PM Lee stresses importance of family in Chinese New Year message
As families prepare to celebrate the Lunar New Year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stressed the importance of building strong families.
“Strong families are the bedrock of our society,” PM Lee said in his Chinese New Year message on Tuesday (17 Dec). “Our families inspire us to be better, not just for ourselves but for each other.”
Highlighting recent government policies like the Marriage and Parenthood Package, Pioneer Generation Package, and MediShield Life, PM Lee encouraged Singaporeans to build strong families with the government’s support.
“We are doing all this to help our families stay together, not to supplant the role that families play,” he said.
He also encouraged Singaporeans to take care of fellow citizens who are vulnerable or less fortunate, stressing that the government is working to strengthen social safety nets.
“Our family ties must not weaken, unlike what we have seen in other societies where the state has taken on more responsibility. We must not let this happen in Singapore – either to our individual families, or to our larger national family,” he said.
PM Lee will spend the Chinese New Year recuperating from surgery to remove his prostate gland after being diagnosed with prostate cancer last month.
He ended his message by wishing Singaporeans a happy Chinese New Year.
