ST latest news 7 Aug 2007
Aug 18 marks citizenship day: DPM Wong
AUGUST this year will have two dates to mark Singapore's
nationhood.
Apart from celebrating the Nation's birthday on Thursday, some
brand new Singaporeans will be welcomed with a grand scale national
ceremony on Aug 18 to give them their citizenship papers.
The National Citizenship ceremony is an effort to reinforce the
significance of being a citizen here - not only among foreigners
who choose to become Singaporeans but also among 'native'
Singaporeans too.
Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng revealed this on Tuesday, at a
National Day Observance ceremony at the Home Affairs
Ministry.
Currently, new Singaporeans are sworn in with smaller scale
ceremonies at the constituency grassroots level.
These will continue - the national-level ceremony will instead be
more of a symbolic one with a selected group of new citizens
receiving their citizenship certificates.
But DPM Wong, who oversees the National Population Secretariat,
said that the National Ceremony is a first but 'significant' step
to creating Singapore's own Citizenship Day.
Citizenship Days are celebrated in other parts of the world - like
Australia and the US - where new citizens are celebrated and
welcomed.
But all this is just part of a barrage of activities and efforts to
encourage people to settle here.
For instance, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority has come up
with a new information package for people considering becoming
citizens or permanent residents.
In a large packet, flyers - chock full of information about the
benefits of citizenship and the mechanics of application - are
tiered alongside bright pictures of Singapore and the testimonies
of four people who have taken up the Singapore citizenship.
If present citizenship-application trends keep up, Singapore can
expect to add about 200,000 permanent residents and 40,000 citizens
to its fold in the next five years.
Read the full report in Wednesday's edition of The Straits
Times.
