Whose generation is luckier, yours or your dad's?
JULY 29, 2004
Q: Whose generation is luckier, yours or your dad's?
Drawing on his own experience, Acting Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan asked this of more than 700 students who attended the Mayor's Lecture Series 2004 yesterday at the Anglo Chinese School (Barker Road). But instead of an answer, he threw them this challenge: Make your own luck.
EIGHTY years ago, Mr Khaw Boon Wan's father sailed from a village near Xiamen in southern China to Singapore, in search of a better life.
The family endured the Japanese Occupation. Then, in the 1950s and 1960s, they lived through the struggle against communism and communal violence. That generation lived through the horrors of war, and knew starvation and poverty. Still, many worked hard to give their children a better life.
In contrast, Mr Khaw, 52, had an easier time. He and his siblings never went through war, although they experienced bloody racial riots.
'We were born poor, but we saw our standard of living rising with each passing year. My generation graduated from Third World to near First World. Relative to my parents' generation, what can we complain about?'
His conclusion: His generation was luckier than his parents'.
But what of the next generation? Here, the Acting Health Minister reckons it all depends on what they make of their opportunities, since people create their own luck.
There were many things going for the young generation today, he told over 700 students who attended the Mayor's Lecture Series 2004 yesterday at The Arts Centre, Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road).
First, young Singaporeans were competing in the global arena. This made competition more stressful, but the rewards were also greater.
'If I may use a soccer analogy, we were then merely competing in the Malaysia Cup; you are now in the World Cup. Yours is more competitive but the trophy you win is much more prestigious than we could ever hope to get.'
Second, young Singaporeans were well-equipped with the education and skills to do well in the global race.
They were more fortunate than a young girl he met in Lijiang, China, who worked as a housekeeper in a villa. She had competed against many others for the job, so was hard-working and enthusiastic. At the same time, she studied at night to have a second chance to sit for the university entrance examination.
His point: There were millions of young people with the hunger and ability to make a better life for themselves, in China, India and other countries.
Young Singaporeans, too, had to be passionate about making a better life for themselves.
But even as they sought material success, they had to make sure their values remained sound.
Here, Mr Khaw saw some cause for optimism. He had visited an orphanage in Lijiang, and met a Singaporean girl there who was spending a year before university volunteering at the
orphanage.
He also referred to this year's Commonwealth Essay Competition's prize-winning piece by student Amanda Chong, about a single mother who endured hardships to raise her daughter - only to be left in an old folk's home when she aged.
Said Mr Khaw: 'The young lady got material success, but along the way, forgot her roots and lost her soul.'
He recalled a story from Greek mythology: 'Odysseus was a handsome mortal devoted to his wife. But he was tempted with immortality by Goddess Calypso in return for his love. He turned the Goddess down, so that he could simply grow old and die with his mortal wife, Penelope.
'The moral of these stories is that while it is natural to strive for a better future, we must not
lose touch of our common roots.'
In the past, he said, life was tough, 'but we forged a strong sense of group solidarity, loyalty to extended families and social cohesion'.
In the end, whether today's young proved luckier than past generations would depend only on themselves.
'Do you have the drive, the courage to dream dreams and the passion to realise them?
'Do you have the wisdom to make use of the advantages given to you by your parents, to sink even deeper roots, and add to humanity and make this world an even better place?'
Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
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