Pandemic has spurred S'poreans to show compassion: President

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed Singaporeans in many ways, whether it has been getting into the habit of wearing masks daily or showing more compassion and kindness to those around them, President Halimah Yacob said yesterday.

"The response of Singaporeans, particularly to the needy and less privileged, has been heartwarming. With this pandemic of disease, there is also the pandemic of kindness, generosity and compassion," she said at The Straits Times' Singaporean of the Year 2020 award ceremony held at the Istana.

More have donated money to those in need, while the number of volunteers has also increased, according to data from last year.

"So, deep in the hearts of many Singaporeans resides this desire to surmount our own limitations and needs, and to be greater than ourselves," said Madam Halimah, noting that not all countries have stood together in the same way.

The Singaporean of the Year award this year is particularly meaningful, given how trying last year was, she added.

"Our economy and lives were disrupted, and we have had to make tremendous adjustments to everything that we had hitherto held dear and thought were constants," said Madam Halimah.

Just going to work, shopping or meeting up with family and friends now requires more thought and planning, she added.

"To some extent, we now must think a lot deeper about how our actions and behaviours will affect the well-being of others, and not just ourselves," she said.

"But we must continue to find occasions to celebrate goodness and virtue, like this award," said Madam Halimah, congratulating the eight finalists.

She noted that the Singaporean of the Year award recognises the many role models in society who have shown outstanding acts of kindness, bravery and creativity worth emulating and multiplying to create a better society.

"By highlighting their contributions, the award seeks to reinforce the values that we hold dear as a society and which stand us in good stead through good and bad times. Hence, this award will have an enduring value," she said.

How long the pandemic will last is uncertain, given the many variables like the emergence of different and more contagious variants of the virus, she added.

A lot also depends on whether people are able to accept some limitations on their freedom of movement and engagement in social activities, which have been met with resistance in many countries, said Madam Halimah. "The simple act of masking up, for example, may seem mechanical and necessitated by law, but it is a tremendous step forward in being thoughtful and considerate to protect others.

"It pushes us to think about what it means to be part of a community and how much of our shared living space has an impact on us, and what we must do to collectively protect it."

She noted that in Singapore, everyone will get the vaccine for free, and the Government has tapped the reserves to provide "tremendous relief" to mitigate the harsh impact of the pandemic.

"As a result of the Government's fast action, through no less than five budgets, we have helped many Singaporeans and businesses. We helped to save jobs and provide stability to our businesses and families," she said.

She noted that the pandemic is far from over in Singapore, although the vaccine offers some relief and the possibility of attaining herd immunity if enough Singaporeans are vaccinated. "But unless a significant portion of the whole world is inoculated too, it is difficult to see how we can return to the pre-Covid-19 normalcy.

"Herein lies the challenge for the world: Can human kindness and, more importantly, common sense prevail over narrow interests of nationalism and populism, when it comes to vaccine distribution to the whole world? That remains to be seen."

In his remarks, UBS Asia-Pacific president Edmund Koh thanked Madam Halimah for allowing the Government to use the reserves to bolster the budget for Covid-19 support measures, bringing relief to Singaporeans.

He also highlighted the work of Health Minister Gan Kim Yong and Education Minister Lawrence Wong, the co-chairs of the multi-ministry task force tackling the coronavirus outbreak.

The pair have done the job well despite taking a lot of criticism along the way, and done it in a steadfast manner with the belief of making Singapore even better, said Mr Koh. "I think that warms the heart for all of us," he added.

"There were very difficult decisions to make, you can't win it all," he said. "These two ministers have really done Singapore proud."