Celebrating our diversity

1. Madam Chair, Minister spoke of his vision for our arts and heritage and the future that we want to build for our youth.

2. Indeed, our shared heritage and values are the common threads that bind us, even as Singapore becomes more diverse. We want multicultural understanding, not ignorance. Inclusion, not exclusion. Harmony, not hatred.

3. To achieve this, we will continue to work on three areas. First, to connect Singaporeans to our roots. Second, to build an inclusive society. And third, to foster a harmonious society.

Connecting Singaporeans to our roots

4. Let me start with connecting Singaporeans to our roots.

5. Madam Chair, the foundation of a society lies in its roots. Mr Ang Hao Sai reminds us of this. As one of Singapore’s last movie canvas painters, he was inspired to preserve the memories of our past through fifty paintings to commemorate the SG50.

6. Mdm Chair, with your permission, I would like to display some photos on the screen.

7. These paintings were exhibited on Orchard Road during the recent Chingay Night Fiesta. And many Singaporeans have witnessed the stories of our past through these paintings.

8. Mr Ang Hao Sai’s work is a nostalgic walk down memory lane, taking us to the days when ding ding tang and beh leh koh uncles plied their trades on the streets, delighting young customers with their candy treats. He reminds us that before the modern cinema was built, people used to watch movies through peepholes built into a box carried on bicycles or tricycles.

9. Mdm Chair, heritage is also about memories, and memories can connect us to our past and our roots. Mr Ang’s paintings recall the memories of yester-years and preserve the Singapore Story, so that it can be told to future generations.

10. Mr Arthur Fong has also spoken about the need to preserve our heritage. That is why we will present the stories of our past through our heritage and cultural centres, to better connect Singaporeans to our rich and diverse heritage. This is a reflection of our unique multi-racial and multi-cultural social fabric.

11. The new Indian Heritage Centre will be opened in May this year. With its colourful façade, the Centre will be a bright jewel of Little India that tells the stories of our Indian community.

12. Within its walls, the history of Singapore’s Indian community comes alive. You will trace our Indian pioneers’ journey to Singapore. You will see how they helped build our nation through hard work and grit.

13. We will also be refreshing the Malay Heritage Centre’s permanent galleries, to better tell the stories of our Malay community in Singapore. This includes Singapore’s age-old ties to the Malay world through trade within the Nusantara, or Malay Archipelago.

14. In addition to the Indian and Malay Heritage Centres, we can also look forward to the opening of the new Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre by the end of next year. The Centre will actively promote both traditional Chinese culture and our modern, uniquely Singaporean version of Chinese culture.

15. All three heritage and cultural centres are open to Singaporeans of all races, so as to connect us to the roots of our multiracial, multicultural society. If we want to know who we are and where we are going as a people, we must start with our past, with stories of our separate origins, but also how we came together to build the Singapore of today.

Building an inclusive society

16. Just as we lived together in the past despite, or because of our diversity, we need to see how we can continue to make Singapore a welcoming place for people of different cultures and abilities. So the second thing we will do in MCCY is to foster an inclusive society through the arts and sports.

17. Madam Chair, please allow me to speak in Mandarin for this segment of my speech.
    
    … through the Arts
    

18. 主席，一个和谐的社会是需要大家互相沟通和了解。刚才提到说我们能通过体育、艺术等项目跟领域促进各个社群之间的了解，而推广传统艺术就是其中一个非常重要的沟通环节。传统艺术不仅让新加坡人更了解本身的文化和背景，它更可以成为各种族之间的桥梁，协助打造更具包容与和谐的社会。

19. 在我们的生活中，跨越并融合不同种族文化领域的例子时有所闻。举个例子说，本地的华乐小组鼎艺团的笛子演奏家陈庆伦先生，就通过了他的演出突显了这一点。庆伦从12岁时就开始学习中国笛子。他在3年前也开始学习了印度长笛，因为他认为多学一种别的种族乐器，能提高他对音乐和传统东方文化的认识。庆伦努力学习印度长笛，他精益求精，甚至青出于蓝，在2014年的“全国印度音乐比赛”中，技压群雄，荣获印度笛公开组第二名。他随后与一名印度籍鼓手和舞者搭档，在滨海艺术中心举行演出，得到非常热烈的反映，演出的门票也供不应求。

