This year’s National Day Parade celebrates the spirit of Singapore; the fundamental values and principles which have taken us to where we are now, and which will continue to guide us in the future.

Our forefathers have laid the foundation of a multi-cultural society which lives and works together as one community, based on these values. Through the years, we have, for the most part, maintained this unity.

However, we have an on-going mission to bring all Singaporeans together as one people, regardless of race, language and religion. This may be difficult at times, but not impossible.

Apparently, the first thing astronauts realise when they look upon the Earth from space, is that there are no visible borders separating each nation!

We are really one people on this Earth.

Well-known writer Margaret Atwood put it well when she said: “I hope that people will finally come to realise that there is only one ‘race’ ? the human race ? and that we are all members of it.”

Looking at our own history, we have seen how devastating racial fragmentation can be. During the 1964 racial clashes, people were hurt, property damaged, and lives needlessly lost.

Learning from this, we should work tirelessly at building bonds between people to prevent these shameful events from being repeated.

It is important that younger Singaporeans are made aware of this. This is one of the reasons why our schools observe Racial Harmony Day on July 21.

On this day, students are engaged in activities to celebrate and appreciate our ethnic diversity; they are encouraged to put on traditional costumes, like the baju kurong, for school that day.

That day is also slightly different from usual: There may be a short performance about racial harmony during assembly put up by the school’s CCA groups or by outside acts, to spread the message; parents may set up stalls in the canteens, so youngsters get to try traditional ethnic foods.

Since its launch last year, ?OnePeople.sg, which works to encourage close ties among races, has organised various youth outreach and community engagement programmes, like the liberal Explorations in Ethnicity talks and the HarmonyWorks! workshops for secondary school students.

The five CDCs have joined with the Self-Help Groups and the People’s Association to support OnePeople.sg’s efforts.

We have to encourage the young to become champions of racial harmony.

More importantly, we should harness the power of our diverse backgrounds to forge a common vision.

Take National Service, for example. During their two years serving the country, many youths form strong bonds with one another that transcend all differences, and forge lifelong friendships.
Our schools also provide a multi-cultural environment for our young to come together.

Other than regular subjects such as maths and science, schools impart essential social knowledge – teaching how to give and take, to see past stereotypes and to accept people for who they are.

We can proudly say that we Singaporeans are highly tolerant of people outside our ethnic groups, something that is disturbingly lacking in many countries.

It is shocking to learn that in some nations, people are still violently intolerant of their minority ethnic groups and saddening to know that their governments are not taking any action to rectify the situation.

As we prepare to celebrate the Singapore Spirit for the 43rd time, I would like to invite all of you to renew our vow to be united, regardless of race, language or religion.


Zainudin Nordin
Mayor, Central Singapore District