PM Lee: Nation's success must be measured by values too

He hopes more will give back to build a more gracious society

By Goh Chin Lian, The Straits Times, 10 Nov 2012

SUCCESS is not just about economic growth but growth in values such as compassion and empathy, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said last night.

He also spoke of how many people had shared with him their hope for a more gracious, big-hearted Singapore at a dinner last night to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Singapore Children's Society (SCS).

"We can't just measure our success by GDP growth, important as this is, but also by the growth of our values: compassion, empathy, altruism, love for our fellow citizens," he said.

That has been a theme of Mr Lee's recent speeches, including the National Day Rally in August when he dwelt on how Singapore can become a home with heart.

Participants in the ongoing national conversation on the country's future have also spoken at length about values.

Mr Lee hopes more Singaporeans will do their part to help bring about a more gracious society by giving back.

"I hope more Singaporeans will step forward to contribute in big ways and small, because this is the way Singapore can remain our home with a heart," he said.

The Prime Minister struck an optimistic note, observing that Singaporeans donated at least $900 million last year in support of good causes, the highest level in at least a decade. More people are also volunteering with a greater passion and awareness of social causes, he said.

He held up the SCS as an example of a "vibrant civic society" whose members have taken it upon themselves to address issues they feel strongly about, rather than wait on the Government.

The society was set up by 13 Singaporeans in 1952 to care for sick, malnourished or neglected children.

Today, it runs service centres which provide safe havens for children, and caregiving services for those who are neglected by their parents.

Its 58 programmes reached 68,000 children, youth and their families last year, SCS chairman Koh Choon Hui said.

Observing that Singapore is the better for having the SCS and other voluntary welfare organisations like it, Mr Lee said: "It's easy to express what we would like to see and to expect others to do the hard work, especially the Government. It's harder to make the effort to study the problems, to understand the issues, and to develop considered proposals.

"It's most difficult to bestir ourselves, sacrifice our own time and energies, roll up our sleeves and do the heavy lifting day after day, organising, fund-raising, volunteering, and doing things which make a real difference to the lives of others."

The Government will always do its part to help the less fortunate, he added, but it could not - and should not - do everything.

"It's too impersonal. It can be bureaucratic, and help then becomes a matter of social administration, not of care and compassion.

"And eventually this fosters an entitlement mentality, instead of a sense of mutual obligation and gratitude between the helpers and the helped," he said.

SCS volunteer Sosamma Verghese, who is in her late 80s, has been helping for more than 50 years. She said what keeps her going is her love for children and the camaraderie among volunteers and staff.

Fellow volunteer Brendon Yeo, 38, is happy that his skills as a corporate adviser help the society raise funds.