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Singapore wants a kinder, gentler nation
Singapore has launched campaigns to promote everything from more romance to better English. Now, the city-state wants its citizens to just be... nicer.
"Kindness. Bring It On!" -- to be launched this weekend -- is a government-backed initiative aimed at encouraging Singaporeans to be openly gracious to their relatives, colleagues, classmates and neighbours.
The Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM), a partly government-funded charity, plans to recruit "kindness troopers" to deliver its message, and draft movie stars to do public appearances. Teachers will give lessons about graciousness.
A recent survey commissioned by the SKM showed that less than half of Singaporeans were pleased with the overall graciousness of their compatriots.
"We are actually quite a kind, gracious society... (but) there are Singaporeans who feel shy about showing spontaneous consideration and acts of kindness," SKM chairman Koh Poh Tiong said Tuesday.
"I want Singaporeans to, one day, be like the Japanese -- very gracious, very polite, very friendly."
Teh Thien Yew, an SKM official, said: "In these trying times, we need to be kinder than necessary because everyone is struggling."
Singapore, sometimes described as a "nanny state" because of a number of government regulations and restrictions on its citizens, often launches campaigns to instill proper social behaviour.
Education campaigns have promoted everything from speaking better English to flushing public toilets to smiling more often. A Romancing Singapore drive is held annually to encourage romance among couples.
A few years ago, SKM even launched a drive to improve punctuality at wedding dinners following an outcry about tardy guests.
