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Time to revise Singapore pledge to include well-being as aspiration

It will soon be time for Singaporeans to celebrate National Day once again as “one united people, regardless of race, language or religion”.

Performers reciting the pledge at the National Day Parade in 2018.

Performers reciting the pledge at the National Day Parade in 2018.

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Joachim Sim Khim Huang

It will soon be time for Singaporeans to celebrate National Day once again as “one united people, regardless of race, language or religion”.

This year, we mark the 55th anniversary of nation-building.

Singaporeans have been reciting the National Pledge in school since August 1966, a year after independence. It has also been recited at National Day commemoration ceremonies across the nation each year.

The idea for a national pledge was mooted in 1965, after Singapore became a republic on Aug 9 that year, to “inculcate national consciousness and patriotism in schools”. The pledge, said the late Cabinet minister S Rajaratnam, emerged against the backdrop of a vital struggle to forge a sense of nationhood.

The pledge has remained unchanged and relevant to Singapore and Singaporeans since 1966, but not before the Covid-19 outbreak in January threatened to destroy everything that we hold dear.

Covid-19’s impact on lives and livelihoods here and around the world has been disruptive and unprecedented. It will be a long-drawn fight against the coronavirus.

The pandemic has painfully reminded us of the importance of our physical, emotional, social, vocational and financial well-being, which can turn for the worse suddenly and unexpectedly.

With the coronavirus threat still evolving as we try to overcome it, it may be timely to include Singaporeans’ well-being as a desired outcome in our pledge when we mark the nation’s 55th birthday on Aug 9. 

For years, we have been pledging “to build a democratic society based on justice and equality so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation”. 

Happiness is an intrinsic part of our emotional well-being. It may be more meaningful now to state “well-being” as a larger and more relevant objective, in place of “happiness”, in our pledge.

It is said that a bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless we fail to make the right turn. As it turns out, life during Covid-19 is about making the right choice at every turning point during the long road to recovery.

As Singapore turns 55 this year, it would be a good time to renew our pledge with a newfound sense of reality as we look forward to the future with unity, resilience and hope as a nation.

Have views on this issue or a news topic you care about? Send your letter to voices [at] mediacorp.com.sg with your full name, address and phone number.

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