SINGAPORE : While today's youth enjoy more means of
communication via email and mobile phones among others they
also feel that communication within the family and between people
seems to be breaking down.
This was a common sentiment among the 740 students at the 3rd
Central Singapore Mayor's Lecture Series, which was held at the
Anglo Chinese School (Barker Road) yesterday.
The issue under discussion was: "Your Generation and Mine: Who is
Luckier?"
"You have never experienced poverty and Third World deprivation,"
said Acting Minister for Health Khaw Boon Wan in his keynote
address.
He revealed in the speech that his maternal grandfather had starved
to death in Penang during the Japanese occupation.
"Instead, your world is one of mobile phones, digital cameras, iPod
and Creative Zen Touch," he added.
Yet, one student asked during the dialogue session: "Are weaker
family ties a trade-off for a better life?"
In a pre-event survey conducted across several generations of
Singaporeans from those under 12 years of age to those over 40
most of the 187 respondents felt that family ties today were not as
close as they were 35 years ago.
This sentiment contradicted the findings of a Ministry of Community
Development and Sports survey that was conducted in 2001.
That poll indicated that 97 per cent of Singaporeans felt they had
close-knit families with high levels of support.
According to the more recent survey conducted by the Central
Singapore Community Development Council, the negative response may
be due to the increasing proportion of nuclear families here over
the years from 70.8 per cent in 1968 to 82.8 per cent in
1998.
Still, Mr Khaw told the young Singaporeans to look within for the
answer to this conundrum.
"It is in your hands. Do you have that social anchor? While it is
natural to strive for a better future, we must not lose touch of
our common roots."
"Who is luckier really depends on what you want to do with your own
life," he told the students. "Much of our luck is for us to
create." - TODAY
