LONDON - With local delights like laksa, prata, nasi lemak and char kway teow - from some of Singapore’s most known hawkers - as the draw, Singapore Day in London (Mar 29) pulled in crowds from as far as Sweden, the Netherlands and Italy looking for a taste of home. 

About 9,000 registered for the event, which is its seventh edition since 2007 and featured performances from homegrown bands and local personalities like Gurmit Singh and Hossan Leong. Drawing the biggest applause however was Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who was mobbed by Singaporeans eager to snap pictures with him when he arrived. 

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Grace Fu also held a dialogue with about 40 Singaporeans at the event at Victoria Park. Speaking after the session, Ms Fu said the participants raised issues ranging from how they could contribute to the needy in Singapore to art and culture in Singapore.

“I think it’s a great way to harness ideas and galvanise them into action,” said Ms Fu, who helps oversee population issues at the PMO. 

“One of the concerns they raised was migrant workers in Singapore. Being away from Singapore, they see themselves as migrant workers in another country, so there’s a very strong sense of empathy and they thought that they could bring that perspective as someone outside Singapore and help Singaporeans understand the plight of migrant workers. 

So it was an interesting perspective from Singaporeans overseas.”Asked about future Singapore Days, Ms Fu said: I think it’s an important way for us to stay connected and Singaporeans welcome it. And I think here, whether you know each other or not ... you know that you are with your people ... I think that’s a great feeling."

She added: “Right now, we are still going around the world, looking at where we have a good concentration (of Singaporeans). We hope that for 2015 we can do something special."

”Student Mega Hairiani, 21, had come from Switzerland for the event, where she met her friends who were studying elsewhere in the UK, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. “We came because we thought it would be fun,” she said. “It’s pretty interesting, and we’ve been pretty homesick for the food.”