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PM Lee to new citizens: Do more to integrate

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged new Singaporeans to make a bigger effort to integrate themselves into Singapore society.
 
Speaking to about 200 new citizens at a citizenship ceremony at the Teck Ghee Community Centre in Ang Mo Kio on Saturday, PM Lee expressed hope that new citizens will “make friends with Singaporeans – with (their) children’s schoolmates, and pick up Singaporean customs, lifestyles, norms and social rules.”
 
Recognising the increasing tension between local Singaporeans and new citizens, he emphasised that the practices new citizens were used to “may not be considered socially acceptable in Singapore”, reported local media.
 
He said that Singaporeans too have to play their part as well and make the effort to help new citizens integrate in order to build a cohesive society together, reported the Straits Times.
 
PM Lee encouraged new citizens to take initiative and involve themselves in community events and activities. Volunteering in schools, welfare organizations or self-help groups were other examples he mentioned.
 
Foreigners make up almost a third of the 5.2 million people in Singapore, with increasing competition for jobs, education, housing and transport among the issues faced by Singaporeans, who are increasingly becoming more vocal in expressing their frustrations online and offline.