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on youths of singapore to speak up PM's call on youths | list of all articles speak up for nature: why bother? | what others have spoken | feedback channels The Straits Times, 17 Aug 04 Young respond swiftly to call for feedback Within a day, e-mail messages have gone to Dr Balakrishnan, who's started plans for six-week gathering of youth views Barely one day after Dr Vivian Balakrishnan called on young Singaporeans to send SMS or e-mail, phone or fax in their ideas on how to build a better nation, e-mail messages answering the call began trickling in for the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports. Dr Balakrishnan had asked young Singaporeans to speak out and act on their beliefs during a Boys' Brigade event on Saturday. Commenting on the swift response, he said: 'There's a certain amount of expectation that they want it to be more than a talk-shop session. 'Those who have contacted me say they want to see some real action at the end of this process, and I agree with them'. Starting tomorrow, a focus group led by the ministry's new Parliamentary Secretary, Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman, as well as Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Chong Weng Chiew and Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Penny Low, will map a formal strategy to gather the views of young Singaporeans across the nation and abroad. These views will help shape future youth-related policies. The exercise will last six weeks. Dr Balakrishnan, 43, who is also Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and had chaired the Remaking Singapore Committee, said he expected the exercise to give rise to 'a hive of activity in the youth sector'. This is the first time that the Government is launching a public consultation exercise trained specially on Singaporeans born in or after 1965. Dr Balakrishnan's focus group team belongs to this generation. Officiating at the Metal Industries Workers' Union National Day observance ceremony yesterday, Dr Balakrishnan said that Singapore's future hinged on the younger generation. 'At some point, we need younger leaders to carry work forward,' he said. Younger leaders who are brought in now can 'learn and imbibe the instincts of the older leaders'. However, the search for new leaders is not a contest between young and old. 'We need the wisdom, judgment of the old combined with the energy of the young,' he said. Demonstrating the Government's resolve to follow up on the feedback from this rising generation of Singaporeans, Dr Balakrishnan said of a proposal he had received over the weekend: 'Someone proposed some innovative ways of opening up dialogue in cyberspace. 'We'll be exploring these options.' |
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