<TABLE id=msgUN border=0 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Shanmugam: We must welcome FTs !</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
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</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>12:16 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 23) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>16486.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD>July 6, 2009
DIALOGUE WITH PUNGGOL CENTRAL RESIDENTS
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : start --></TD></TR><TR><TD>No magic wand to integration: Minister
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>It needs 3 parties: New residents and S'poreans to bond, and Govt to provide framework </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Sue-Ann Chia , SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
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On his visit to Punggol Central on Sunday, Mr Shanmugam encouraged both Singaporeans and new residents to mingle and get to know one another. -- PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->HOW to get new immigrants integrated into Singapore society?
Law Minister K. Shanmugam, who is also Second Home Affairs Minister, said yesterday the Government cannot be the 'total solution' to this.
Rather, the tricky problem takes three parties to solve - Singaporeans, who have to be welcoming; new immigrants, who have to adapt to a new culture; and the Government, which has to provide a framework for people to bond.
Mr Shanmugam stressed this three-way partnership at an hour-long dialogue with Punggol Central residents, in response to a question from a resident who wanted to know what can be done to integrate the growing pool of new immigrants here.
Last year, 20,513 foreigners became Singapore citizens, while 79,167 took up permanent residency.
It is the people themselves - Singaporeans and new residents - who have to mingle and forge friendships with one another, said Mr Shanmugam.
Singaporeans, he said, should welcome 'newer residents with an open heart and help them integrate, bring them in'.
This is already taking place in housing estates, he noted.
He met many new residents during his four-hour visit to the constituency yesterday morning.
He was welcomed by a group of Filipinos who put up a dance performance. He was entertained by children many of whose parents came from China or India. He also watched a game of cricket played by a team hailing mostly from India.
All live in the Punggol Central area.
Mr Charles Chong, an MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, had last month estimated that up to 10 per cent of the residents in some blocks could be permanent residents or new citizens.
Noting how Singaporeans and new residents have come together to be involved in the programme for his ministerial visit, Mr Shanmugam added: 'That is a way integration takes place, at the ground level.'
As for new settlers, his advice was that they should 'take the attitude that they want to integrate'.
'If they don't want to integrate, it will be very difficult,' he said.
He added: 'When we approve PRs, we look for people who can integrate, and can add value. We want to bring in people who will create more jobs...help the economy and all of us.'
The Government, on its part, will also find ways to help people interact, such as by setting up business organisations and social networks, he added.
The National Integration Council was set up earlier this year, headed by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports.
Mr Shanmugam, who is part of the council, noted that there is no such thing as instant integration. 'You can't just wave a magic wand and say, 'okay, integration'. It takes many years,' he said.
In reply to another question, the minister also gave his assessment of the Speak Tamil Campaign, noting that its success depends on whether Indians want to continue speaking the language.
While it is taught in schools, parents too have a role to play to keep the language alive by speaking Tamil at home so that the next generation will use it, he said.
Asked why the Government also 'encourages' the speaking of Indian dialects here, he said it was not that the Government encourages it, but that the Government is hard put to stop new immigrants from India from practising their culture.
Noting that many are top talent whom Singapore cannot afford to turn away, he said: 'Can we tell them they can't speak their language? It's their birthright. There must be tolerance.'
[email protected]
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
DIALOGUE WITH PUNGGOL CENTRAL RESIDENTS
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : start --></TD></TR><TR><TD>No magic wand to integration: Minister
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>It needs 3 parties: New residents and S'poreans to bond, and Govt to provide framework </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Sue-Ann Chia , SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
On his visit to Punggol Central on Sunday, Mr Shanmugam encouraged both Singaporeans and new residents to mingle and get to know one another. -- PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->HOW to get new immigrants integrated into Singapore society?
Law Minister K. Shanmugam, who is also Second Home Affairs Minister, said yesterday the Government cannot be the 'total solution' to this.
Rather, the tricky problem takes three parties to solve - Singaporeans, who have to be welcoming; new immigrants, who have to adapt to a new culture; and the Government, which has to provide a framework for people to bond.
Mr Shanmugam stressed this three-way partnership at an hour-long dialogue with Punggol Central residents, in response to a question from a resident who wanted to know what can be done to integrate the growing pool of new immigrants here.
Last year, 20,513 foreigners became Singapore citizens, while 79,167 took up permanent residency.
It is the people themselves - Singaporeans and new residents - who have to mingle and forge friendships with one another, said Mr Shanmugam.
Singaporeans, he said, should welcome 'newer residents with an open heart and help them integrate, bring them in'.
This is already taking place in housing estates, he noted.
He met many new residents during his four-hour visit to the constituency yesterday morning.
He was welcomed by a group of Filipinos who put up a dance performance. He was entertained by children many of whose parents came from China or India. He also watched a game of cricket played by a team hailing mostly from India.
All live in the Punggol Central area.
Mr Charles Chong, an MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, had last month estimated that up to 10 per cent of the residents in some blocks could be permanent residents or new citizens.
Noting how Singaporeans and new residents have come together to be involved in the programme for his ministerial visit, Mr Shanmugam added: 'That is a way integration takes place, at the ground level.'
As for new settlers, his advice was that they should 'take the attitude that they want to integrate'.
'If they don't want to integrate, it will be very difficult,' he said.
He added: 'When we approve PRs, we look for people who can integrate, and can add value. We want to bring in people who will create more jobs...help the economy and all of us.'
The Government, on its part, will also find ways to help people interact, such as by setting up business organisations and social networks, he added.
The National Integration Council was set up earlier this year, headed by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports.
Mr Shanmugam, who is part of the council, noted that there is no such thing as instant integration. 'You can't just wave a magic wand and say, 'okay, integration'. It takes many years,' he said.
In reply to another question, the minister also gave his assessment of the Speak Tamil Campaign, noting that its success depends on whether Indians want to continue speaking the language.
While it is taught in schools, parents too have a role to play to keep the language alive by speaking Tamil at home so that the next generation will use it, he said.
Asked why the Government also 'encourages' the speaking of Indian dialects here, he said it was not that the Government encourages it, but that the Government is hard put to stop new immigrants from India from practising their culture.
Noting that many are top talent whom Singapore cannot afford to turn away, he said: 'Can we tell them they can't speak their language? It's their birthright. There must be tolerance.'
[email protected]
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