DPM Heng Swee Keat at the Narpani Pearavai Community Carnival 2023

Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information, and Health, and Adviser to Narpani Pearavai

Mr K Ramamoorthy, Chairman of Narpani Pearavai,

Mr Ragavan, Chairman of the Organising Committee,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Vannakkam! I am delighted to join you at today’s Carnival. It is wonderful to see so many families and so many young children here this morning, as we gather to celebrate community bonds!

Narpani Pearavai plays an important dual role in Singapore. Besides fostering active citizenry and mutual care within the Indian community, through your network of 99 Indian Activity Executive Committees (IAECs), you also serve as a bridge to other Grassroots Organisations, strengthening social cohesion within Singapore’s multi-racial society. This was most apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. You had stepped up support for the vulnerable and low-income within the Indian community. More importantly, you joined hands with other Grassroots Organisations to help all Singaporeans, be it through the distribution of masks, the delivery of care packs and the implementation of the Temporary Relief Grant and COVID-19 Support Grant. I would like to thank everyone for playing your part and caring for one another!

It is through the efforts of Grassroots Organisations like Narpani Pearavai that Singapore’s unity and cohesion have strengthened post-COVID, whereas in many other countries, divisions formed or deepened along ethnic, religious and language lines. This is something we should be proud of and never take for granted. Building a harmonious multi-racial society in Singapore is a continuous work-in-progress.

As we gather here to celebrate the Indian community and the richness of your cultural heritage, we must also look ahead and consider how Narpani Pearavai and your community partners can further build on the good work done so far. Let me offer three suggestions.

First, you must continue and enhance your efforts to build up an inclusive community across backgrounds and language groups. There are two elements to building inclusivity. The first is about caring for those who are vulnerable and low-income within the community. Narpani Pearavai has done much good work on this front over the years, from food distribution drives to Deepavali Festive Pack distributions.

I’m glad to hear that Narpani Pearavai, with the support of SINDA, has also invited 500 individuals from underprivileged backgrounds to participate in today’s Carnival! You also work closely with other community partners, like SINDA and the Hindu Endowments Board, to support these families holistically. This is important, as we must do our best to uplift those in need, or with less, and give them the opportunity to succeed and fulfil their potential.

Inclusivity is also about building bridges across sub-groups within the Indian community. This includes helping to integrate those who may have joined us more recently. Narpani Pearavai has built up strong partnerships with community groups such as the Maharashtra Mandal Singapore and the Kannada Sangha Singapore. Their booths, which I just visited, feature vibrant cultural exhibits and activities. This rich mosaic of traditions and cultural heritage adds vibrancy to Singapore’s multi-racial and multi-cultural society. We must harness it to deepen understanding within the Indian community, as well as with other communities.

Over the years, we have welcomed newcomers from different countries into our Singapore family. They share our love for Singapore, and our aspirations to build a better home and future here. I am happy to hear that some newcomers within the Indian community have been enthusiastic about contributing and giving back, including as Chairmen of the IAECs, to serve and rally the rest of the community. This will not just strengthen intra-community bonds, but also represents the open-mindedness that we espouse as a society.

Second, I hope that Narpani Pearavai will continue to rally the community to onboard national programmes. One good example is the Healthier SG initiative. With Singapore’s rapidly aging population, Healthier SG seeks to empower Singaporeans to proactively manage their health, prevent the onset of chronic diseases, and lead healthier and more fulfilling lives. This is being rolled out nation-wide, including in East Coast where I launched the “Health Up!” initiative with SingHealth a few weeks ago.  I am therefore glad to see that Narpani Pearavai has introduced the “Health Fiesta Grant” which supports programmes promoting health awareness and preventive health knowledge within the Indian community. This will help you take greater ownership of your lifestyles and make early interventions if necessary. Even small changes, like reducing your sugar intake or increasing your daily activity, can make a big difference to your longer-term health.

The Health Promotion Board has a booth here today. I encourage all of you to drop by and find out more about Healthier SG and how you can lead healthier and more active lives starting today! Whether you cut sugar and carbohydrates, or do more exercise, small steps can make a big difference in taking care of your health.

Third and finally, Narpani Pearavai must continue to provide opportunities to grow and develop youth leaders. Our youth are Singapore’s future and will bring the nation forward into a world that is quite different from the past and even today. I think all of you would be aware of the excitement around artificial intelligence and whether it will take over our jobs away. If we know how to harness it properly, it can actually make our jobs easier and better. But we must help our youth to build new skills and give them a tangible stake and nurture their heart for service from a young age, by providing them opportunities to understand and serve the community.

I just met members from the Narpani Pearavai Youth and I understand that the youth together with the Executive Committees, are empowering Indian youth to volunteer and get involved in grassroots events. In so doing, the next generation will foster intra- and inter-community cohesion, by mobilising the Indian community as well as interacting with other communities. I see many young people here, please visit the Narpani Pearavai Youth booth after this and sign up to volunteer if you are keen.

In conclusion, I would like to congratulate Narpani Peravai and all the IAECs for your contributions in supporting the Indian community, as well as strengthening understanding across communities, to build a harmonious multi-racial Singapore. This year is the 100th anniversary of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s birth. One of Mr Lee’s deepest beliefs was a multiracial, multi-religious, multicultural Singapore. So, as we honour Mr Lee, let us make sure we do our best to preserve and strengthen this multiracial harmony. We celebrate National Day on 9 August, less than a month away. As we head into our 59th year of nationhood, I hope that you will renew your efforts to foster even greater inclusivity within the Indian community, mobilise support for national programmes that will bring benefits to all Singaporeans, and nurture the next generation of leaders to serve the community and Singapore. 
I also hope that we can get more people, especially the young ones, to come forward and volunteer to help the Narpani Pearavai continue your good work.  As the saying goes, ‘more hands make work light’. The more people we have joining us, the more impactful our work will be. Join us to serve the community, visit the booths here by SINDA and the Narpani Youth Committee to learn about the opportunities available.

I wish all of you a pleasant and memorable Carnival today.

Thank you very much.