Singapore: Prime Minister Lawrence Wong acknowledged Singaporeans ‘ concerns about the declining regular of their mother tongues and said the government will continue to support the promotion of language and maintain local traditions.  ,
In order to encourage more students to study Higher Mother Tongue languages as a subject in secondary schools, Mr. Wong announced on Sunday ( Aug 18 ) in his first National Day Rally’s Mandarin speech.
Currently,  , if a student wishes to take Higher Mother Tongue in secondary school, the overall score for their Primary School Leaving Examination ( PSLE ) must meet a certain standard.
However, Mr. Wong made the observation that some students do very well in their mother tongue subjects but have nevertheless scores that do not meet the requirements.
Therefore, he added, the government may permit these students to study in a higher family lips in secondary school.
Further details will be made available from the Ministry of Education ( MOE), according to Mr. Wong.
” Protection OF CULTURE”
In his Mandarin statement, Mr Wong said that he places a “great focus” on the protection of Singapore’s standard nations, and emphasised that the government will continue to “work with all ethnicities” to slip them on to future generations.
He cited the recent launch of Culturepaedia, an online repository of Singapore Chinese culture, which was launched by the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC ) in July as an example.
So far, about 80 experts have contributed approximately 150 articles for the program, on subject matters spanning all from famous culture to literature, art and music.
” Although English is our working speech, we are ultimately an Asian nation, not a European one”, Mr Wong said. Our” standard values are preserved while our Eastern heritage is preserved.”
He added that Singaporeans have a special competitiveness in the world economy and a “bilingual and intercultural edge” that has allowed the nation to link with other nations.
Mr. Wong said he hoped more parents may use Mandarin at house to keep that advantage.
According to a study conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies ( IPS) for the year 2020, 61 % of parents between the ages of 26 and 35 used English with their children the most.
In comparison, only 45 per cent of families aged between 56 and 65 used British most often with their kids.
In his Malaysian speech, the prime minister even reiterated his commitment to work with the Malay-Muslim area to keep its culture and heritage.
Mr. Wong added that he would provide more information regarding the Singapore College of Islamic Studies ‘ upcoming plans, which were first discussed in 2016.
He said the initiative would cultivate the world’s “future Singapore Muslim leaders”.
” I will help you in your efforts to create a modern, liberal, and still-Muslim neighborhood” in keeping with your distinct customs and way of life, he declared.
Mr. Wong likened Singapore’s diversity to a dish of Hainanese cake rice at the tail end of his Mandarin speech, which uses ingredients from different Taiwanese cultures.
” The dish combines Nyonya curry chicken and Western fried pork chops.” It also , contains Indian curry spices, and is drenched in Chinese braised gravy”, he said.  ,
” Our various races each have their own vibrant culture, yet we are inclusive and united. Because of this, Singapore is still the same as it is today.
” My belief is that, as long as we work together, our culture can be passed down , to future generations, even as it becomes even more vibrant and diverse.”
The article was originally published in , TODAY.  ,