Speech by Minister of State for Education Ms Jasmin Lau at the 4th Singapore Silent Heroes Student Award

Mr M P Sellvem, Founding Chairman of the Singapore Silent Heroes Movement

Mr Alvin Chow, Chairman of the Singapore Silent Heroes Awards Committee

Mr Herman Sing, Chairman of the Singapore Silent Heroes Student Award

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. Good morning everybody, ladies and gentlemen, the organising team for the Silent Heroes Award. I'm very happy to be with all of you here, this is my second time attending the Singapore Silent Heroes Award.

2. Last year when I was here, I remember feeling very positive, inspired and happy to hear the stories. This morning when I left home, I came with a slightly different feeling. One year into politics and I would say that I feel we are often surrounded by a lot of unkindness out there. I wish that when we have an award like this, more of the people and the students who are kind are actually not silent but the loud ones, and I wish the ones who are unkind out there were the silent ones.

3. But unfortunately, the realities of our society and social media don't allow for that as we see a lot of unkindness out there every day when you open up your phones and you read the news. If you dare to click the comments, you see even more of the unkindness, and I think that's the kind of feeling many of us as adults feel daily - why can't our heroes here be the ones who are loud, and why can't the ones who are unkind be the ones who are silent? So I'm very happy that this year we have double the number of students winning this award, and many more schools participating and nominating students for this award.

4. Over the past year, there has been a lot of news about bullying and those of you who have heard me speak would have heard that I strongly feel that kindness is the most enduring way to fight against bullying. Yes, we have to manage cases, punish, and rehabilitate, but that doesn't get us very far and it's not very sustainable. The only enduring way to stand up against bullying and to spread a lot more kindness is to have more of our students being brave enough to stand up for their friends who are bullied and tell their own classmates, "Stop doing this". That's a lot more powerful, but I know it's very hard for our students.

5. There are a lot of pressures in schools, social circles, and many who want to do something feel shy or scared for themselves. So, I think today we are very happy to have found some of these students. Effendy who spoke earlier was one of them, and hopefully over the years, more and more of our Silent Heroes are celebrated for their courage they have in their schools.

6. Our compassion is one of those things that we find hard to teach from textbooks. Our students must encounter experiences in their daily lives in order to have a chance to show compassion. We may try our best to teach kindness and values in our Character and Citizenship Education, but nothing beats having a chance to practice it. So I'm very happy to see many students here who have had that opportunity and who have seized it and tried your best to show what values look like in action.

1. At the heart of compassion is the willingness to show up. All of you have heard from Effendy from Bukit Batok Secondary School earlier how he has been a peer supporter to a friend with autism. He looked a bit shy when he was sharing, but think of how strong he was in school when he stood up for his friend. I think such kindness and compassion are something many of us, including adults, can learn from. And when we ourselves feel shy and worried about standing up, remember what we heard from him just now because he showed us what is possible from a very young age.
2. Some of our young Silent Heroes have gone even further. When Bertina from Unity Secondary School noticed a classmate was being bullied and struggling with her mental health, she stepped up and approached the school counselor for guidance on how she could support her classmate. For over a year, Bertina then checked in on her classmate regularly, offered a listening ear without judgment, and provided very steady assurance. I think this would have gone a long way in helping her classmate feel less isolated and less lonely. To show up for someone time and again, and with such courage, thank you very much Bertina for your show of strength.
3. Last of all, we have Jordan from Red Swastika School. Jordan has faced great personal challenges, but he still chooses to care for those around him. Since completing his own cancer treatment in 2023, Jordan has been actively raising funds and awareness for pediatric cancer patients. In 2024 and 2025, Jordan raised more than $10,000 for pediatric cancer patients and was selected as an ambassador for Hair for Hope, a Children's Cancer Foundation campaign. I think when many of us face simple transient health challenges, we already feel like the sky is falling down, so for someone like Jordan to overcome his own health challenges and at the same time willing to do more for cancer patients who are like him, I think this is something all of us can celebrate and think about how we want to emulate those behaviors as well.

7. We've heard some of these stories and some on stage which are just a very brief glimpse of the kindness that's surrounding us. Those of us who are here this morning, I hope you leave later today encouraged that there is actually more kindness than unkindness, and that the younger generation over the years are fully able to show kindness in their own ways.

8. Congratulations to all of our student award recipients here today! I want to tell you that there will be a lot of pressure on you in the future to be less kind, to work faster, to think of yourself more, focus on your academic grades and strive to compete. Often times you may not even notice how you are changing, but I hope when you have a chance, think about when you are receiving your award today and how you felt when someone said that you were a Singapore Silent Hero. Don't forget that even as you grow up when the workplace or future can seem harsh, don't get sucked into that cycle of unkindness that you may see out there in the world today.

9. And to all our parents, thank you very much for being role models. Every student here who is kind I believe would have had role models in their life to look up to and learn from every small decision you take at home to be kind to those around you. I'm very sure that your kids have been watching all of this over the years as they grew up. So to all of our parents who feel stressed about PSLE, O levels and the future of your students, I want to encourage you that the fact that your kids are here today should be something that warms your heart and tells you that you've been a good parent all of these years. Thank you very much.

10. And to all of our school teachers, like Mr Sellvem said, thank you for digging through all the stories to look out for all the kind students in your schools and nominating them. The paperwork is complicated because we are quite particular about making sure we find the right recipients for the awards, but thank you for putting in all the hours to do the work because the celebration of the values that we see today is very valuable for Singapore.

11. Again, I would like to thank the Singapore Silent Heroes Movement for creating this space to recognise and celebrate our young people, and for reminding us year after year what it means to live with empathy, with grace, and with kindness. I look forward to seeing even more Silent Heroes next year.

12. Thank you.