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9 in 10 comfortable with other races
But percentage of young people who welcome foreigners drops to 66%
By Daryl Chin
WHILE nine out of 10 young people claimed they would be comfortable with a neighbour or colleague from a different race, eight in 10 felt the same about foreigners.
The latter statistic warrants further investigation, said National Youth Council chairman Teo Ser Luck.
Mr Teo, who is also Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), said: 'We have to dig a little bit further... and if we could, to look at what nationalities (are involved).'
Results of the survey were contained in the book Youth.sg: The State Of Youth In Singapore 2010, which was released at *Scape in Somerset yesterday.
The survey polled 1,268 young people aged 15 to 34 as well as 310 parents and caregivers of teens aged 15 to 19.
Mr Teo said the findings do not mean that Singaporeans are uncomfortable around foreigners, but 'nevertheless... we have to investigate a bit further to find out where their concerns lie'.
When polled on whether 'Singapore should encourage people of other nationalities to come to work or study in Singapore', the percentage of those who agreed fell from 70 per cent in 2005 to 66 per cent last year.
The non-resident population has grown from 797,900 in 2005 to 1.2 million last year.
But Professor Ho Kong Chong, vice-dean of research at the National University of Singapore and one of the co-authors of the book, said he was encouraged by these results as they were relatively stable - with the Republic becoming more diverse as new migrants came in.
He said: 'It says something good about us, that we are accepting, not just towards different ethnicities, but also towards other nationalities.'
The younger generation has also remained liberal with its attitudes towards divorce: 37 per cent of those polled in the latest survey felt that a couple should get a divorce if certain circumstances call for it or if there is no mutual love, regardless of whether they have children.
The figure was 38 per cent in 2005.
While he called such attitudes towards divorce 'an inevitable trend of a developed country and society', Mr Teo said he was heartened by attitudes towards marriage itself.
Forty-eight per cent of young people believed one should marry, up from 40 per cent five years ago. However, this latest survey included those aged between 30 and 34, whereas the previous one surveyed those aged 15 to 29.
There were other nuggets of information in the fourth chapter titled Values And Attitudes in the book. For instance, 83 per cent said they would take care of their parents in their later years, compared to 89 per cent in 2002 and 2005.
And inter-racial trust, such as being comfortable with having a neighbour of a different race, is lowest among Chinese at 91.4 per cent. The figures for Malays and Indians were higher at 94.3 per cent and 93.8 per cent respectively.
Ninety-five per cent of those polled also said they were proud to be Singaporean, up from 93 per cent in 2005.
And maintaining strong family relationships, having a successful career and acquiring new skills and knowledge take precedence over getting married and having children.
Young people today are also more vocal in expressing their opinions on matters of public concern compared to five years ago. The number doubled from 24 per cent in 2005.
Online forums, blogs and social networking sites were the most popular platforms for expression, followed by offline methods such as calling on a public official or participating in a walk for a cause.
But young people going online too often can also be worrying, said Mr Teo. Calling it a 'major concern', he said the ministry plans to look further into online and gaming addiction in the days ahead.
[email protected]
DISTURBING DIP
'The dip in the number of youths in leadership roles is disturbing because I'm quite big on youth empowerment in my role as a grassroots volunteer. We need to focus on developing leadership skills in the young so they have what it takes to take charge of organisations in the future.'
Cindy Chng, 21, Nanyang Technological University business student
CONFIDENCE BOOST
'I agree that youths today are happier. We're getting a lot more attention now than before, including facilities like *Scape, where young people can hang out, and more dialogues being organised in schools and grassroots organisations for youths to speak up. We now have more platforms to express ourselves - and it's helped to give us a boost in our confidence.'
Fong Yoong Kheong, 24, fresh graduate from National University of Singapore
QUALITY TIME
'We have to look at the quality of the time spent with our parents too, and not just quantity. My mum and I communicate a lot on Facebook too, and it's not the usual face-to-face interaction but I value the things we talk about online.'
Nadia Samdin, 20, Singapore Management University law student
FOCUSED ON SPORT
'I'm not sure if picking up new skills or knowledge as a life goal will help me, as I'm focused on being a sportsman right now. I won't risk losing focus on my sport to learn something else. Also, I think it's more important to have a fulfilling job than a successful one.'
Syarif Hidayatullah, 22, who plans to enrol in Republic Polytechnic in April
MARRIAGE IS IMPORTANT
'I think marriage is important. Marriage is about love, and when you find someone who cares about you and who you love back, you should get married. But I also agree that divorce is understandable when couples cannot fulfil their marriage vows to each other any more, especially when there is no more love between them.'
