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“Achievement-orientated Values” (Part 2 of 2): How this 1971 speech suggests solutions to fertility rates today
- 22 June 2026
“Achievement-orientated Values” (Part 1 of 2): This 1971 speech explains why our fertility rates are so low (and hints at how we can raise it)
Singapore’s total fertility rate hit a new record low at 0.87 in 2025, a long consequence of the overwhelming success of the “Stop at Two” population control campaign launched in 1972. Just a year prior, Parliamentary Secretary Inche Sha’ari Bin Tadin gave a speech capturing the heart and motivation of the campaign. Could this speech also contain hints of how we can reverse our low birth rates?
- June 22 2026
Sandwiched Families: A Cultivate Commune (May) update
With delayed marriages and parenthood, low fertility rates and a rapidly ageing population, the number of sandwiched couples who have to care for both young and old is projected to increase. At our Commune on 16 May, we had a candid and uplifting discussion with two speakers in these circumstances, who left us with much encouragement and food for thought.
- May 29 2026
More For You
Marriage – Yay or Nay?
Let me start with a confession. When I was approached to write a commentary about marriage, my first reaction was “No thanks!”
- 23 May 2025
Non-interference: Parents Decide, Grandparents Follow?
In Singapore, there is an important social norm of "non-interference" between grandparents and parents. It implicitly recognises that parents have primary responsibility for raising children. Dialogue, mutual respect and understanding are important, if we want to move forward constructively.
- 16 May 2025
“Mom, Dad, Where Are You?” The Right to Know One’s Natural Parents
Adoptive children have a deep desire to seek their biological parents in an effort to find themselves. It touches on deep and profound questions, involving one’s identity and origin. This right to know one’s natural parents has been recognised as a legal and moral right in Singapore.
- 6 May 2025
