Daily Lessons from Life 01 July 2009

"Wed, Jul 01, 2009 The Straits Times - Wanted: Strong wings, deep roots


More than one in five of the top students from the 1996-1999 A level graduating cohorts are not working in Singapore today. And of those from the same batches who went on to universities overseas without a scholarship bond, more than one in three are today carving out careers outside the country.


Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong gave these statistics yesterday to illustrate the urgency of getting young Singaporeans to sink roots here even as they become more entrepreneurial and break out into the global economy.

'If more and more of our bright students do not return, this begs the question whether our success in giving them wings to fly far and high will result in our eventual decline as a nation, especially as we are not even reproducing ourselves.

'No nation will be able to sustain its growth and prosperity without sufficient talent, much less a small country like Singapore without natural resources,' said Mr Goh.


He was speaking to more than 1,000 guests at the 70th anniversary dinner of Chung Cheng High School last night.

He urged schools to help students retain their emotional bonds to Singapore, 'so that they think of Singapore as the home which nurtured them, and want to contribute in some ways to the country of their birth'.


To do this, he suggested that schools inculcate in the young certain values, such as being appreciative of those who help them advance in life; and not taking for granted the academic, sports and arts programmes they can enjoy here and abroad, when many children elsewhere cannot.

Switching to Mandarin, Mr Goh said: 'I hope Chung Cheng and our schools will give two lasting bequests to our children. One is strong wings; the other, deep roots.


'Like wild geese that migrate each fall, young Singaporeans should be equipped with the courage, strength and adaptability to venture to distant lands in search of opportunities. But when spring returns, they will come back, as this is their home.'

Indeed, Mr Goh further argued in English, helping young Singaporeans stay rooted here was the most important challenge facing the Education Ministry.


Even as he made it clear that he supported the push to equip the young to go global, he said: 'But here we face a conundrum. When we prepare our students to be entrepreneurial and world-ready, we are also growing wings on them.'

Alumni are people like top banker Wee Cho Yaw and Hougang MP Low Thia Khiang, who were both present at the anniversary celebration last night."

A timely reminder to the young to remember the people who made it possible for them to spread their wings to venture far and wide. At the same time, the young will say: "We did our part too by studying hard and bringing glory to Singapore while we were there! To get us back, show us more than the people who helped us spread our wings!"

Lessons for me are:

1. why should the young returned to Singapore? What make them stay away? Singapore has one of the highest per capita income in the world. A clean and efficient government that run the country public services relatively well. A city that aspired to be a Vibrant Global City. A city that will have Integrated Resorts with 2 casinos in them. And many other features and advantages. Why?;

2. so far the many reasons offered were: pay better, environment better, intellectual communities more and better, work-life balance?, etc... Many of these 'better conditions' Singapore can match or even outdo. So, it has to go deeper than just a place to make a living and live well. Is it the political freedom and freedom of responsible expression that some of these top students want which the government tried hard to deny it is not providing?;

3. if we assumed that is the root cause, then making the young appreciative of the sacrifices made by the elders and Singapore government to allow them to spread the wings will NOT be compelling enough to make them come back to Singapore. If Singapore has the same environment or better environment, why won't them be back? So, vibrant diversity with strong debates while mutually respectful in the delivery of the argument and self-restraints on the sensitivities of certain taboo topics will bring more of them back. Of course, being an urban society and a commercial hub, the availability of good paying and meaningful job must be present too. This unfortunately are not as abundant as the number of young people Singapore has! Indeed, if this is the root cause, the government may have to do deep soul searching to provide this nurturing open and vibrant society the young top people really want!

Maybe it is good the 1 out of 5 top students from Singapore did not come back as they may not get the jobs they are looking for??