Speeches
Speech by Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Education, Ministry of Education, at the Racial Harmony Day Celebration at 9.05am on 21 July 2011 at Rivervale Primary School
Dr Cheong Wei Yang
Director, Planning
Mr Manogaran S/O Suppiah
Executive Director, Academy of Singapore Teachers
Mrs Yu Sing Tong
Deputy Director, Schools North
Mdm Jenny Peh & Mdm Hanita
Chairperson & Vice-Chairperson, Parents Support Group
Mr Andrew Mah
Principal, Rivervale Primary School
Ladies and Gentlemen
Boys and Girls
Introduction
Good morning. I am honoured and happy to be here at Rivervale Primary School today to mark the observance of Racial Harmony day.
On this day in 1964, Singapore experienced our most serious racial riots in our short history. 36 people were killed and 556 injured. Some of you may wonder and ask “Why do we choose to remind ourselves of these very painful memories? After all, these events are past, surely Singapore can move on now?”
Well, we make an effort to remember this day to remind us that racial and religious harmony must not be taken for granted. If we forget, there is a risk that tragedies of the past can occur again.
Because we have constantly reminded ourselves since 1964, Singaporeans have built a harmonious multiracial and multi-religious society since our independence.
To quote the late Mr S Rajaratnam—Singapore’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs who was instrumental in crafting the National Pledge—we are building a Singapore “as one united people, regardless of race, language, or religion”. This is a Singapore where we will always belong, no matter where our opportunities or good fortune may bring us Singapore is our HOME.
HOME: Joint HOpes, Shared MEmories
This is the inspiration for the theme behind this year’s Racial Harmony Day celebrations —HOME: Joint HOpes Shared MEmories.’ What does ‘Home’ mean to you? At a very basic level, you may think that it is the place where you live—a HDB flat or a private condominium—but a house itself is not a home. As the saying goes, “home is where the heart is”.
In defining the theme for this year’s Racial Harmony Celebrations, we want to remind all of us that Singapore is our home. It is the place where our hopes for the future are realised and where our shared memories of the past give us a sense of belonging, together with our friends, families and loved ones.
To love our home, we need to know more about Singapore as our home. First we need to know our neighbours and reach out to our immediate community. Beyond this, we can go one step further by learning and experiencing more about the cultures and heritage of our neighbours. By doing these, we learn not only to respect differences among different communities, but also celebrate what we have in common.
Efforts in racial harmony today continue to be founded on respect, understanding, appreciation and trust of each other. We recognise and value the different customs and traditions in our multi-racial landscape. On this foundation, we build our shared memories and joint hopes for the future to create a united and resilient Singapore.
Engaging Students in School, Involving Partners in the Community
I am very happy to know that for the past 13 years, Rivervale has organised an NE Heritage Island-wide Trail which invites students from other primary schools to participate in an exploration of Singapore’s unique aesthetic, cultural, and historical heritage at prominent landmarks and other locations island-wide.
By going on an island-wide trail, Rivervale students not only travel through the physical landscape of Singapore; but also explore the rich history and stories surrounding Singapore’s past. It is good that students are taking ownership to co-create shared experiences with their peers from other schools, as this allows students from different schools to interact with each other while building their shared heritage.
Rivervale’s NE Heritage Trail allows the participants to learn about the culture, practices and stories from Singapore’s diverse racial community. When we learn about how the various races have played a part in shaping the Singapore Story, we begin to appreciate that the Singapore we live in today did not come to exist by chance.
In order to truly create a shared vision and sense of belonging to Singapore, parents and teachers are important role-models. The efforts to strengthen racial harmony have to begin with parents and teachers. When the members of Rivervale’s Parents Support Group invite your Muslim members to showcase Halal mooncakes during the school’s Lantern Festival Celebration, you are setting a strong example for our children of how our cultural festivals in Singapore are inclusive celebrations where we seek to include all Singaporeans, regardless of race, language or religion.
During the Lantern Festival Celebration, the school also raises funds from the sale of lanterns, brush paintings and festive snacks for the Grace Lodge Old Folks’ Home and Ramakrishna Mission Boys Home. By doing this, parents and teachers provide learning experiences that help Rivervale’s pupils think about the needs of the less fortunate and how they can help.
Parents and the wider community are important partners in the education of our young. I am glad that Rivervale has an active and vibrant Parents Support Group. Your consistent support contributes to developing our pupils as confident learners and concerned citizens essential. May I commend Mdm Jenny Peh and Mdm Hanita, who are the current Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of Rivervale’s Parent’s Support Group.
Jenny and Hanita’s children have in fact already graduated from Rivervale—but both parents have been serving the school continuously for more than 10 years. Your commitment is exemplary.
Once again, I congratulate Rivervale Primary on the strong partnership established with the partners - the Parents, Alumni members, School Advisory and the Community. Through such examples, we see how our joint efforts give hope and purpose to the next generation. Through the initiative of your students and teachers here at Rivervale, you have created shared memories that the pupils will cherish.
Conclusion
Singapore is changing rapidly because the world is changing rapidly. With increasing globalisation, many people from different parts of the world may choose to come to Singapore to work together with us or study together with us. Most of us will probably have a colleague, classmate, schoolmate or neighbour from another country. These are opportunities for us to interact and build new friendships across even more diverse cultures, and make each of us a more tolerant and cosmopolitan Singapore citizen.
Promoting racial harmony is an effort that will involve each and every one of us. I hope that we will continue to reflect on how we can make a difference to our community, especially through our contributions in making Singapore a home which we can all be proud of.
Through the tireless cultivation of goodwill, fellowship, and compassion in our multi-racial and multi-religious community, we build our ‘social capital’ which will be invaluable to our nation. This work must begin in earnest in our school but will extend well beyond it.
Thank you again for sharing your hopes and memories with me today. I wish you all a meaningful and engaging Racial Harmony Day.