Young Singaporeans are intelligent and motivated. They want to
exchange opinions and seek higher ideals. But some may also feel
restless or disenfranchised.
And the government, schools and parents have a part to play to
ensure these young people - who make up 26 per cent of the total
electors in this year's General Election -
remain rooted in Singapore, said a panel of
speakers to about 250 people on Tuesday.
The panel, who were from six political parties, were speaking in
their personal capacities at an Institute of Policy Studies forum
titled "What Youth Want".
The forum explored the political attitudes of people aged 36 and
below, issues that matter to them and how they can be engaged.
Pointing to a "restlessness" among young people, the Workers'
Party's (WP) Member of Parliament for Hougang
Yaw Shin Leong said, "I believe they are
searching for their place in society, where their aspirations can
be fulfilled."
This could be a reason why there were huge turnouts at political
rallies, such as the WP's during the GE, said the 35-year-old, who
felt campus activism was one way to involve the youth.
Bread and butter issues remain important to young Singaporeans
but "more of us are increasingly conscious of higher ideals,
environmental issues, human rights, animal rights, artistic
expression and so on," said the People's Action Party's Desmond
Lee, 34.
He noted, they hold "no automatic affiliation" to any
political party and are discerning in their
choices even as they support having more voices in Parliament and
external checks on the government.
To connect with this group, policies not only need to be
rational and sound but must be implemented "fairly, justly and
compassionately", he added. The government also needs to change the
way it consults with people and start gathering feedback on
policies earlier on, he noted.
Singapore Democratic Party's Michelle Lee, 35, pointed to
Generation Y's "awakening" at a time of terrorist attacks, natural
disasters and two major "bear markets".
Such events give them a "very different world view" and result
in a scepticism of institutions and the establishment, she said. As
such, they seek "higher order needs" like social networks,
immediate relationships and a sense of belonging.
Today, Generation X-ers, who were born in "stability and wealth"
are also starting to feel that "money is not everything", she
added.
Singapore society is at a critical juncture, said Lee. With
honest soul-searching, Singapore could see a "renaissance" and
establish its place as a cultural and social
capital of Asia, she said.
There is also a group of "disenfranchised" youth, who, perhaps
looking at their parents' challenges in life, find their future
hopeless and bleak, raised Singapore People's Party's Jimmy Lee,
35.
It is this group that political parties, schools and parents
need to reach out to, to give them hope and inspire then to work
toward their dreams, he said.
He disagreed with a Facebook posting that said youth today are
demanding and have unrealistic expectations. Instead of putting
them down, they need to be guided and encouraged to find the path
toward their aspirations, he said.
The speakers targeted education as one key way to help young
Singaporeans.
Desmond Lee and Jimmy Lee commended the current education system
for moving in the right direction, but the latter also urged for
more active steps to get youth talking offline about issues like
politics.
35-year-old Jeffrey Lim from the Singapore Democratic Alliance
and Nicole Seah from the National Solidarity Party, 24, wanted to
see more emphasis on critical thinking.
Added Seah, one of the youngest candidates in this year's GE,
young Singaporeans are craving a sense of "rootedness" to the
country that they grew up in.
"As we have developed fully as an economy, what we are looking
ahead to is the next step, not so much as to pull back on economic
growth, but really, to look at what more can we do to ensure we
have a heart for every single area of society and to ensure that
nobody gets left behind," she said.
"This is the kind of security that young Singaporeans are
looking out for and this is something that will continue to keep
them loyal, keep them rooted (to Singapore)."
-- Yahoo!
