What might it mean for the PAP to affirm the younger generation’s desire for change?

[SINGAPORE] Often the target of grouses about their perceived weakness or sense of entitlement, younger Singaporeans received a bold defence on Sunday (Apr 13) – from Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, in a two-minute video posted to social media.

With the general election (GE) around the corner, PM Wong was clearly speaking in his capacity as leader of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), in party whites and with PAP hashtags.

After a screenful of negative comments about Generation Z, the video cuts to PM Wong addressing the camera – and that generation – directly.

“These comments miss the full picture,” he said. “I think they failed to see something crucial about your generation.”

Born between 1997 and the early 2010s, Gen Z may be more accustomed to hearing exhortations to toughen up, get hungrier or be less entitled.

In contrast, PM Wong told them: “You have high standards for how life should be. You are not distracted or overly sensitive. You’re paying attention.”

He affirmed not just their character, but their wishes, saying: “Your generation embodies a new desire to not settle for the status quo. And with the way the world is moving, we hear you. I hear you.”

The PAP’s GE campaign may shed light on what specific desires for change it has heard, and how it will answer them.

Generation after generation

This GE will be the first for many Gen Z Singaporeans as voters, and also PM Wong’s first as prime minister – both observations made in the video. But of course, it is far from the first time that appeals have been made to younger voters.

In GE 2011, when an earlier generation was coming of age politically, then prime minister Lee Hsien Loong addressed their perceived desire for change too.

In the traditionally high-profile lunchtime rally in the city, he said: “The older generation... we are building this so that you, the younger generation, can inherit it from us. And it’s for you to build on it further, to improve on what we’ve been able to do, to change what is no longer relevant.”

GE 2011’s first-time millennial voters are now in their mid-thirties. Policy changes since then range from an expansion of the Non-Constituency Members of Parliament scheme to educational reforms – though it is understandably unclear which changes may have been shaped by younger voters specifically.

In his video, PM Wong expressed a wish to work with younger Singaporeans, saying: “Like you, I see many things that should be improved.”

The question is whether the PAP and younger voters are looking at the same areas for improvement.

PM Wong shared a vision of a life “rich with meaningful experiences and learning”, in a country where “dreams can be worked on” and people can “find belonging”.

These ideals are given concrete form in the Forward Singapore agenda – and may recur in PAP’s election manifesto – with policy directions such as embracing learning beyond grades and further support for lower-income families.

They are fitting goals for a more compassionate age. What may be trickier are Gen Z concerns that lie beyond a broad consensus.

Politicians have also noted younger voters’ relatively greater focus on international causes such as climate action or Israel’s war in Palestine, as well as social issues such as diversity and challenges faced by the LGBT community.

Of course, when it comes to such potentially fraught areas, opinions vary even within generations. Hearing and addressing these voices – alongside those in opposition – may be the greater challenge.

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