{"id":10144,"date":"2025-11-09T15:03:41","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T07:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=10144"},"modified":"2025-11-09T15:03:41","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T07:03:41","slug":"pap-activists-stress-need-for-inclusive-progress-at-2025-party-convention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=10144","title":{"rendered":"PAP activists stress need for inclusive progress at 2025 party convention"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

SINGAPORE – The PAP is a broad tent that brings together people from different races and religions with the common purpose of serving all Singaporeans. <\/p>\n

For as long that remains true and people keep faith with one another, Singapore will not only endure but be an inspiration, said party activist and lawyer Ahmad Firdaus Daud.<\/p>\n

He was among the four activists who spoke on how the PAP and Singaporeans can shape a more inclusive and selfless society at the party convention on Nov 9. <\/p>\n

More than 1,800 PAP activists attended the gathering at the Singapore Expo, where they were addressed by PAP secretary-general and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, as well as party chairman and Education Minister Desmond Lee.<\/p>\n

Drawing on the Malay words \u2018kami\u2019 and \u2018kita\u2019 – both words for \u2018we\u2019 – Mr Ahmad Firdaus noted that while \u2018kami\u2019 excludes the listener and distinguishes between us and them, \u2018kita\u2019 is an inclusive \u2018we\u2019 that embraces everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving that \u2018kita\u2019 spirit doesn\u2019t mean ignoring our differences – it means embracing one another fully, even, and perhaps especially, our religious identities.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that while the city-state provides equal space for all Singaporeans, regardless of race and religion, people often avoid speaking of religion in public because they know how sensitive the topic can be.<\/p>\n

Yet, Singaporeans cannot be blind to the dangers – such as of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism – when religion enters public conversation. Such dangers are precisely why society has to seek a deeper unity to anchor itself in uncertain times, he added.<\/p>\n

The father of two cited how the Malay\/Muslim community responded calmly after a <\/p>\n

suspicious parcel was sent to Masjid Al-Istiqamah in September.<\/p>\n

<\/a> A Singaporean man was on Sept 27 charged for his alleged involvement in sending the\u00a0<\/p>\n

parcel, which contained pork.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew it was the act of a single individual. I was proud of our community\u2019s response – full of patience and maturity,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it is here that our true strength lies – in the spirit of \u2018kita\u2019, not \u2018kami\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n

Noting that every major faith teaches the same truth of caring beyond oneself, he urged people to focus on the light in one another\u2019s faiths, and not the shadows of the differences.<\/p>\n

That the national anthem has the words \u2018mari kita\u2019 also shows that Singapore has in its DNA the recipe to overcome tribal instinct, he added.<\/p>\n

Other speakers also focused on this \u201cwe first\u201d mindset, which was a theme in Prime Minister Lawrence Wong\u2019s <\/p>\n

National Day Rally 2025 speech<\/p>\n

<\/a> and in President Tharman Shanmugaratnam\u2019s <\/p>\n

speech at the opening of Parliament in September<\/p>\n

<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mr Ramesh Selvaraj, who is also a lawyer, spoke of ways to bring different communities together.<\/p>\n

Mr Ramesh shared about a recreational running group he had started with some friends to get back into shape, and how it has since grown to have over 1,800 members from different walks of life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we lace up, there are no differences – foreign workers, new citizens, the young, the old,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He recalled how one of their regular runners, a migrant worker, said he felt like he had found a family in the group, thousands of miles away from his village in India. Another, a new citizen, said he felt a sense of belonging that allowed him to make new friends and integrate with the larger community. <\/p>\n

\u201cMoments like these remind me what community really means – no titles, no labels – just people moving forward together,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

His involvement in AGAM Theatre Lab, a theatre company and charity, also showed the power of the performing stage in getting people of different backgrounds to come together and understand each other, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy experiences have taught me something simple: \u2018we first\u2019 is not about big slogans; it is about small, everyday choices,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we check in on a neighbour, help a colleague who\u2019s struggling at work, or simply listen before we speak \u2014 these small acts don\u2019t make headlines, but they hold this country together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keeping the faith and strengthening partnerships was also the focus of a speech by activist and unionist Andy Ang.<\/p>\n

He said the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) shares the PAP\u2019s belief that every worker matters and every citizen matters, and a shared conviction to serve is the foundation of their symbiotic relationship.<\/p>\n

Both sides must continue to work closely together to shape policies that benefit Singaporeans, added the assistant director for the NTUC Freelancer, an initiative under the labour movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world may be changing rapidly but the values that bind us remain constant: putting workers at the heart of progress, advancing together through tripartite collaborations, and ensuring that growth is inclusive and no one is left behind,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In her speech, entrepreneur Ong Jing Jing stressed the need for more diverse voices in Parliament, so as to close the gaps between national policies and the unique struggles of each person and family.<\/p>\n

She called for more women in the PAP\u2019s leadership and in Parliament, and for more support for seniors, as well as for caregivers of those with both young children and elderly parents. <\/p>\n