Another 200 foreigners become ‘Singaporeans’ yesterday when they were presented their pink identification certificates and ICs by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Grassroots Club in Ang Mo Kio.
As he welcomed them, PM Lee called on the new citizens to reach out to Singaporeans:
“Pick up Singapore customs, lifestyles, norms, (and) social rules. And if you can understand Singlish, so much the better,” he said.
PM Lee also asked them to join in community (grassroots) activities and volunteer their services to make their citizenship more ‘meaningful’.
Many PRs and new citizens are roped into PAP grassroots organizations to help them ‘integrate’ into Singapore. About 20 percent of grassroots leaders in Singapore are now PRs and new citizens.
All the grassroots organizations in Singapore are under the auspices of the People’s Association, a supposedly ‘non-partisan’ statutory board funded by taxpayers’ monies and headed by PM Lee himself together with 10 other PAP MPs. Full story