20. 庆伦的故事叙述了艺术能够融入不同的文化元素，不仅能够弘扬传统，更加能够诠释出不同层次的艺术表演形式。而在我们的艺术圈子里，类似庆伦的例子比比皆是。

21. 政府意识到传统艺术能带来的正面影响，所以我们会继续拨款资助和支持传统艺术的传承和发展。去年，马炎庆议员提到政府应该继续支持我们传统艺术的传承，这点我非常赞成，也很感激他多年来不遗余力的支持与推广本地的传统艺术。刚才，邝臻先生也问起政府如何支持本地的印度和华族传统文化和艺术的传承。这也是文化、社区及青年部所关心的课题，也是我们接下来所要发展方向之一。

22. 国家艺术理事会在2010年推出了为期五年的“全国传统艺术计划”。通过这项计划，国家艺术理事会给予传统艺术团体的直接资助增加了近四倍，从2010 年的S$110万增加到2014年的S$425万。而从2015年开始，也就是从今年开始，我们也计划继续拨款另外的S$2500万, 在未来5年协助本地传统艺术团体的发展。

23. 当然，我们的计划也不会因为这个拨款而就此止步。在过去的一年，我也访问了好些传统艺术团体。在和他们的对话中，他们经常反映说本地的传统艺术团体需要一个固定的场所。

24. 政府有仔细聆听了他们的心声。所以，为了协助传统艺术团体有更好的发展，我非常高兴的宣布，除了那些文化、社区及青年部已经拨款兴建的新文化馆之外，我们也将深入探讨如何发展坐落在滑铁卢街的史丹福艺术中心，把它打造成一个更富有传统艺术气息的一个中心。

25. 政府以及各个传统艺术团体需要同心协力的推广我们的传统艺术，这不仅是因为传统文化是我们的“根”，它更是联系各社群的桥梁，也是团结我们新加坡人的一个重要元素。
    
    …through Sports
    

26. Madam Chair, in English.

27. We will continue to foster inclusiveness through sport. As a legacy of the ASEAN Para Games this year, I agree with Ms Penny Low that we need to ensure that persons with disabilities can participate in sports. Sport is not just meant to be the exclusive domain of the able-bodied. Everyone should be able to participate in sports and have opportunities to enjoy the many benefits it brings.

28. I have seen this firsthand, by simulating what it is like to be disabled. If you thought it was hard enough being disabled, try playing a sport when you cannot walk. I recently played table-tennis sitting down against Dr William Tan. It was much harder than I thought it would be! The result was unsurprising – I was beaten flatly by Dr Tan. After the game, I thought to myself: actually, who is the disabled one? Definitely not Dr William Tan!

29. This experience was a humbling reminder that our para athletes are heroes in many ways. Not only do they have to overcome their personal disabilities, they also have to master a difficult sport in order to bring glory to Singapore, to our country.

30. I therefore feel very privileged and honoured to have the opportunity of chairing the Committee for Disability Sports, to ensure that we include, not exclude, anyone who wishes to play a sport.

31. This means breaking down barriers where they exist, as Ms Penny Low also noted. There could be barriers to information, access to facilities, or even social acceptance.

32. For example, we will ensure that more of our public sports facilities are disabled-friendly. One such facility that we’ve set up is the para table tennis training centre at Yishun Sports Centre.

33. We will also look at how we can improve physical access to our facilities, for example, by building more ramps for swimming pools and holding a central stock of specialised equipment that may be required for disability sports.

34. We will continue to work with other disability organisations to see how we can expand disability sports programmes for the wider community of persons with disabilities, so that they have more opportunities to participate in sports, including from a young age, as Mr David Ong has suggested just now.

Fostering a harmonious society

35. Inclusiveness also means making Singapore a welcoming home for different faiths and races, as Mr Arthur Fong and Dr Intan have noted. Thus, the third area we will work on is to foster a harmonious society for all.

