Youth must think long term & think far to keep S'pore successful: Edwin Tong

Youths in Singapore need to think long term and think far to keep Singapore rich, vibrant, engaging, and a place Singaporeans can call home, said Minister for Culture, Community, and Youth and Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong.

This means that instead of thinking only about tomorrow and for one specific group, youths should envision how they can ensure future generations will live in a better Singapore than today's, added Tong.

Tong, who is also the Deputy Chairman of the People's Association (PA), shared this belief in his address at an event at New Bahru School Hall on Feb. 21 evening, titled "Dialogue with Youth Advocates: Our Voices Matter".

Speaking to over 400 young Singaporeans, Tong said:

"In race relations, in climate, in mental well-being, in a whole range of social issues... how do we ensure that Singapore remains that bright, shiny red dot that is truly exceptional?"

According to the minister, the dialogue session was oversubscribed, and attendees included students from the School of the Arts (SOTA), Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah, as well as representatives from the Youth Wing of the Inter-Religious Organisation, Singapore

The PA Youth Movement engaged 127,000 youth voices from various backgrounds, including those from civic society and reformative training.

These voices will culminate into a Youth Charter.

Budget 2025 'an example of long-term thinking'

To illustrate the necessity of long-term thinking, Tong pointed to the 2025 Budget Statement delivered by PM Wong on Feb. 18.

He described the Budget as "a good Budget" because it "looked after everyone" in a "very tough" global environment ridden with geopolitical tensions and social divisions.

However, Tong shared that what stood out to him the most was "how forward-looking [the Budget] was", as it made "many investments in the future", such as the development of Tuas mega port and Changi Airport Terminal 5 (T5).

Although Singapore currently has the second-best seaport and one of the best airports in the world, Tong said the government is investing in these projects because Singapore has to be better to stay competitive:

"Almost one fifth of our entire Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is in the maritime and aviation industries.

Everyone who is in this industry will lose a job if we lose this industry, and that's 500,000 jobs in these two sectors and related industries.

So that's important for us. And it is important that we ensure that tomorrow's generation — all of you — remains vested, will remain protected, and we can retain these industries."

"And that's the message I want to leave you with, that we must always think long term," said Tong.

Developing future leaders amongst youths

This long-term thinking is also one factor that led the government to build up leadership amongst the youth, who are Singapore's future, through various programmes, shared Tong.

"Tomorrow, you'll be the leaders of the country. So we need to prepare leaders today," he said.

Tong spoke about volunteering programmes that encourage youths to contribute to their communities, as well as leadership programmes that "force [youths] to think out of the box" and "do something different".

At the same time, the government is "actively finding new paths of success" for youths, such as in arts and sports, through initiatives such as the Kallang Alive master plan.

Last but not least, Tong pointed out that the dialogue session that would follow his speech was also a government initiative to "open up... space in policymaking" and work with the youths.

"Youth may have less experience than some, but less experience is not necessarily a bad thing in many cases. It is just a question of a different perspective, and we need to tap into that youthful energy. We need to tap into the ideas and different perspectives," said Tong.

This belief also prompted the minister to offer some words of encouragement to the session's attendees:

"When we have the dialogue, raise suggestions, challenge assumptions, tell us where you think we got it wrong. I am open to suggestions.

Tell us what else we need to do to prepare you to take over from tomorrow so that Singapore will continue to thrive.

Because after all, the FutureYOUth programme is about the youths, who are our future, and how we plan for Singapore's future."

Top image by Khoo Wen-en/Mothership