SINGAPORE: A memorial for Singapore's founding generation of leaders should focus on the values and ideals that shaped the nation, and inspire a next generation.
This is according to the steering committee tasked to gather views and conceptualise the memorial. It was announced in April by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and on Tuesday (Jun 30), the 15-member committee met for the first time.
The death of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew unified Singapore and stirred an interest in its nation-building years and of the leaders who contributed during that time.
And for the committee gathering views on how to honour their legacy, the focus is on conceptualising the values they exemplified.
Ms Kuik Shiao-Yin, a Nominated Member of Parliament and co-founder of The Thought Collective, said: "It mattered to a lot of us that the memorial would be forward-looking, future-oriented and not just grounded in the past. I think we all had the conviction that it should not be about 'the best story is over' but rather 'the best story is yet to come', and it is going to be built on the backs of more than just a few good people but actually all of us."
The memorial must also be something that can work for Singapore.
Mr Lee Tzu Yang, chairman of the Founders’ Memorial Steering Committee, elaborated: “It must be grounded in reality so we cannot come up with a concept that cannot be executed in Singapore. But within this concept, we need to think of things like is it indoors, is it outdoors or a combination of both?
“Do we think it is desirable to be near water? What is the accessibility aspect? Should we put in the concept the educational aspects, the museum aspects or should we find a way to link with the other museums and the wider heritage environment. Should there be an online element?"
The committee's members are from diverse backgrounds, from academia and non-Government organisations, to professionals. And over the next 18 months, the aim is to cast the net wide, by engaging the public and their peers.
For a start, Mr Lee said the committee will conduct focus group discussions to design the right questions for stakeholders. And to reach a wider section of society, a website is expected to be ready in the next two months.
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