36. To do this, we make continuous efforts to promote and maintain social harmony. We seek to enhance the common spaces where all Singaporeans can come together.

37. Members would also be familiar with our Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles, which promote dialogue and foster friendships across faiths and ethnicities. Mr Arthur Fong asked what has the government done to support community efforts aimed at fostering communal understanding.

38. Mdm Chair, we should continue with all the efforts to maintain racial and religious harmony. However, government should not and cannot be doing this alone. Everyone has a part to play in building Singapore’s harmony. But the government can certainly take the lead in this effort. That is why we started the Harmony Fund in 2013, to support projects that promote racial and religious harmony in Singapore. Two years later, we have supported 55 projects, and committed a total funding of close to $1.8 million.

39. One ongoing project is Paths, started by four passionate NTU students. They realised that most young people in Singapore know very little about the different religions here, even though we are so religiously diverse. They felt it was important to go beyond what they call the ‘3 Fs’ which are often regarded as our common heritage. The ‘3 Fs’ are – Food, Fashion and Festival.

40. So the students started to research, and compile the stories of Singaporeans who belong to different faith and religion. For example, through the effort of these four students, we learn that Taoist talismans have to be written within a single breath. You cannot stop. The moment you stop, the magical power is gone. We also learn that Muslims deliver the Salam – a greeting of peace – at the end of each prayer set. And we learn that Hindu devotees spend 48 days preparing to bear the kavadi, by praying, fasting, and even sleeping on the floor instead of a bed.

41. Specific rituals aside, the stories all point to the oneness and interconnectedness of our diverse belief systems – that at the heart of each faith is the search to be a better person.

Conclusion

42. Madam Chair, MCCY recognises that we are a nation of diverse people, each with our own cultures and stories. That we are different is a fact. That we stay united is a choice.

43. So in 2015, as our nation turns 50, our mission is simple – to build strong, diverse communities of friends and families, rooted in our Singaporean-ness.

44. I would liken this to our hands. Without any of our fingers, it will be difficult to perform any task. So we will work, play and live together like the fingers on our hands, because to do otherwise is to disown a part of ourselves.

45. And that is the future we will work towards – a nation united by the things that bind us, and a keen appreciation of what makes us uniquely different.

Translation of Mandarin section (paragraphs 18 – 25)

46. For example, we will build bridges across cultures through the traditional arts. It is not enough for us to connect Singaporeans to our roots. It is just as important for us to build inclusive communities that interact and play with each other, regardless of race, language or culture.

47. This is something the traditional arts can do. Take Tan Qinglun from Ding Yi Music Company for example. Qinglun has been studying the dizi, or Chinese flute, since the age of 12. Three years ago, he challenged himself to learn the Indian flute to increase his understanding of music and traditional Asian culture. He became so good at it that he won second prize in the flute open category of the 2014 National Indian Music Competition. Since then, he has gone on to perform in a sold-out fusion concert, which paired him with an Indian drum player and dancer at the Esplanade last year.

48. Qinglun’s story is just one example of how different cultures can come together to make art that honours our traditions, while allowing new and beautiful forms to emerge from the cross-pollination of cultures.

49. That is why we will continue to invest in the traditional arts. Mr Baey Yam Keng spoke passionately about this last year. I fully agree with him, and I thank him for continuing to champion the traditional arts.

50. In 2010, NAC launched a $23 million, five-year National Traditional Arts Plan. As a result, NAC’s direct funding to traditional arts groups has almost quadrupled, from $1.1 million in 2010 to $4.25 million in 2014.

51. In the next 5 years, we plan to invest a further $25 million in the traditional arts. But we will not stop there. In my consultations with Traditional Arts groups over the last year, one theme has emerged repeatedly. And that is the need for a centre for the Traditional Arts.

52. So I am pleased to announce that we will look into developing Stamford Arts Centre at Waterloo Street as a centre with a focus on the Traditional Arts. This is in addition to the new investments MCCY is making in our Heritage Institutions and the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre.

53. Our support for traditional arts reflects our firm belief that it forms a bridge of understanding that connects one culture to the next, uniting us as one people.