4) “This is home, truly.” Is this the sentiment of young people in Singapore?

Definitions:

Home- sense of belonging; not confined to physical boundaries of geographical location.
Truly- genuinely
Sentiment- opinion
Young people- teenagers to mid-30s

Issues for discussion:

i) Young people’s patriotism towards Singapore/ lack of (aspects- politics: apathetic attitude, overseas Singaporeans keep themselves updated when General Elections were nearing. Social: social workers caring and giving back to society, students + cip , reselling of NDP tickets, poll results + NS )
ii) Increasing trend of young people migrating (resulting in brain drain. Invitations were sent to overseas talent to return home yet some declined.)
iii) Oppression by government. Freedom of speech + Law of assembly
iv) Young people’s sense of rooted-ness (little discrimination, Hosting Youth Olympics)

“This is home truly, where I know I must be where my dreams wait for me, where that river always flows. This is home surely, as my senses tell me. This is where I won't be alone, for this is where I know it is home.” This is adapted from Singapore’s theme song for our 1998 National Day Parade. Dick Lee, Singapore’s homegrown singer and songwriter, wrote these lyrics. By penning the lyrics, Lee is expressing his heartfelt feelings for Singapore and hopes that fellow Singaporeans share his sentiments. Singapore has many goals to achieve; these include maintaining its independence as well as establishing her economy as well. These serve to provide a haven for Singaporeans, a place where they can genuinely call home. Comparing between young people of today with the older generation, the older generation seem to have a greater sense of belonging to Singapore. Perhaps this could be explained by the fact that the older generation had experienced the struggles of Singapore in its early days and contributed to what Singapore is today. On the other hand, young people today lack those experiences thus they may be unable to empathize and appreciate Singapore and what she has to offer.

One pressing issue that has been discussed fervently is the brain drain that Singapore is experiencing. There is an increasing trend of Singaporeans studying overseas choosing to remain overseas after they graduate and working Singaporeans settling down overseas with their families. A recent article in the Straits Times stated that majority of Singaporeans who has high ranking jobs chose to stay overseas rather than return home despite invitations sent by the Singapore government. This shows that they prefer being abroad for many reasons such as a slower pace of life overseas as compared to Singapore. Though most of them were born and grew up in Singapore, they preferred to call somewhere else home.

There are many reasons accounting for this trend and the main reason is that young people in Singapore find the overseas more attractive than Singapore. This is so because they face many restrictions here in Singapore, which are not present in other countries. The Singapore government heavily monitors freedom of speech in Singapore. Issues such as those pertaining to the local political scene and which are detrimental to racial harmony in Singapore are not allowed to be discussed publicly and even on the Internet. The government defends its stance by saying that this is in the best interest of Singaporeans. However, many people, especially the young, find this oppressive and a violation to their personal freedom of speech. In addition, laws such as the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) (Prohibition of Assemblies and Processions) Order” disallow local Singaporeans to congregate at public places and engage in activities such as protests, which disrupt public order. Even peaceful protests can be subjected to laws and persecution. This causes young people to feel their speech and behaviour is controlled by the state and thus it makes it harder for them to call Singapore its home where they face such limitations.

However, there are also Singaporeans who harbour a sense of belonging towards Singapore. In its bid to host the Youth Olympics 2010, many young people and other age groups got together and combined efforts to obtain a successful bid. The synergy and co-operation show their love for Singapore as their home. On the day of the release of results for the bid, hundreds of Singaporeans, mainly the youth, congregated together. When it was announced that Singapore was the successful bidder, Singaporeans cheered and celebrated together. In addition, news reported that in the last Singapore General Election, there were Singaporeans who were overseas who kept themselves updated by checking online sites and watching local news. This shows that these young people are still concerned about happenings in Singapore, their home, though they were not present in Singapore. Apparently, home is more than just the physical location; it is this sense of belonging and attachment towards a place that makes the place a home.

There are young people who call Singapore their home and those who do not. The fact remains that there is an increasing trend of young people migrating and this is indeed worrying. The government should perhaps review its policies and its political stance to find out the root cause of the trend. However, the government may be able to do little as this trend can also be attibrute to the increase in globalization, which is the mobility of people across physical borders. Thus, it is more important to instill patriotism and a sense of belonging in young Singaporeans rather than to prevent them from venturing overseas.