Speech at the SFCCA 40th Anniversary Launch & Lease Renewal Agreement Signing on 26 April 2025

Speech by Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth & Second Minister for Law at the SFCCA 40th Anniversary Launch & Lease Renewal Agreement Signing on 26 April 2025

蔡其生会长
蔡添宝先生
宗乡总会的理事
各位华社领袖
各位来宾

1. 大家好！今年是宗乡总会成立40周 年。这是一个重要的里程碑。我很 荣幸能够参与启动宗乡总会40周年 庆祝活动仪式。
2. 宗乡总会和会馆不止是本地华社的 重要成员，也是新加坡社会的栋梁 ，在强化国民意识、促进社会和谐 和推动华族文化扮演非常重要的角 色。总会除了是领导会馆的主要机 构，在加强社会凝聚力和国民身份 认同方面也发挥作用。总会屹立在 大巴窑的会所是凝聚华社的基地， 也是一栋标志性的建筑物。我感到 非常高兴和蔡会长签署合作备忘录 。我也非常期待宗乡总会的未来发 展，同时也希望本地的会馆继续发 挥你们的特色，弘扬新加坡独特华 族文化，为新加坡华社做出更大的 贡献再攀高峰。
3. Mr Thomas Chua, Mr Chua Thian Poh, SFCCA council members, leaders of the Chinese community, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much for inviting me here to commemorate this very significant and important occasion.
4. First, let me congratulate SFCCA on your 40 th anniversary. This is a very significant milestone, which reflects Singapore’s own journey and underscores the importance of our heritage.
5. Over the last 40 years, SFCCA has contributed greatly to nurturing a strong Singaporean Chinese identity. Some of these efforts include:
1. Bringing together more than 200 clan associations under a united organisation.
2. Organising River Hongbao – celebrations like this underscore Singapore’ unity and bring our society together in celebrating Chinese New Year.
3. Organising the National Day Sing-Along which promotes bonding and national identity through songs, Chinese music, which we can all identity with.
4. Working with government organisations such as National Integration Council, REACH and People’s Association to organise events and dialogues to promote mutual understanding, deeper integration and sharing of ideas for nation-building.
6. I hope SFCCA will continue its good work, and I’m confident that you can do so. We have to treasure and nurture our special Singaporean Chinese practices, our special rituals, our customs, and our deep heritage. We have to safeguard it; we have to protect it. And I think quite importantly, we have to make sure that we pass it on to the next generation so they can continue to be a beacon of Singapore’s Singaporean Chinese identity. And the Government will continue to provide strong support in all your efforts.
7. In this regard, the iconic SFCCA building at Toa Payoh has served as a focal point for clan associations for many years.
8. I am very pleased to announce that we will continue to support SFCCA, and we will renew the lease for SFCCA, so that the federation can continue to serve the clans, to promote, develop, expand, and deepen its roots at its current location and continue to serve the many members.
9. Our Chinese clan associations play an important role in promoting Singapore Chinese culture through preserving their unique heritage.
1. Some do it through music, opera; some do it through food festivals, dialogues; and others do it through intergenerational bonding. A number of clan associations also conduct cooking classes to pass on treasured and special recipes from one generation to another generation.
2. There are also clan associations that continue to celebrate special occasions and festivals like Qing Ming, Mid-Autumn Festival, as well as Winter Solstice.
10. These may seem like very ordinary activities, part and parcel of how were growing up. But this is precisely what makes them special, that they are part of our daily lives. This is part of who we are, and it is part of how we celebrate together as Singaporeans.
11. The work that you do, all of you, in connecting with the community and using these occasions to strengthen our social cohesion, is very important, especially in this context. When you look around the world – fault lines, fractures, and differences are the order of the day.
12. We must therefore work hard to prevent any of these fractures from occurring in Singapore. They must not come into our social fabric, and to do so, we must work together to continue to and strengthen our efforts to maintain social cohesion and see one another as fellow Singaporeans.
13. The support of SFCCA and clan associations is critical, and I’m confident that our Chinese leaders, over many generations, have done their best and will continue to do their best to support this Whole-of-Nation effort.
14. I want at this juncture to offer my heartfelt appreciation to not just this generation of SFCCA leaders, but all the preceding generations – 40 years of building the Singapore Chinese identity, preserving it, making it special, keeping it and safeguarding for Singaporeans. This is something that has helped us in our nation building, and in as much as we celebrate SFCCA’s 40 th anniversary, I think when we celebrate SG60, we should look back at the special role that SFCCA and the Chinese clans have played in building Singapore all these years.
15. I wish you every success, for every continued effort by SFCCA to continue to build on this success, and you can count on the Government’s support for the work that you do.
16. Thank you very much.