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I am a Practitioner of 'The 7e Way of Leaders' where a Leader will Envision, Enable (ASK for TOP D), Empower, Execute, Energize, and Evolve grounded on ETHICS!

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Daily Lessons from Life 07 November 2015 - Founders' Memorial for Singapore Pioneer Generation

"Tenacity, selflessness among values that built Singapore: Pioneer Generation - 7 Nov 2015

SINGAPORE: Tenacity, diligence and selflessness - these were identified as some of the values that helped build Singapore, at a dialogue session on Saturday (Nov 7) to develop ideas for a Founders' Memorial.

Fifty pioneers participated in the dialogue session as part of efforts to engage the public and seek their views on the memorial, which hopes to honour the ideals of the founding generation of leaders, unify Singaporeans and inspire future generations.

Participants also shared experiences that they felt should be included, as they helped shape the nation.

Among them are surviving the Japanese Occupation and witnessing Singapore's independence.

"We are the group - I'm also a pioneer - that actually walked on fire, and you could see their eyes light up and they knew exactly what I meant," said Mr Timothy de Souza, a member of the Founders' Memorial Steering Committee. "The experiences cannot be put in a book and forgotten; they need to be put somewhere, so that for the coming generations, the lessons that were learnt can be understood, can be remembered."

Mdm Tan Yoon Yin, 86, shared how she came to Singapore from Malaysia with little to nothing. But it was her hard work and determination that landed her a scholarship to a university in Britain. She returned to Singapore as a teacher and even formed the Singapore Women's Netball Association in 1962, which is now known as Netball Singapore.

"I think it's very important that the younger generation should know what the founding members have done for the development of Singapore, and to appreciate all the hardship that we've gone through. It's not so easy compared with now, where they have everything," she said."

This is laudable. A tribute to the pioneering Singaporeans from all parts of the world and become Singapore citizens. Not about the politicians, not about a particular person but a group of people who happened to be in Singapore - pre- and just after independence.

My takes on Founders' Memorial:

1. records some memorial stories are great ideas. Just be careful to put words like: 'so that the younger generation know what the founding members have done for the development of Singapore.' The founders did whatever they had done because they were there and they were BUILDING their future. Nothing more really! Yes?;

2. it is the VALUES, hopefully some of them are universal and consistent for ANY GENERATION of Singaporeans to be SUCCESSFUL. e.g. diligence besides SMART as we have seen many SMART people achieving less when they are NOT as diligent as the truly successful. E.g. ethics besides SMART as we have seen unethical people who are 'successful' EVENTUALLY succumbed to the 'karma' and paid for their bad behaviours.

So, WHAT are those 'critical sustainable success Values' of Singapore? Can we DEFINE the CORE and not try to change them like 'flavours of the month' thingy?

3. The Founders' Values that are part of the 'critical sustainable success' MUST then be enshrined in our National Education System from HOME and Schools. i.e. parents have to learn and PERSONIFY them so as to establish good role model at home. The schools have to continue to reinforce them through the role modelling by the teachers/principals/staffs.

Live the 'critical sustainable success Values' and STAY AWAY from lecturing the younger generation. They have to LEARN to WANT to 'walk the talk IF the talk makes sense to them'!

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