Singapore Heartware

Singapore Heartware is actually a video on Singaporeans going overseas to study and eventually, settling there. Since this is happening, it becomes very important to bind them to Singapore so that they will still have a sense of belonging.

Our Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Long, said that one reason why the new generation does not really have a sense of belonging to Singapore is partly because they do not understand the core part of the Singapore story. If they know that Foreign Minister S. Rajaratnam was the one to write the pledge or Mr. Lim Kim San was the reason why we all have homes in HDB flats, they would then feel and when they feel, then they will belong.

I do agree with him, however, not completely. This is because one might understand the core part of the Singapore story but still have no sense of belonging to Singapore. There are also other reasons why people go overseas to study and eventually settle there, for instance, my eldest sister. My sister was working in SIA for 5 years before she got retrenched. After her retrenchment, she started searching for jobs, but most of them wanted Chinese-speaking.

Consequently, she decided to study and work overseas. Now she is studying a course, BTEC Higher National Diploma (HND) in Advanced Practice in Work with Children and Families, and working part-time in Birmingham, England. If she decides to stay on and work there after her studies, she would be earning more there than she would have, in Singapore.

My point is not everyone in Singapore can get jobs or continue their education here. This may influence them to go overseas. Furthermore, some of these people do not come back here because they might like the lifestyle there, get paid more or have more job opportunities.

Anyways, I believe that it is alright to go aboard to study and settle there. However, one must never forget that Singapore is their homeland.