新加坡发展体育的必要性！官委议员赛义德哈伦医生这样建议

通过体育和青年实现包容性

哈伦医生：主席，我重点谈谈体育和青年对于建设社区、促进包容性和增强社会凝聚力的价值。

    首先谈谈体育。体育不只是锻炼身体那么简单。其价值是多方面的，除了保持身体健康，还包括心理、社会和经济效益，对个人、社区甚至全球都有重要意义。除了让我们保持健康和锻炼身体外，体育还能增加幸福感，促进社区团结，促进文化交流。更重要的是，体育具有激励和凝聚的力量。

    去年，珊蒂 （Shanti Pereira）在亚运会上拿下了100米银牌和200米金牌，结束了新加坡等待田径奖牌长达49年的历史，当时许多新加坡人都在电视机前激动不已。我们对她在2023年的成功感到自豪，她的决心、韧性和战胜逆境的精神都深深地影响了我们。还有2016年，约瑟林（Joseph Schooling）在奥运会上获得100米蝶泳金牌的时候，国家自豪感也是一样的。没有什么比庆祝同胞在体育运动中取得巨大成功更能凝聚人民、社区和国家的力量了。

    获得体育成功的门槛相对较低，因为体育无关人口众多或地域广阔。例如，以奥运会为例，人口不足4万的列支敦士登、不足3.5万的圣马力诺、不足6.5万的百慕大这些小国，都曾在奥运会上拿过多枚奖牌。这完全是可能的。

    我呼吁部门更加关注体育，将其作为团结人民、拉近人与人之间距离的手段。参与体育并持续参与的人都会同意，体育运动可以塑造品格、价值观和某种韧性，这些是课堂上无法复制的。团体运动进一步培养了责任感、相互信任以及团队合作意识。

    就体育运动而言，我希望部门关注三个方面。

    首先，作为一个国家，我们需要继续投资于体育卓越，为我们的运动员做更多事情。我们的运动员需要我们的支持，他们为了国家的荣耀付出了很多努力。事实上，运动员的黄金时期正值同龄人建立职业生涯和赚取收入之时，他们却要投入了更多时间刻苦磨炼，以取得最佳状态，有时甚至会受伤。只要有运动天赋，并愿意和我们一起为体育卓越努力，我建议我们要不遗余力地支持他们，让他们为新加坡做出贡献。

    其次，我希望部门更深入具体地研究和关注团体体育。虽然我们已经有运动员个人成功的例子，但我们也需要在团体体育方面做得更好。要在团队运动中培养青年才俊，确实需要更多深思熟虑的投资、数年甚至数十年的持续规划，以及更广泛的系统方法。在团体运动中，我们能够看到个人的多样性，看到来自不同社区的运动员共同为国家队效力，这正是我们希望建立的新加坡形象。它与我们作为一个民族的共鸣更深，是我们所期待的社会愿景。

    第三，我希望部门能更好地阐述体育对普通新加坡人的价值，并帮助人们更多地参与其中。体育对健康和精神的福祉不容低估，应继续在个人层面加以强调。只有每个人都参与、享受体育并在游戏和活动中相互交流，才能实现体育运动的社会效益。即使是相对个人化的体育运动，只要有一定的创造性，也可以增加团结和凝聚力。例如，即使有些人可能更喜欢独自一个人跑步，但也有一些跑步俱乐部，可以让人们通过共同的兴趣建立友谊、寻找共同点并结识新朋友。这种凝聚力和牢固的关系能够持续推动人们参与体育运动，并有更多机会将人们聚集在一起。

    我在本报告中强调的另一个重点领域是，继续发挥我们青年的潜力。事实上，我们不久前在圣约瑟夫学院看到了相当年轻的观众，我们也经常谈到我们的人口老龄化问题，这是一个非常重要的关切。然而，同样的是，我们也面临青年人数的相对减少，而他们是我们宝贵的资源。我认为，我们可以做得更好，吸引青年参与，发挥他们的创造力和创新力，并通过他们的视角来策划各种想法，分享他们对于挑战传统智慧和当前解决方案的意愿。这是我们国家建设工作的一个重要方面，也是政府推进”新加坡携手前进“（Forward SG）计划的一个重要方面。

在我与全国青年理事会合作开展的各项活动中，我们的青年关心新加坡发生的一切，关注新加坡的未来，并在建设一个更有爱心、凝聚力和包容性的社会方面有着深刻的共鸣。有鉴于此，我呼吁政府更广泛地吸引不同社区和背景的青年，通过各种活动把他们聚集在一起，建立共同基础、增进团结并塑造共同身份认同。

    青年群体本身是多元的。如果我们考虑到那些年龄在15到35岁之间的年轻人，我们就需要更灵活地调整方法，以满足青年在人生不同时期的广泛兴趣和不同优先事项。

    即使新加坡全国青年理事会举办了各种活动，比如青年行动挑战、青年变革者赠款以及各种青年小组，但我仍呼吁政府进一步研究这些活动的影响力，并确保在所有年龄段的年轻人中都能广泛参与其中，因为我们需要投资于下一代新加坡人，赋予他们参与协作解决当前和未来社会挑战的能力，共同为新加坡的未来做出贡献。

Inclusivity through Sports and Youth

Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi: Mr Chairman, I focus my cut on the value that sports and youths can bring to building community, promote inclusivity and strengthen social cohesion.

