SUSS Podcast · Singapore University Of Social Sciences

How Can We Refresh Our Social Compact? (Part 1)

·27 min·1 clip

A grandmother on TikTok and WhatsApp becomes Jay’s example of why relationships, not programs, change behaviour.

1. SUSS Podcast’s Thought Starters asks how Singapore can refresh its social compact after PM Lawrence Wong’s National Day Rally and Forward Singapore. 2. Han from the Centre of Excellence for Social Good hosts Jay, an Associate Lecturer in the Social Work Programme, Founder and Principal Consultant at SociTrain, because Jay works at the intersection of social work and training. 3. The episode asks whether Singapore’s next social compact should be built through human connection, shared purpose, and belonging before policy design. 4. Jay says “social” means humans and “compact” means relationships, so the core issue is how people connect inside a society. 5. Han frames Singapore as an immigrant society with many cultural references, and asks whether one singular identity can fit every life stage. 6. Jay says the social compact was stronger in Singapore’s history because groups arrived with a clearer common purpose of building livelihoods and a nation. 7. Han brings up national service and housing, including the ethnic integration policy, as examples of institutions that create conditions for contact. 8. Jay says physical proximity in Singapore does not automatically create social closeness, even when people live very near one another. 9. Han and Jay connect the post-war and post-independence period to shared suffering, the immigrant ethic, and a stronger emotional bond. 10. Jay says that in 2030, one in four of Singapore’s population will be seniors, which makes age inclusion a major challenge. 11. Jay’s workplace example of 250 employees shows how leaders have to balance long-serving staff with younger workers who want different ways of doing things. 12. Han notes that PM Wong said life is not just about reaching “that pot at the end of the rainbow,” because the process matters too. 13. Jay uses his family to show how grandmothers, grandsons, Tamil, English, TikTok, and WhatsApp can become relationship builders. 14. He says the purpose is not simply digital uptake, because the stronger motive is staying connected with a grandchild and not being left out. 15. Jay argues that policy should shift from a problem focus to an aspiration focus, so active ageing centres become places people want to go to at 2 p.m. 16. Han and Jay use the “elephant and the seven blind men” analogy to argue that Singapore often sees only one part of a social issue. 17. Jay says segmented consultations with youth, women, and seniors can miss the full picture because people do not hear each other directly. 18. Han and Jay describe a more human style of engagement built on respect, empathy, active listening, and a move from “talking points” to “listening points.” 19. People who care about Singapore social policy, ageing, and community cohesion will find this useful. 20. People looking for a quick opinion segment without policy detail may skip it.

As heard by us

A calm, practical look at how belonging changes when generations, work, and policy all have to fit together.

SUSS Podcast takes a steady look at what it means to refresh Singapore's social compact, with Han and Jay treating it as a working agreement between government and people about their roles and responsibilities.

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A steady entry point into Singapore's refreshed social compact and the questions around it.

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