Lessons from one family in building for the future

SINGAPORE — As a gardener, a pharmaceutical engineer and a primary school pupil, theirs is not only the tale of a three-generation family but also a microcosm of the Republic’s growth story in the last 50 years.

And today, average adult Singaporeans like engineer Aziz Ahmad, 42, may think of themselves as leading better lives than their parents did, but at the same time, they and their children’s generation are confronted with a raft of challenges.

Mr Aziz, his father Ahmad Azali, 79, and son Adam, were held up by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the National Day Rally on Sunday (Aug 20)as an example of the importance of building for future generations.

Mr Aziz, whose schooling years coincided with Singapore’s initial recovery from a severe recession, considers his children fortunate to be growing up amid a wealth of educational, enrichment and career options.

Technological advancements have widened their prospects at a young age, said Mr Aziz, who cited how nine-year-old Adam is running his own YouTube channel, which documents video games and the comedy clips he creates.

“He’s obsessed with (YouTube). My wife and I don’t restrict him (from technological devices), but we make sure we’re guiding him to engage in social media in appropriate ways,” said Mr Aziz, who also has an 7-year-old daughter, Sophia.

Young people today are exposed to more options but, as a result, may carry the burden of greater expectations, he added.

“Now, it isn’t just important to do well academically. They need to be world-smart, have street smarts, be able to apply what they’ve learnt beyond test papers in real life,” he said.

Unlike Adam, Mr Aziz was more preoccupied with achieving good results in his schooling years.

His father, the sole breadwinner in a family of four, brought home S$700 a month as a gardener at the former Singapore Broadcasting Corporation, and Mr Aziz was given a leg up from bursary awards and a Mendaki scholarship that paid for the bulk of his Singapore Polytechnic tuition fees.

He opted to study engineering because the industry offered a “fast ticket to employment” at that time, he said.

“I’m able to get this far due to a mixture of seizing the assistance schemes available and putting in my own effort,” said Mr Aziz, who was headhunted by multinational firm GlaxoSmithKline as a senior maintenance engineer.

On the other hand, Adam now dreams of being a space explorer, but “his ambition changes all the time”, said Mr Aziz.

In contrast, Mr Ahmad grew up in a different world, having lost his own father during World War II. “Last time, we were poor, no money ... We wanted to let (the children) study as much as possible,” he said in Malay.

In his speech, Mr Lee said Mr Ahmad, Mr Aziz and Adam reflect Singapore’s journey in the last half a century, where every generation strives and builds for the next, “keeping (its) eye on tomorrow and investing in our children, undaunted by challenges and disruptions”.

Mr Aziz said a “bright future” takes a different form for each generation: “Pitting one generation against another isn’t a good comparison ... Every generation has its own doubts and fears, and each has to seize the opportunities that come to build their lives.”