Singaporeans' over-reliance on Government debated at conference on country's future

At the SMU Behavioural Sciences Institute (BSI) Conference on social futures of Singapore, SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer and BSI Director Professor David Chan gave their views on tackling issues confronting Singapore. Professor De Meyer said that if more people step forward to tackle the country’s challenges, Singapore will be better equipped to withstand any future shocks and disasters. He also noted that Singapore will become more resilient if society respected diversity more.  Professor Chan highlighted the danger of complacency among the people and not recognizing that there are many national issues that the Government cannot solve alone without the people. He cautioned that if social harmony is not a shared value, then differences in core values can translate into deep-seated differences.