Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong made his maiden speech in the 14th Parliament on Thursday (Sep. 3), focusing on the youth in Singapore.

Tong, who was previously the Senior Minister of State for Law and was appointed a Cabinet Minister in the recent reshuffle, said that he has spoken with a number of youths in the last few weeks, and have asked them about their concerns and aspirations, as well as what they felt should be addressed in this new term of Parliament.

He also said that although positivity may have diminished amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, they should remain hopeful.

"Do not become defeatist or disenchanted. The pandemic will pass, but our aspirations and dreams must remain," he said.

3 new youth-focused employment schemes

In his speech, Tong said that the government will create opportunities for youth to emerge stronger from Covid-19, acknowledging that it is "scary" to have to navigate a future that feels "so hostile and full of unknowns".

He introduced the Youth Corps Internship Scheme, a joint effort between the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and the National Youth Council (NYC).

The scheme will allow students in Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) to undergo on-the-job training, to ready themselves with experience for the job. This will help mitigate the loss of internships and work experiences amidst Covid-19.

In addition, the NYC also launched the Asia-Ready Exposure Programme, for youths to acquire cross-cultural skills and help them widen their prospects.

Tong also introduced the YouthTech programme, which will equip youths with digital skills, before deploying them to help community and social sector organisations with digitalisation efforts.

According to Tong, 1,000 such opportunities will be available from October 2020.

"The youths of today are the leaders of tomorrow. We will create opportunities for them to emerge stronger from Covid-19, and help them reach their personal and collective potentials", said Tong.

Youths are concerned with broader issues

Tong said that while youths are concerned about immediate bread and butter issues, they are equally concerned about broader long term questions, such as mental well being, and environmental sustainability.

Tong said that youths are "active agents of change", and that the government must tap on this "dynamic resource".

Tong also said that the government will ensure that youth voices will be heard, and that the youth will be given opportunities to contribute to areas that matter to them.

This includes a 1,000-strong Youth Mental Well-Being Network, which will identify ideas and initiatives to improve mental well-being among youths.

Tong also introduced the Youth Circles programme, which will partner young people, and formulate solutions to tackles issues, such as environmental sustainability and food waste.

He brought up a point said earlier by the Workers' Party (WP)'s Raeesah Khan, who said that the youth need to have a seat at the table to look at such issues.

Tong said that he agreed with her, and cited these programmes as examples of how the government will engage the youth to participate and contribute actively to their own future.

Singapore's social fabric took generations to build

During his speech, Tong used a tapestry as a metaphor for Singapore on multiple occasions.

"The Singapore Tapestry will always have yarns of different colours, sizes and even nature. Some are old threads, some are young threads. But whatever the case, there are certain endearing truths for the tapestry, or about the tapestry.

Each of us, each thread, and each fibre, is part of a larger hole, and all of us have a role to play in keeping the Singapore Tapestry from fraying, or worse, from being stretched or ripped apart".

Tong said the metaphor to describe Singapore's multiracial and multi-ethnic background, and that there are times where some "threads", or people, may wonder why there are other threads in the tapestry, referring to people of other opinions or beliefs.

He said that this is not limited to just questions of race and religion, but also issues such as LGBT equality, and personal freedoms.

He referred to an earlier speech made by WP's Sylvia Lim, where she spoke about becoming a race-blind society, and said that he shared the same aspiration.

He said that Singaporeans cannot take the social fabric that is built up over generations for granted, and must recognise that it takes "years to weave a good tapestry", but mere moments to destroy it.

Tong said that once the "threads start unravelling", it will be difficult to bridge the social, racial and ethnic divide, and to stitch the tapestry back together would be a "mammoth task".

A more inclusive and caring society

The minister added that as Singapore builds a more inclusive and caring society, Singaporeans must acknowledge their differences, and live peacefully together, despite these differences.

He clarified that inclusiveness is not about ignoring, or just living with differences, but about accepting that everyone is entitled to their own positions, as long as these positions to not encroach on another group's right to have a different position.

"Inclusiveness is about acceptance and appreciation, and not about changing others to something in your own image," he said.

Tong said that this would require a "certain maturity of thought" for a meaningful discourse to take place, and also common values that anchor the social compact between Singaporeans, as well as between the government and the people.

Sylvia Lim urged the government to keep an open mind

In response to Tong, Lim said she acknowledged the difficult task that the government has to foster Singapore's identity in a heterogeneous population, and that she did not take multiracialism for granted.

She said that in order to keep the Singapore Tapestry alive, it is necessary to refresh conversations about such matters, in order not to be ossified by the past.

Lim also raised the issue of the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP), which was introduced in 1989 to ensure a balanced mix of ethnic groups living in HDB estates.

She said that the programme has led to cases where minority families face economic hardship, due to the nature of limitations placed on them when they try to sell their flats.

Lim also urged the government to keep an open mind.

"I hope the government is not saying that its mind is closed on these matters, because if they want to engage across generations who may have different aspirations, then we need to keep an open mind, and from time to time, we have to be prepared to look at things without being held back."

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Top image via Gov.sg/YouTube.