From left: Ms Jayasutha Sumuthiran, Ms Nabillah Jalal, Ms Esther David, Mr Yuvan Mohan and Mr Barry Yuen.
On Sunday (Aug 21), TODAY organised an online roundtable with several young Singaporeans aged 35 and below to talk about what they gleaned from this year’s National Day Rally delivered by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
The participants were Mr Barry Yuen, 30, co-owner of the Subway sandwich franchise in Singapore and the country marketing lead of food technology company Tiffinlabs; Mr Yuvan Mohan, 34, a public servant and National Youth Council member; Ms Esther David, 26, founder of tuition centre The Spark of Creation; Ms Jayasutha Samuthiran, 31, global brand manager at distillery Glenfiddich William Grant & Sons; Ms Nabillah Jalal, 30, founder of music school NJ Studio and council member on the People’s Association Youth Network.
They were asked to share their thoughts on this year’s Rally, including on the repeal of Section 377A, which criminalises sex between men.
“I’ve quite a few Muslim gay friends who texted our chat group and said, ‘Yay, I’m no longer a criminal’. When I read that, of course, I feel very happy for them. But as a Muslim, where do I stand on the broader issue?… I think it’ll be very interesting to see over the next few days how the different religious groups react to it as well,” said Ms Nabillah.
They voiced their views on the announcement that wearing masks will soon be optional, except on public transport and healthcare institutions.
“I have been waiting for this for a very, very long time. I can see that when I have my mask on, my daughter (who is seven months old) doesn’t understand me and it’s like that in indoor spaces when we have to wear our masks. So I definitely applaud that,” added Mr Jayasutha.
Said Mr Yuvan on overseas talent: “I think it boils down to what we define as being Singaporean. If we view it through a very limited lens, meaning you have an identity card or red passport, then I think we are casting our nets very narrowly.
“But if you view a Singaporean as someone within Singapore, even outside of Singapore, who cares for Singapore and may not be Singaporean, then I think we need to welcome such people. I think the challenge is how do you assess that?”
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