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Looking Back - Political Milestones Leading to the Birth of the Republic
Making Friends and Defending Our Sovereignty
The Story of an Economic Miracle
Caring for the Nation
Living Together in Harmony |
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LIVING TOGETHER IN HARMONY
Racial harmony, one of the mainstays of Singapore's cultural and social fabric, came under threat during the 1950s and 1960s race riots. Mindful of the delicate balance necessary to maintain a multi-racial and multi-cultural society, Minister for Education, Ong Pang Boon; Minister for National Development, Lim Kim San and subsequently E W Barker; Minister for Culture, Jek Yeun Thong; and Minister for Social Affairs, Othman Wok worked to foster social bonds and a sense of nationhood through education policies, public housing plans, and cultural and sporting activities.
Source: MICA
Students performing at the 1966 National Day Parade. The daily flag-raising and pledge recitation ceremony in schools, together with nation-wide sports and cultural events such as the Pesta Sukan (Festival of Sports), National Day Parade and Festival of Music and Dance (renamed Singapore Youth Festival) brought out a sense of national pride and cultural appreciation for the traditions of each ethnic group. Compulsory study of a second language in secondary schools and integration of former language-streamed schools from 1966 also brought students from different ethnic backgrounds together.
Source: MICA
Flats in the 1960s and 70s were allocated through a ballot system. Lots were drawn simultaneously from two boxes, one containing the house numbers and the other the applicants’ registration numbers. The results were then announced and written on chalkboards. The relocation of families from squatters and slums to public housing flats brought different races together as neighbours in the same housing estate
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Source: MICA
Toa Payoh was the first satellite town built after Independence. It received many visits from foreign dignitaries, including Queen Elizabeth II, who visited the estate twice in 1972 and 2006. It was also the location of the 7th Southeast Asian Peninsula (SEAP) Games Village in 1973. Today, it is perhaps significant that HDB has located its headquarters, HDB Hub, in Toa Payoh.
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HDB plays an important role in fostering social bonding through careful planning in developing self-contained satellite towns – neighbourhoods which incorporated social amenities such as playgrounds, markets, clinics, sports complexes, libraries, hawker centres, cinemas, shopping centres, common corridors and void decks within each estate. This principle has remained unchanged to this day, with more hubs being developed in the heartlands.
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