At 56, I must be one of the older members of the NFC. I am lucky to have the practical insights and broad knowledge from my personal life, married life, corporate life and community involvement. As Chairman of the Centre for Fathering, I intend to focus on fathering as this is an important pillar in building resilient families. In the area of work-life balance, I can draw on my experiences as Chairman of the Committee on Healthy Lifestyle. Pro-family businesses play a vital role in helping us create and build strong families.
Personally I enjoy my family life. The best decision I have made is marrying my wife, Aye Ling. Our 3 children are our pride and joy. We treasure our moments together, as we journey with them through the different phases of their lives. There is so much fun and fulfilment from new discoveries and I hope others can share these experiences. My appointment as the Chairperson of the NFC provides me with a great opportunity to be a better family life champion!
We need to balance liberalisation – the tide which we cannot turn – against the preservation of our social norms and family values. The goal must be to maintain the social fabric of our society and our family ethos as we continue to be exposed to the onslaught of external influences beyond our own cultural and physical boundaries. Against this social backdrop, marrying and starting a family is a natural objective for working adults. Divorce is a last resort and not a first option. Grandparents are much sought after as a source of social capital for family life as they compliment the work of parents in nurturing children. More children are learning to love their parents and families for what they are, in reciprocity. Our teenagers grow up with the right values towards marriage and family.
Our NFC will consult the public, and provide feedback to the Government on family policies, family education programmes, research and services. Key stakeholders involving the people, private and public sectors will be engaged to create a conducive environment for families, to enhance on our current state.
I am an ordinary mother blessed with five children to love and nurture. But my children have in turn nurtured me and I am daily being humbled and inspired by their creativity and sincerity. Lessons learnt with and from my children have strengthened our family life and established lasting bonds. Thus, I come to the NFC with just my heart and passion for children and family resilience. It is an extension of my commitment to I Love Children, a charity formed to celebrate all children and the joy they bring.
In aiming to make Singapore children-plenty and children-friendly, I hope to contribute to keeping our nation young!
Being the youngest on the council and a new baby girl, I hope I can be a voice for young people and young parents in the council. We have a great composition of members and I hope to be able to bring a younger perspective in our deliberation and discussions.
Making Singapore a family-friendly place would be what I want to see most of all. Family-friendly at all levels. From public policies to public places. Family-friendly is not simply a question of infrastructure or national resources, it is ultimately a question of mindset and attitude.
I am hoping for a Singapore that my wife and I, and our friends can happily grow old together in. A place where our children will grow and fall in love, and look forward to marriage and starting families on their own. Not because they have to or are encouraged to, but because they want to.
I have been volunteering in the Disability sector in Singapore for close to 15 years now. I therefore bring with me a voice for families who have members with disabilities and special needs. These include the elderly who may be experiencing limitations with their mobility and independence, as well as young adults and children with physical, intellectual and learning challenges. These families face constant daily challenges which we so often take for granted and they need someone who will speak up for them and to ensure that they are not precluded when family policies are thought of and formulated.
That the family unit, encompassing three-generations although not necessarily living under one roof, remains strong despite and in spite of challenges faced, whether economic, social or otherwise. The strength of the family unit is the very basis for our society’s fabric so it is paramount that family policies continue to build up this sense of cohesiveness and resilience.
I have been blessed with two daughters and it was only when I was into my second pregnancy that I truly embraced motherhood. In other words, it took me four years to sink in the fact that as mother to my daughters, I have a heavy responsibility to not just take care of them, but to nurture and instill the right values as well.
Through this platform, I hope that more emphasis and help to new mothers-to-be on what to expect in embracing motherhood and that the spouse have a very special role to play as well in being supportive to the wives to help in the formation year of the children.
It has been a learning journey throughout this period of parenthood. Through my own experiences as well as from friends, we realized that families here faced the vast challenges of managing stress - school, work and time management within the family. I hope that through this council, we could re-look at some of the current issues that could also be a reason why so many people choose to remain single.
Family is the cornerstone of our society. The National Family Council is a meaningful platform, with representation from different constituents and stakeholders, to provide feedback to policy-makers to foster values in bringing about stable and resilient families in Singapore .
The members of the Council are from different quarters of society - people, private and public sectors. I am from the private sector. Together, the Council members can bring about a more balanced view on family issues, and offer a holistic social-economic approach to creating a conducive environment for families.
I was a facilitator for the Rainbow Programme, run by my daughter’s school. The programme taught me some very important lessons; the families that stay close together are more resilient than those from broken homes. Also, with lots of good listening skills and support from those around them, these children can grow to be more confident of themselves. Hence, single-parent families is something very close to my heart. I had also attended a “how to talk so your child will listen” workshop conducted by a very good friend, and now a business partner. I learnt a very important message from what he taught. Family education is extremely crucial to ensure the growth of resilient families. These are two areas I feel I can contribute to the Council.
From the young couple’s point of view, marriage is sacred. For young married couples, I would love to see them spend more time together as a family, and have more children. On the extended family front, it would be nice to see more of these families staying together, if not, very near to one another. I hope to see more help extended to those from single parent families, better design of public housing to encourage extended families and more family based education programmes for the parents, from the Government. For the employers, I hope to encourage them to set aside at least a day a week where employees are encouraged to return home early to spend time with their families.
I have been involved in various grassroots and community works in the last over 12 years. I do also help out as a petition writer at the weekly Meet-the-People sessions and also an active grassroots leader. I hold a few key appointments in the constituency grassroots work, including the CCC Vice-Chairmanship.
I am also involved in the People's Association Narpani Pearavai (The Coordinating Council for the over 92 Indian Activity Executive Committees across the island). As the chairman of the umbrella body, I work with both the young and senior citizens to organise various activities for mass outreach throughout the year.
These experiences provide me with the opportunity to meet people at all levels and understand their needs and issues. I conduct regular mediation sessions as well. As a mediator with the Ministry of Law, I also come in contact with residents and families and help to solve their disputes amicably.
As a Deputy Registrar, I am given the opportunity to share and spread the joy of family values and bonding with couples, especially the young. Being a parent of two teenage children, I am able to share with young couples the joy of children and watching them grow.
My passion to work with the community for their well-being has enabled me to transform my passion into a goal – that is to serve as a bridge between the generations and help spread the message of a happy family life. I truly subscribe to the motion: "Family Matters" – in every aspect and progress of one's life.
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