Singapore Government Press Release
Media Division, Ministry of Information and The Arts,
MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2^nd Storey, Singapore 179369
Tel: 837-9666

Minister for Information and the Arts, Mr Lee Yock Suan

Excellencies

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

My wife and I are happy to be here to join you in this evening’s launch of the Heritage Festival. This is the first time that such an attempt is being made on such a bold and ambitious scale. I am glad to see that the organizers have plunged into this with much creativity and enthusiasm.

Heritage is many different things to many people. We can debate about the conservation of our historical and built heritage; about the arts and the cultural traditions we inherit and how they should be preserved. For many of us, heritage is simply about recollections of the "Good Old Days" – whether it be the ringing calls of the kacang puteh man, or the "tuk tuk" itinerant hawkers and their mouth-watering delights, or games like the capteh or gasing. We all remember the intimate ways we celebrated our festivals. We laugh heartily to our own brand of humour. We feel a pulse on certain issues unique to each generation. It is almost like identifying a ‘Singaporean way of life’. Ultimately, it is about what makes Singapore a place that we have a special feeling for, and a place that we call our home. It is about the Singapore Story – it is about who we and our ancestors are, and why we are who we are today.

The Singapore Story is like a "fruit and nut" loaf. We can only discover the richness by slicing the loaf. But although each slice is unique and different, they are part of a single loaf. The Singapore Story is likewise not simply one story but a collection of intertwining and intersecting stories. Each story is like a slice from this rich and wonderful loaf that makes up the Singapore Story. There are many fascinating nuggets of our past buried in this loaf, waiting to be uncovered. As we recall these stories, it will dawn on us that it is indeed a larger, richer and complex story – a story that we not only retell to reminisce, but also to remind ourselves and our children of the road that we have all travelled together as one nation.

This is what the Heritage Festival seeks to do – it encourages us to "Seek the Past, Explore the Present to Discover the Future". This we do by re-telling our stories and re-creating the experiences through the re-enactment of our past. What this Festival aims to do is to make us more conscious that there is so much of our history that can still be seen, and felt, in places and buildings, art forms, customs and traditions, food, games and sports.

This past must be part of our present and our future. Heritage is not just about uncovering fascinating nuggets of our past, with relevance for historians and social geographers; nor is it about nostalgia and longing for bygone days and things, of relevance only for traditionalists. In the midst of rapid changes that the world is undergoing, our heritage becomes that critical anchor for our sense of rootedness. Heritage is like the dough in the bread, holding together the Singapore Story. Such a sense of shared heritage fosters stronger relationships among Singaporeans and our ties to the nation.

More importantly, this sense of shared heritage will hopefully shape our values and the way we perceive things. Many of our multi-cultural customs and traditions convey meaningful values of deference, respect and honour for familial ties, loyalty to kin, community and country, and other important values which will guide us as individuals and as families. We must pass on the essence of our cultural DNA to our future generations, to guide their ideals and aspirations. Our hope must be that we will not only have a Singapore Story that tells of our common past, but we will also, as one nation, share in a Singapore Dream of our future together. To return to our bread metaphor, our dough must have the yeast to rise, and likewise, our Singapore Story must have the Singapore Dream to rise to new heights.

This year’s Festival has, as its theme, "Exploring Heritage and Memory". A plethora of thrilling activities have been organised throughout the island. The organisers have put in much effort to enable Singaporeans to sample our past heritage. I hope all who join in this Festival will be impressed with the diversity and creativity of the programmes and how they seek to revitalise your notions of what "heritage" is.

This Festival is also an attempt to make our heritage a living tradition. It calls for all in our community – the private and public sectors – to play an active part in preserving and disseminating our cultural and historical heritage. It also serves to support the community in its desire to study, preserve, practise and live our heritage. For this effort to succeed, it calls for support from all – through generous funding of the programmes, and the active participation of many organisations and individuals. I would particularly like to make a special call on corporations to help in this endeavour. They could, for instance, do so by coming forward to help fund the many heritage education programmes presented by the NHB and other heritage organisations.

In conclusion, I would like to congratulate the National Heritage Board on its proactive approach to involve various other partners in this Festival, and to make this a national project, owned by everyone. It helps reinforce the idea that heritage awareness and preservation is everyone’s business and not confined just to a small group of passionate men and women. I would also like to thank and congratulate all the other partners in this Festival for collaborating and actively supporting the National Heritage Board in its effort to make this a memorable and successful Heritage Festival.

It is with much pleasure that I now declare open the Heritage Festival.

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