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David Neo spends time with Tampines seniors watching 'Dear You' movie
His personal takeaway was that one should live with loyalty and heartfelt regard for the people around them.
July 14, 2026, 11:41 PM
Image from David Neo's Instagram
Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo joined a group of seniors in Tampines for a community screening of "Dear You", the Teochew-dialect film at the centre of several questions in Parliament.
"There was laughter, there were touching moments, and perhaps most importantly, the film brought everyone together and sparked conversations about family and memories," wrote Neo in a post on social media.
He singled out the phrase "做人要有情义" — roughly, that one should live with loyalty and heartfelt regard for the people around them — as his personal takeaway.
Neo added that the film was a reminder that Singapore had been built by "the hard work of an earlier generation".
The culture, community and youth minister wrote that this was the reason his ministry and heritage organisations had been encouraging young Singaporeans to get to know their dialect heritage while promoting Mandarin.
"We do not have to choose one over the other—they each have a place in telling the Singapore story."
"Grateful for the many volunteers who serve our community, and North East CDC and partners for the opportunity for our seniors to enjoy this film," said Neo.
"Dear You" discussed in Parliament
The interest and issues surrounding the film "Dear You" were addressed in parliament on Jul. 7, including a discussion on the relevance and effectiveness of the Speak Mandarin Campaign and restrictions on dialect content.
In response to questions raised by Member of Parliament (MP) Cai Yinzhou and Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Eileen Chong Pei Shan, Acting Minister for Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth David Neo said the campaign was introduced to promote a common language among Singapore's Chinese community.
Neo said the long-standing campaign has enabled Chinese Singaporeans from different dialect backgrounds to communicate more easily, while preserving access to Chinese culture through a shared language rather than separate dialects.
When asked by Aljunied GRC MP Kenneth Tiong if he had watched either the Teochew or Mandarin-dubbed version of the film, Neo quipped that "ministers have no time to watch movies".
Neo then went on to answer Tiong's question on dialect classes, saying that the ministry and clan associations work together closely and they will expand classes to more people if there is demand.
