Impact of Economic Anxieties on Social Insularity

83 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether the Ministry has assessed economic anxieties, such as job insecurity and high cost of living, to be as significant drivers of rising social insularity; (b) if so, why current social cohesion efforts have not more directly addressed these underlying economic concerns; and (c) if not, what factors have been assessed to be the primary drivers.

Mr David Neo: The recent 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer highlighted that economic anxieties, such as job security and cost-of-living, are drivers of rising social insularity.

The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) does not have a local study that has identified economic anxieties as the drivers of social insularity or measures the relationship between such drivers and social insularity.

Nonetheless, the Government recognises the importance of tackling cost pressures and job anxiety and is taking active steps to refresh our strategies and strengthen our social compact. The Government has convened the Economic Strategy Review to chart our forward-looking economic blueprint to drive growth and create good jobs for Singaporeans. We are doing more to build resilience and skills of our workforce to support lifelong learning for all Singaporeans. The Government has helped Singaporeans manage cost pressures through broad-based support, such as the Cost-of-Living Special Payment, U-Save rebates and CDC vouchers. Initiatives, such as Jobs Nearby @ CDC, also directly support Singaporeans in their job search and address job anxiety.

Strengthening social cohesion requires sustained efforts across multiple fronts. How cohesive our society is depends very much on how much people identify with one another, the strength of person-to-person relationships and the extent of involvement of citizens in community building.

MCCY works together with agencies across the public service, as well as stakeholders in the people and private sectors to strengthen our shared values as a nation. For instance, we partner various stakeholders to promote interfaith dialogues and also to strengthen racial and religious harmony. We also work with corporates and community groups to help newcomers studying, working and living in Singapore to familiarise themselves with Singapore's social norms and values and integrate well in our community.

We are actively expanding the common space for our people to interact, bond and identify with each other. We are bringing youths to interact through inter-school sports events and multi-school teams, as well as bringing our local arts and heritage to various parts of Singapore to activate communities, through initiatives, such as ArtsEverywhere @ CDC.

A cohesive society comes from building a society where different people feel that they have the opportunity, despite their diverse backgrounds and talents, to succeed in their own way. Hence, we have been stepping up various development programmes, such as mentoring, to develop our youths as well as to enhance the pathways for our young artists and athletes to develop and succeed.

Finally, we create giving and volunteering opportunities for Singaporeans to care for one another so we can build stronger bonds, deeper trust and a greater sense of ownership. One example is the Community Foundation of Singapore's Collective for a Stronger Society, which brings together philanthropists, non-profits and Government agencies to support programmes that offer holistic support in education, employment, health and social assistance to lower-income families.

It takes the collective efforts of a whole nation to stem the tide of rising social insularity and build a "We First" society. We welcome more ideas and partnerships as we continue with our multi-pronged approach to build a more cohesive society.