James Sua, 19, Singapore Polytechnic student
But percentage of young people who welcome foreigners drops to 66%
By Daryl Chin
WHILE nine out of 10 young people claimed they would be comfortable with a neighbour or colleague from a different race, eight in 10 felt the same about foreigners.
The latter statistic warrants further investigation, said National Youth Council chairman Teo Ser Luck.
Mr Teo, who is also Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), said: 'We have to dig a little bit further... and if we could, to look at what nationalities (are involved).'
Results of the survey were contained in the book Youth.sg: The State Of Youth In Singapore 2010, which was released at *Scape in Somerset yesterday.
The survey polled 1,268 young people aged 15 to 34 as well as 310 parents and caregivers of teens aged 15 to 19.
Mr Teo said the findings do not mean that Singaporeans are uncomfortable around foreigners, but 'nevertheless... we have to investigate a bit further to find out where their concerns lie'.
When polled on whether 'Singapore should encourage people of other nationalities to come to work or study in Singapore', the percentage of those who agreed fell from 70 per cent in 2005 to 66 per cent last year.
The non-resident population has grown from 797,900 in 2005 to 1.2 million last year.
But Professor Ho Kong Chong, vice-dean of research at the National University of Singapore and one of the co-authors of the book, said he was encouraged by these results as they were relatively stable - with the Republic becoming more diverse as new migrants came in.
He said: 'It says something good about us, that we are accepting, not just towards different ethnicities, but also towards other nationalities.'
The younger generation has also remained liberal with its attitudes towards divorce: 37 per cent of those polled in the latest survey felt that a couple should get a divorce if certain circumstances call for it or if there is no mutual love, regardless of whether they have children.
The figure was 38 per cent in 2005.
While he called such attitudes towards divorce 'an inevitable trend of a developed country and society', Mr Teo said he was heartened by attitudes towards marriage itself.
Forty-eight per cent of young people believed one should marry, up from 40 per cent five years ago. However, this latest survey included those aged between 30 and 34, whereas the previous one surveyed those aged 15 to 29.
There were other nuggets of information in the fourth chapter titled Values And Attitudes in the book. For instance, 83 per cent said they would take care of their parents in their later years, compared to 89 per cent in 2002 and 2005.
And inter-racial trust, such as being comfortable with having a neighbour of a different race, is lowest among Chinese at 91.4 per cent. The figures for Malays and Indians were higher at 94.3 per cent and 93.8 per cent respectively.
Ninety-five per cent of those polled also said they were proud to be Singaporean, up from 93 per cent in 2005.
And maintaining strong family relationships, having a successful career and acquiring new skills and knowledge take precedence over getting married and having children.
Young people today are also more vocal in expressing their opinions on matters of public concern compared to five years ago. The number doubled from 24 per cent in 2005.
Online forums, blogs and social networking sites were the most popular platforms for expression, followed by offline methods such as calling on a public official or participating in a walk for a cause.
But young people going online too often can also be worrying, said Mr Teo. Calling it a 'major concern', he said the ministry plans to look further into online and gaming addiction in the days ahead.
[email protected]
DISTURBING DIP
'The dip in the number of youths in leadership roles is disturbing because I'm quite big on youth empowerment in my role as a grassroots volunteer. We need to focus on developing leadership skills in the young so they have what it takes to take charge of organisations in the future.'
Cindy Chng, 21, Nanyang Technological University business student
CONFIDENCE BOOST
'I agree that youths today are happier. We're getting a lot more attention now than before, including facilities like *Scape, where young people can hang out, and more dialogues being organised in schools and grassroots organisations for youths to speak up. We now have more platforms to express ourselves - and it's helped to give us a boost in our confidence.'
Fong Yoong Kheong, 24, fresh graduate from National University of Singapore
QUALITY TIME
'We have to look at the quality of the time spent with our parents too, and not just quantity. My mum and I communicate a lot on Facebook too, and it's not the usual face-to-face interaction but I value the things we talk about online.'
Nadia Samdin, 20, Singapore Management University law student
FOCUSED ON SPORT
'I'm not sure if picking up new skills or knowledge as a life goal will help me, as I'm focused on being a sportsman right now. I won't risk losing focus on my sport to learn something else. Also, I think it's more important to have a fulfilling job than a successful one.'
Syarif Hidayatullah, 22, who plans to enrol in Republic Polytechnic in April
MARRIAGE IS IMPORTANT
'I think marriage is important. Marriage is about love, and when you find someone who cares about you and who you love back, you should get married. But I also agree that divorce is understandable when couples cannot fulfil their marriage vows to each other any more, especially when there is no more love between them.'
James Sua, 19, Singapore Polytechnic student
