- TODAYonline
Youth activists and advocates are looking forward to Government-initiated youth panels as a way to bridge the gap between youths and policymakers. From left: Mr Nor Syazwan Abdul Majid, Ms Kong Man Jing, Ms Dorcas Tang, Mr Dev Bahl and Ms Attiya Ashraf.
Nicole Lam 11 Nov 2023 01:01AM (Updated: 08 Dec 2023 04:16PM) Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Set CNA as your preferred source on Google Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Read a summary of this article on FAST. Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST SINGAPORE — Between juggling her hectic work schedule as a florist and taking care of her two-year-old daughter, Ms Melissa Goh, 35, often finds herself strapped for time. So, participating in any kind of civic discourse is the last thing on her mind.
With getting her daughter fed, bathed, and ready for bed, “there’s not much energy left to do anything, and you just want to focus on getting yourself ready for the next day,” said Ms Goh.
“I don’t think you have much time for yourself till nine or 10 (at night),” she added.
Echoing similar sentiments, Ms Rebekka Lim, a 17-year-old social work student at Nanyang Polytechnic, said that her demanding course load and time-consuming assignments do not allow her to “commit confidently” to any kind of participation on matters of public concern.
CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Her assignments — on top of the usual lessons and lectures — usually require long hours of fieldwork spanning weeks.
“You don’t know how long it will take for you to finish the work. So you can’t plan very effectively. It’s hard to make commitments,” said the first-year Nanyang Polytechnic student.
For 25-year-old Daniel Loke, his career in the aviation industry takes precedence over everything else.
“I’m more worried about my career before these political things,” he said, noting that Singapore is politically stable and there is no “pressing need” for him to get involved.
“Of course, there are some things that bother me, such as the GST (Goods and Services Tax) hike and stuff like that, but in general, things are quite well taken care of,” he said.
Besides not having the time, another reason Mr Loke is not participating in civic discourse is the fear of being “cancelled”, which might affect his job prospects.
He explained that having a comment online that offers a different opinion might be blown out of proportion and go viral for the wrong reasons. “It can cause many issues for your career and reputation.”
Still, youths such as Mr Loke and Rebekka told TODAY they want to be involved if they have the time and chance, but they are not stepping forward now because of the reasons they cited.
Mr Loke in fact thinks it is “very meaningful” to participate in civic matters and is "really happy to learn more".
He had noticed how the elderly often have difficulty getting to medical appointments and would want to look into volunteering to take them to see their doctors but cannot find the time to do so.
“It’s more of a time constraint rather than not being interested," he said.
Similarly, Rebekka says her uninvolvement is not due to "a lack of interest", but not knowing how to contribute given the little free time she has.
She added that she would like to participate in some of the programmes offered by the NYC but was "very worried" whether she can finish her school assignments on time.
