In Mr Goh Chok Tong’s 1996 National Day Rally speech, he mentioned the
importance of Singapore becoming a gracious society. Thus, the Singapore
Kindness Movement (SKM), a non-profit and non-governmental organization,
was set up to encourage graciousness amongst Singaporeans. It aims to
spread awareness, influence people to spread kindness, and instill a sense of
responsibility in themselves. (SKM, About) has also commissioned a survey
called Social Graciousness Index (SGI) to measure the level of graciousness
based on people’s experience and perception of graciousness in Singapore.
(Graciousness: Improvements seen, but can they be sustained?) This paper
discusses various issues related to kindness and graciousness in Singapore …show more content…
3.2 Foreigner’s perception of Singapore’s graciousness
Charlotte Ashton, a foreign journalist, described Singapore as a “misery city”
from her experience of suffering morning sickness due to her pregnancy while
on a packed train in Singapore. She was upset that nobody offered their seats
or showed any concern, (Ashton, 2014). This sparked attention from ministers
like Acting Minister for Manpower Mr Tan Chuan Jin, Prime Minister, Lee
Hsien Loong and Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Mr
Lawrence Wong. Mr Lee Hsien Loong shared the article and said, ” we can
still do much better... respect and help one another.” (Lee & Wong, 2014)
Thus, Singaporean’s do not leave a good impression on foreigners that we
are a gracious society.
3.3 Publicity stunt
Singa, the kindness mascot of SKM, made a media publicity stunt by
releasing his resignation letter to emphasize the need for kindness. The letter
expresses the Singa’s frustration and the need for Singaporeans to be more
gracious and less self centered. (Singa resigns, 2013) It turned out that SKM
did this to generate conversations and reactions on social media …show more content…
Goy, P. (2013). Retreived May 17, 2013 from Straits Times website: http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/did-singas-resignation-letter-lack-kindness-20130517#2 4. Graciousness: Improvements seen, but can they be sustained? (2014). Retrieved 9 July 2014, from SKM website: http://kindness.sg/blog/2014/07/09/graciousness-improvements-seen-but- can-they-be-sustained/
5.Graciousness Index falls 8 points. (2013). Retrieved April 9, 2013 from SKM website: http://kindness.sg/blog/2013/04/09/graciousness-index-falls-eight-points/#.UWetz6JTCSp 6. (n.d) Kindness@Work (2014) Retrieved from SKM website: http://kindness.sg/blog/category/corporate/kindnesswork/ 7. (n.d) Koh, LT & Mazelan, bin A. Retrieved 4 July 2013, from SingaporeInfopedia: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_556_2004-12-23.html
8. Lee, HL & Wong, L. (2014). Rising to greater heights with kindness. Retrieved from PAP website: https://www.pap.org.sg/print/news-and-commentaries/news-reports/rising-greater-heights-kindness 9. More Kindness experienced graciousness index rise to 55 (2014). Retreived 4 August 2014, from SKM
importance of Singapore becoming a gracious society. Thus, the Singapore
Kindness Movement (SKM), a non-profit and non-governmental organization,
was set up to encourage graciousness amongst Singaporeans. It aims to
spread awareness, influence people to spread kindness, and instill a sense of
responsibility in themselves. (SKM, About) has also commissioned a survey
called Social Graciousness Index (SGI) to measure the level of graciousness
based on people’s experience and perception of graciousness in Singapore.
(Graciousness: Improvements seen, but can they be sustained?) This paper
discusses various issues related to kindness and graciousness in Singapore …show more content…
3.2 Foreigner’s perception of Singapore’s graciousness
Charlotte Ashton, a foreign journalist, described Singapore as a “misery city”
from her experience of suffering morning sickness due to her pregnancy while
on a packed train in Singapore. She was upset that nobody offered their seats
or showed any concern, (Ashton, 2014). This sparked attention from ministers
like Acting Minister for Manpower Mr Tan Chuan Jin, Prime Minister, Lee
Hsien Loong and Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Mr
Lawrence Wong. Mr Lee Hsien Loong shared the article and said, ” we can
still do much better... respect and help one another.” (Lee & Wong, 2014)
Thus, Singaporean’s do not leave a good impression on foreigners that we
are a gracious society.
3.3 Publicity stunt
Singa, the kindness mascot of SKM, made a media publicity stunt by
releasing his resignation letter to emphasize the need for kindness. The letter
expresses the Singa’s frustration and the need for Singaporeans to be more
gracious and less self centered. (Singa resigns, 2013) It turned out that SKM
did this to generate conversations and reactions on social media …show more content…
Goy, P. (2013). Retreived May 17, 2013 from Straits Times website: http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/did-singas-resignation-letter-lack-kindness-20130517#2 4. Graciousness: Improvements seen, but can they be sustained? (2014). Retrieved 9 July 2014, from SKM website: http://kindness.sg/blog/2014/07/09/graciousness-improvements-seen-but- can-they-be-sustained/
5.Graciousness Index falls 8 points. (2013). Retrieved April 9, 2013 from SKM website: http://kindness.sg/blog/2013/04/09/graciousness-index-falls-eight-points/#.UWetz6JTCSp 6. (n.d) Kindness@Work (2014) Retrieved from SKM website: http://kindness.sg/blog/category/corporate/kindnesswork/ 7. (n.d) Koh, LT & Mazelan, bin A. Retrieved 4 July 2013, from SingaporeInfopedia: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_556_2004-12-23.html
8. Lee, HL & Wong, L. (2014). Rising to greater heights with kindness. Retrieved from PAP website: https://www.pap.org.sg/print/news-and-commentaries/news-reports/rising-greater-heights-kindness 9. More Kindness experienced graciousness index rise to 55 (2014). Retreived 4 August 2014, from SKM