Singapore Government Press Release
Media Division, Ministry of Information and The Arts,
MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2^nd Storey, Singapore 179369

Good afternoon

Honourable Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

We have come to the end of the Family Forum 2000. I hope it has been a fruitful day for you. But the work does not stop here. Each one of us no matter from which sector we come, has a role to play to build strong and stable families in Singapore.

Working on family issues is a real challenge as the results are often not as tangible and certain, and often requires a long period before we can see the fruits of our efforts. To add to this complexity, we are also having to deal with influences on our home and social environment that are often beyond our control.

But just because of these challenges it does not mean we just despair and leave our families to the mercies of the environment. The family is far too important for us to just give up. If we really believe that building strong families is the bulwark for the future, we must believe we can do something about this. We must be proactive in anticipating future trends and if need be, in tackling them through new policies and programmes.

Hence, my Ministry welcomes and values fora such as this, where people from diverse fields are part of the important process of consultation and discussion. It is impossible indeed even undesirable, for government alone to tackle family issues. We must all work closely together and ensure that we do not act at cross purposes.

MCDS has a special role in creating a nurturing environment for families to grow in Singapore. We do this by working with the community to develop programmes to help inculcate family values and to work with other agencies to develop the community infrastructure and services to support families. In this regard, we have made some progress. For example, a recent Washington Post article has reported that an NGO, Save the Children, has rated Singapore as the 12th best place in the world for mothers. Although the criteria used were primarily on the standards of medical facilities and maternal education for women, this is certainly an honour for us as Singapore is the only Asian country among the top, out of the 106 countries surveyed.

Creating the community infrastructure for families to grow is probably the easier part. The harder part is to deal with attitudes towards this institution called family. The Committee on the Family has found that the root cause to many of the social ills we have today is because of the changing attitude towards the family. For instance, more marriages are breaking down and faster, possibly reflecting a change in values pertaining to the importance of marriage and family as well as an indication of a decline of moral and religious sanction against divorce. Many younger Singaporeans choose to remain single or childless. Calls to go back to basics, to look at the family and children as a joy than as a burden, have also made by members of the public to the Working Committee on Marriage and Procreation chaired by Mr Eddie Teo, Permanent Secretary (Prime Minister’s Office). Both the COF and Mr Teo’s Committee have informed me that public education on the family will form one of their recommendations. This is something which MCDS can start work on. I have therefore asked my Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, to chair a Public Education Committee on the Family. MCDS does not have the monopoly of wisdom on the family. I would therefore expect Mrs Yu-Foo to seek wide representation from the people and private sectors on her Committee to help her undertake this complicated but critical task.

Earlier today at the Family of the Year Award 2000 presentation, I announced that MCDS will launch the Family Life Ambassadors Programme soon. Through this Programme, we hope to strengthen and empower families and communities so that they can solve problems by preventing them. More details of the programme will be released within the next few days.

The last area I want to touch on is the need to have more family-friendly work practices. This has been receiving considerable publicity recently, particularly in relation to the issue of helping married couples have more children. I am happy to say that my Ministry has Work-Family officers to look specifically into promoting the idea amongst employers and human resource practitioners.

They are currently working with the Productivity and Standards Board to include family-friendly workplace practices as an evaluation criterion in the Singapore Quality Award (SQA), the highest national accolade given to organisations for business excellence. They are also producing a resource booklet and a pamphlet on family-friendly workplace practices to raise awareness. Family-friendly workplace practices are not just a good-to-have staff benefits; they will increasingly become competitive tools for organisations to attract and retain talents. More and more companies in the USA for example are beginning to realise this.

The calls to promote strong family ties, and to have more work-life balance in Singapore are not new. There are no lack of ideas on what we can do. The most fundamental obstacle is the attitude all of us have towards this institution called family. In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, we often forget what matters most until it is too late. Someone sent me this poem recently which was obtained from the Internet. I thought it is a somber reminder for all of us. Let me share this with you:

A weary mother returned from the store,

Lugging groceries through the kitchen door.

Awaiting her arrival was her eight-year-old son,

Anxious to relate what his younger brother had done.

"While I was out playing and Dad was on a call,

T. J. took his crayons and wrote on the wall!

It's on the new paper you just hung in the den.

I told him you'd be mad at having to do it again."

She let out a moan and furrowed her brow.

"Where is your little brother right now?"

She emptied her arms and with a purposeful stride,

She marched to his closet where he had gone to hide.

She called his full name as she entered his room.

He trembled with fear -- he knew that meant doom!

For the next ten minutes, she ranted and raved

About the expensive wallpaper and how she had saved.

Lamenting all the work it would take to repair,

She condemned his actions and total lack of care.

The more she scolded, the madder she got,

Then stomped from his room, totally distraught!

She headed for the den to confirm her fears.

When she saw the wall, her eyes flooded with tears.

The message she read pierced her soul with a dart.

It said, "I love Mommy," surrounded by a heart.

Well, the wallpaper remained, just as she found it,

With an empty picture frame hung to surround it.

A reminder to her, and indeed to all,

Take time to read the handwriting on the wall!!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen – take time to care for your family; take time to heed the handwriting on the wall.

On this note, let me end by thanking all of you for making this Forum possible.

I wish you all a pleasant evening.