First, on sports. The value of sports is beyond the physical. Its value is multifaceted, encompassing also psychological, social and economic benefits, with its significance observed at all levels of society, too: at the individual, community and globally. Beyond the obvious benefits of health and exercise, sports has the power to strengthen well-being, unity in diversity and organic cultural exchange in communities. Importantly, sports has the power to galvanise and rally.

When Shanti Pereira won the Silver in 100-metre and Gold in 200-metre events at the Asian Games last year, ending Singapore’s 49-year wait for a track and field medal, many Singaporeans were glued to their television screens and fixed to their seats. We were in awe of her success and achievements in 2023, and taken to her example in terms of her determination, resilience and ability to overcome adversity. When Joseph Schooling won the Olympic Gold in the 100-metre Butterfly in 2016, the sentiment of national pride was much the same. Few things rally people, community and a nation more than a celebration of a fellow countryman’s great success in sports.

The barrier to entry to sporting success is relatively low in that it does not matter whether one is a populous country or a country with wide and sizeable geographical areas. For example, if we use the Olympics as a benchmark, Liechtenstein with a population of under 40,000, San Marino under 35,000, Bermuda under 65,000 have won multiple medals at the Olympics. It is, indeed, possible.

I urge the Ministry to look closely and more strongly at sports as a means to rally and bring people closer together. Those of us who have engaged in sports and continue to do so will agree that it builds character, values and a certain resilience that cannot be replicated in the classroom. Team sports further engender a spirit of responsibility, trust in others, camaraderie and a sense of team like no other.

There are three things that I hope the Ministry will focus on as part of this Budget, as far as sports is concerned.

First, we need to continue focusing and investing in sporting excellence as a country and do more for our athletes. Our athletes need our support to do well, for they spend a good portion of their hours, days and weeks, even years on end to achieve the success for the country. In fact, for a good portion of the time where their peers spend building careers and income, the prime of the young lives of these athletes are consumed in honing their sport, optimising their performance and pushing their physical bodies for peak outcomes, for which, sometimes, injuries can occur. Where there is talent in our Singaporeans and they are willing to go far with us in terms of their sporting excellence, I propose we spare no effort for them to give their best for Singapore.

Second, I hope for the Ministry to look more deeply and specifically at team sports. While we already have examples of success in individual sportsmen and sportswomen, we need to do better for team sports as well. It does take much more deliberate investment, a sustained care in the planning over years if not decades for the sport, and a wider systemic approach to develop young talent within a team sport. However, the benefit of being able to see a multiplicity of individuals in team sports, where we have a broad representation of athletes from all communities playing together for the national team, is emblematic of the kind of Singapore we hope to build. It resonates at a deeper level for us as a people and it becomes a palpable vision of the society we want for ourselves.

Third, I hope for the Ministry to narrate the value of Sports better for the ordinary Singaporean and help make it easy for people to participate in them en masse. The benefit of sports in health and mental well-being cannot be understated and should continue to be emphasised at the level of the individual. Yes. However, the societal benefit of sport can only be realised if everyone participates, enjoys and interacts with one another in play and activity. Even for relatively individual sports, it is possible, with some creativity, to encourage togetherness and cohesion in the activity. For example, even for the solitary activity of running, which some may prefer, there are running clubs where people may build friendships, find commonality and meet others through their collective joy and passion in the specific sport. Such cohesion and strong relationships make for a sustained participation in sports and more opportunity to bring people together.

My other area of emphasis in this cut is for the Ministry to continue harnessing the potential of our youths. In fact, we saw quite a relatively young audience earlier on from St Joseph’s Institution and we talked about our ageing population often and, indeed, this is an important concern. However, by a similar proportion, it also means that the number of youths are in relative decline and youths are a much valued resource. I believe we can do better to engage our youths, harness their creativity and innovation, as well as curate ideas through their perspectives and share their willingness to challenge conventional wisdom and current solutions. This is an important aspect of our nation-building exercise and as the Government moves ahead in its plans for Forward SG.

In my work through the various initiatives with the National Youth Council, our youths care about what happens in Singapore, are concerned for its future and share a deep resonance in wanting to build a more caring, cohesive and inclusive society. In this light, I urge the Ministry to cast their net wider and more deliberately in engaging youths across different communities and backgrounds and bringing them together through activities that build common ground, unity and a shared identity.

Youths in themselves are heterogenous, and if we consider the wide age group defined under the banner of youths from 15 to 35, we must tailor the approach better to cater to the wide range of interests and diverse priorities at different timepoints in the lives of youths.

Even as there are opportunities for youth programmes of NYC through the Youth Action Challenge, Young ChangeMakers grants and various youth panels, I urge the Ministry to study its reach further and ensure breadth in participation at all levels of youth, as we seek to invest in the next generation of Singaporeans, empower them to take ownership in collaborative solutions for current and anticipated societal challenges, and build a collective future together for Singapore.

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