other conversations," said Minister of State for Social and Family Development Halimah Yacob.
"In this conversation, they say it is important within the context of building a strong national identity, reinforcing multi-culturalism, multi-racialism, that we are patriotic Singaporeans and how we continue to project that."
- CNA/xq
Youths have similar ideals to govt, says ESM Goh
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Youths have similar ideals to govt, says ESM Goh
