SINGAPORE, May 10 — Young people in Singapore have it better today as they enjoy advantages and opportunities which “never existed in my generation”, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
“My starting point is, as an old man, I envy the young men and women,” said Lee in an interview with Singapore media around three weeks before his May 15 handover of the premiership to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
He added: “We have built Singapore, we have built the education system, we have educated you, we have given you perspectives on the world and opportunities to travel.”
With nearly half of youths here having attended autonomous universities compared with the 3 or 4 per cent that did so during his youth, Lee said “practically everybody” who attended university today has an externship and overseas attachment during their course of study.
An externship is a short-term work experience in a company and is similar to an internship.
Looking back at his political career that spanned four decades, Lee gave two separate interviews in English and Mandarin at the Istana on April 26 and 28 respectively.
He fielded questions on various topics ranging from political engagement among youths, the Singapore identity, and the opposition’s impact in Parliament, among others.
Responding to a question about how young people can have the confidence that they are actually doing better than previous generations, Lee said the present generation’s exposure to technology at a younger age has opened up job possibilities that his own generation never heard of.
“E-sports trainer — you can make a living! You are sitting there playing with your fingers and mouse, in a super special chair with a big screen, and you can make a living,” said Lee. “So, is that a worse life than the previous generation? I do not think so.”
He then said: “I would feel very disappointed that a young person was pessimistic about his opportunities in life and wished he had been born earlier. I wish I had been born later.”
Youths at higher starting point than previous generations
When it comes to upgrading and progressing in life, Lee said it is important for youths of today to understand that they are at a higher starting point than the previous generations.
Previous generations underwent rapid progression as they went from “third world to first”, which was an “exhilarating journey” that saw many become very successful, said Lee.
For example, Singaporeans in the past might have started their home ownership journey with a three-room flat, later upgrading to an executive apartment or private home.
In contrast, Lee said that today’s youths might start with a four-room or five-room flat, and in some cases a condominium.
“You are not starting at the same very low level, but you are starting at a higher level and a higher quality of accommodation as well as life,” said Lee.
“Can you bring it higher? Answer is yes. It will not improve as fast as before, but you came very fast from here to here and you are not going back down.”
Lee said that while upgrading may be slower now for young people, if they continue to “work at it”, it is possible to continue moving upwards.
Responding to a question about how the government can convince young people to look beyond financial and material gains, Lee said young people must consider the “quality of living” too, and not just the type of property they live in.
Lee said that rental flats of yesteryear would house between five and 10 people, something that is uncommon today.
While it might be more difficult for youths to upgrade from public housing to private property today, Lee said the surrounding amenities promise a high quality of life no matter which home they stay in.
“In terms of the quality of the life in your home — the amenities, the connections, the social environment in the neighbourhood which we have built up — I think you can have a very high quality of life in Singapore, and comparable to, if not better than nearly every other major city in the world,” said Lee.
He noted that the only thing Singapore perhaps lacks compared to other major cities is having space for people to “decompress”, such as how those working in Manhattan in New York can travel upstate to destress.
“There is no upstate Singapore, because all of Singapore is pretty developed. But our neighbouring countries are not very far away. Many Singaporeans travel — that is why there are long traffic jams on the weekend on the Causeway.” he said.
To this end, he said the upcoming RTS Link between Singapore and Johor Baru will “make things better”.
‘Wokeness’ can have negative effects
Responding to another question on how outside influences affect youths, such as the “wokeness” movement, Lee said that when “a new fad sweeps the world”, Singaporeans should look at it cautiously before deciding whether it is a wise cause to take up.
A concept originating from western societies, “wokeness” refers to the state of being aware, especially of social problems such as racism and inequality.
Lee said this movement leads to “very extreme attitudes and social norms” that have a negative knock-on effect, especially in some academic institutions and universities.
“You are super sensitive about other people that you become super sensitive about other people’s issues, and you become hypersensitive when other people somehow or other say things or mention things or refer to you, without the respect which you or your super subgroup feel you are entitled to.”
He mentioned concepts such as creating safe environments, respecting preferred pronouns, and giving warnings before potentially offensive remarks.
“I do not think we want to go in that direction,” said Lee.
“It does not make us a more resilient, cohesive society with a strong sense of solidarity. We must be more robust.”
Getting youths interested in politics
Lee said that while social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are one way of getting youths interested in politics, they cannot convey the essence of being Singaporean.
But social media is effective during a crisis as younger generations would “pay attention”, he said.
He cited how, during Covid-19, his posts across platforms were well followed because people were anxious and wanted to know what was happening.
“If I had something new to tell them or to update them, they wanted to know,” said Lee.
Lee noted that it was the same during major world events such as Israel’s war on Gaza or the Ukraine war when news consumption also increased.
“Hopefully, people read all these and do not just treat it as entertainment,” said Lee.
Lee hopes that when young people consume the news, they will also contemplate what it means to be Singaporean.
He said that Singapore has been trying to instil this sentiment across various platforms such as schools, National Service, and National Day.
This may be “a lot of work”, but they are important tasks, he said.
“It is an opportunity for people to take pride in the country, these things mean something, and we need to do more of them.”
When asked about getting young people interested to join politics, Lee said those who are idealistic and want to make a contribution should “seriously consider” doing so.
But he acknowledged that it is harder nowadays to decide to stand as a candidate in elections, as those who enter public life often lose their privacy in the process.
Candidates are also often subject to online vitriol, which can sometimes be “very vicious”, said Lee.
“If all your weekends are spent in the constituency, when are you going to take your kid to the zoo?” he asked.
Lee added that even if young people were willing to give up their privacy and family time for public life, their families might not feel the same.
“The families say, ‘Why do I want to put myself and my kids through this? Even if you are willing to sacrifice, you must think about us.’ So that is a real problem,” said Lee. — TODAY
