PM Lee: S’pore youths need to contribute more to society Ewen Boey
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong emphasized the importance for youths in Singapore to continually give back to the local community in order to create a more gracious and tight-knit society.
Addressing about 1,000 youths from Nanyang Polytechnic at the launch of a People’s Association Youth Movement (PAYM) initiative at Teck Ghee Community Club on Saturday, Mr Lee said, “You are our future, we are building Singapore together with you and what we want is for this Singapore to be yours when you grow up. We want it to be better than what it is today. The way to do that is not to wait for others to make a first move, but to do it yourselves, to contribute back to society.
“Through volunteerism, I hope you will gain something. Through contributing, you will make friends, appreciate what’s happening in real life… and these are lessons that will be of great value to you,” added PM Lee, who is also chairman of the People’s Association (PA).
He praised the youths in Singapore, who through the PAYM, are willing to sacrifice their weekends to volunteer in various activities such as mural drawing, wall painting and foot reflexology.
“It’s how we like our society to be, a gracious society where we care for one another, where we look after the less fortunate, and working together, we can get closer to be a happier, more tight-knit family,” said PM Lee.
He also highlighted the importance of working with youths to mould a bright future for them to do well in their studies and jobs, and to create opportunities for them to contribute more towards Singapore’s growth to improve society.
He stressed the importance for the PAYM to continue to stay relevant in reaching out to youths through evolving times, mentioning that the PAYM is connected to the youths through various social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
“I think as our young people come along, new generation, new interests, so our PAYM activities must include what the young people are interested in, and we must get you enthusiastic doing things which you enjoy.
“In other parts of the world, young people are not always so happy. In a lot of places, people are demonstrating… they’re unhappy because unemployment is high, they see the problems in their country, they don’t see any hope for themselves or any optimism for the future,” he added.