Singapore Government Press Release

Media Division, Ministry of Information and The Arts,

36th Storey, PSA Building, 460 Alexandra Road, Singapore 119963.

Tel: 3757794/5

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SPEECH BY PRIME MINISTER GOH CHOK TONG AT THE LAUNCH OF THE SINGAPORE KINDNESS WEEK AT 9.50 AM ON SUNDAY, 8 NOVEMBER 1998 AT THE ISTANA

 

In my 1996 New Year’s Day Message, I suggested that Singapore should aim to become a gracious society. I called on Singaporeans "to complement our economic achievements with social, cultural and spiritual development". In response to the call, some Singaporeans got together to start the Singapore Kindness Movement or SKM. They subsequently approached me to be its Patron. I agreed because I felt that SKM is a wonderful idea that deserves our wholehearted support.

In forming SKM, Singapore has joined a small but growing list of countries that has a civic movement wholly devoted to encouraging people to be kind. Japan’s "Small Kindness Movement", started in 1963, now has 2.3 million individual members and more than 12,000 participating organisations. The movement’s main message is that acts of kindness, no matter how small, make life more pleasant for everyone.

In the United States, the seed of a movement to promote "random acts of kindness" was sowed during the 1991 Gulf War, amidst pessimism over the growing violence in the world. A group of people got together at a publishing house one evening to recount their individual experiences with kindness. These stories were combined with others collected from around the country in a book aptly titled "Random Acts of Kindness". Published in 1993, the book was a huge success. Thousands of people read it and embraced the concept. Thus was born the Random Acts of Kindness Movement. It grew quickly. In just 5 years, the movement has recruited millions to its cause in the US, and even in parts of Canada, UK and Australia.

In Singapore, SKM has made good progress over the past two years in spreading its message. For example, some 80,000 Secondary 1 and 2 pupils are currently involved in a SKM award programme aimed at helping them absorb and spread the spirit of kindness. Each pupil keeps a diary and records the simple acts of kindness that he has performed.

I am happy that SKM has decided to designate a week every year as the Singapore Kindness Week. This does not mean that we should practise kindness only in this week. It is to remind and encourage us to make the lives of others more pleasant through little acts of kindness throughout the year.

Today’s launch of the first Singapore Kindness Week has taken added significance because of the current difficult economic climate. Economic downturns could have a negative impact on social behaviour. When the economic pie shrinks, some people tend to look after themselves only as they compete for jobs or struggle to keep their businesses alive. Yet, it is precisely during such difficult times that kindness and consideration are needed. More than ever, we need such virtues to maintain balance and harmony in our society. It is in these trying times that our character as a people is put to the test.

Thoughtful acts of kindness make us a better people. If we look closely around us, we will see that many kind acts are already being performed – at work, at play, in schools and at social meetings. They go unreported and even unnoticed. Examples include offering a pregnant lady your seat in the train, holding the lift door open for others, consoling a child, tending the sick, or simply saying a few kind words to brighten up family members, friends and colleagues.

I myself have experienced acts of kindness both abroad and in Singapore:

Such kind acts do not require great sacrifice of time or money. They can be done by anyone regardless of his station in life. However, we need people to do more of such kind deeds, regularly, in the course of their daily lives. Kind deeds do not just benefit those being helped. They have a positive impact on the helper himself. There is a sense of well-being in being kind to others.

But we can do more than just being kind ourselves. We must inculcate such virtues in our young so that they become an integral part of their lives. In this regard, I note that SKM has correctly focused its initial efforts on conveying the value of kindness and consideration to the young, even the kindergarten children. Kind children grow into kind adults. It is therefore important that parents, teachers and adults set the example. The results may not be immediately evident but the efforts will eventually blossom.

Over the past two years, the SKM Council has worked hard to put SKM on a sound footing in Singapore. For the next stage of SKM development, our challenge is to make SKM a truly civic movement. This means broadening the support base for our message of kindness and consideration and getting Singaporeans of all walks of life to embrace and practise it regularly. We will have to generate the enthusiasm and momentum necessary for SKM to evolve into a mass movement with a strong spirit and a life of its own. Our success will improve the quality of our society.

We can learn much from the experience of other countries. For example, both the Japanese and American kindness movements have grown by riding on the existing social infrastructure. They make use of what is already there, rather than go about creating new institutions and channels. This is something worth emulating, especially given the limited resources and competing demands in Singapore. The Americans have also successfully spread the idea through the schools and by making extensive use of the mass media to highlight local kindness crusaders and celebrate their deeds. In schools, a "Kindness is Contagious, Catch it" programme is used to help children learn kindness through creative and appealing project work. SKM should work closely with our schools to make the learning of kindness fun and yet effective. By giving prominent coverage to SKM and acts of kindness, our mass media can help bring about a culture of kindness and consideration in Singapore.

Let me end with two quotes which encapsulate my message today. The first is from ancient Rome, by philosopher and statesman Seneca. He noted that "Whenever there is a human being there is a chance for kindness." The other is from Confucius. He said, "He who wishes to secure the good of others has already secured his own."

It is now my pleasure to launch the Singapore Kindness Week 1998 and the SKM mascot, "Blu the Dolphin".

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