With the aim of providing the younger generation a space to exchange perspectives and engage in meaningful conversations on topical issues, the Singapore Malayalee Association’s (SMA) Youth Wing has planned a series of fireside chats for this year.
The first session took place on March 15 at the Civil Service Club (Tessensohn), and drew around 150 attendees, composed of association members, youths, and their parents.
A core team of five SMA Youth committee members organised the event, including the wing’s vice-president, Ms S Devika, 24, who explained the session’s theme, “Leadership Beyond Titles,” in her opening remarks.
“Very often, leadership is misunderstood as something that only begins when we receive a title or a formal position. In reality, leadership begins with the values we choose to live by, and the responsibilities we take for the people around us,” Ms Devika said.
Minister of State (MOS) for Culture, Community, and Youth, and Manpower, Dinesh Vasu Dash, was the Guest of Honour, and actively participated in the hour-and-a-half dialogue session, which was moderated by SMA Youth committee member, Mr Sunith Sunil Mani, 22.
Prior to opening up the discussion to the audience, Mr Sunith first asked Mr Dinesh several questions on topics concerning the MOS’s transition into public service, cancel culture, and media literacy, the prominence of artificial intelligence (AI), traits that make an effective leader, and more.
Mr Dinesh, replying candidly throughout, illustrated his responses with anecdotal examples from his varied and illustrious career, from brigadier-general in the Singapore Armed Forces to CEO of the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) under the Ministry of Health.
“Ask yourself, what are you, what do you stand for, what are your interests? And move to where your heart brings you to,” Mr Dinesh noted in his concluding remarks, prompting the youth to introspect. “I’m sure, as you give back to society, all of us will be richer for it. It will prove the point that our youths are indeed well-equipped to lead us in the next generation.”
During the dialogue, Mr Dinesh repositioned AI as a tool that will help improve productivity and create better opportunities, assuaging some of the youth’s worries. “Ultimately, it will come back to the personal qualities of curiosity, creativity, the ability to communicate, sincerity, and values, which no amount of automation or technology is then able to overcome,” he explained.
With the rise of AI, Ms Amrutha Anil, 19, who both participated in the dialogue and served as an usher at the event, was concerned about whether there would be sufficient job opportunities for the younger generation. “However, Mr Dinesh responded in a way that I was able to understand, and I feel more assured now,” she said.
Fellow usher and participant, Ms Karuvadiyil Parvathi, 21, agreed with MOS Dinesh’s efforts to integrate the different Indian sub-ethnic communities, citing his mention of the recent launch of the Indian Engagement and Development Initiative (INEI) during the fireside chat.
“I have a lot of Hindi-speaking friends because Hindi is my second mother tongue language, so I would like to have more events where I can bring everyone together,” Ms Parvathi said.
She also appreciated Mr Dinesh’s candour in acknowledging that “he’s trying his best to do it day by day” as progress, and working towards intra-racial unity cannot be achieved overnight.
“Yes, we are grouped together under a blanket term that we are Indians. But then, there are different struggles that each community faces,” said Narpani Pearavai Youth member, Ms Sandhya Karthigeyan, 22. “When we meet at events like these, we get to share where we are struggling, and how we can support the other organisations and vice versa.”
