With the ongoing coronavirus challenge faced by the nation, as well as numerous occurrences of inconsiderate social behaviour, perhaps it is time to bring back campaigns on a national level.

Hopefully, some of these social ills, including voyeurism, inconsiderate behaviour in the MRT and other public places, littering, baby abandonment, discourtesy, road rage and the recent "kiasu" hoarding can be minimised.

Adopting a soft approach to drive home the various public messages does not seem to have achieved the desired results. What we need is a concerted effort to nationally launch major campaigns on a quarterly or half-yearly basis.

We were once known to be a "campaign nation", resulting in a "fine" country. During those years, campaigns had fun activities, such as poster competitions, as well as incentives and deterrents to educate and encourage everyone to be part of the drive. This goes to show that what we need is tough love and citizen management, as well as public participation to inculcate good values and civic consciousness in our people.

Talking about what makes Singapore a First World nation is a waste of time if we turn a blind eye to the people factor.

Let us join hands in making Singapore a nation with citizens whose behaviour is deemed

First World. There are a number of ready campaigns that we can start off with like: "Stay healthy. Wash your hands"; "Mind your road manners"; "Lower your voice"; "Return your tray"; and "Stand aside, don't block the way".

Christony Lau Pet Keong