Khwaish-Newsletter-17

MITA (P) No : 191/01/2009
a s p i r a t i o n s
www.ysas.org
April 2009
Project Khwaish VIII -
Community Service in India
Twenty young Singaporeans, led by two qualified leaders
and a trained facilitator, went on a journey of selfless and
charitable service in aid of underprivileged and needy
children in Punjab, India, from 3 to 22 December 2008.
They were part of YSA’s community service project team
to Korewala in Punjab’s Moga District (Project Khwaish
VIII).
In This Issue…
• Project Khwaish VIII - Community Service in India
• Reflections – Ang Seng Yong
• Promoting Racial Harmony through Futsal
• Fundraising for a Humanitarian Cause
The project represented a truly Singaporean ethnic
flavour. It comprised participants from the different racial
and religious groups in Singapore, namely, 12 Sikhs,
seven Chinese, two Indians and two Malay/Muslims.
This is in line with YSA’s efforts to be inclusive and to
reach out to young Singaporeans from all walks of life and
backgrounds.
YSA organised a send-off ceremony for the participants on
2 December 2008. Ms Indranee Rajah, Deputy Speaker of
Parliament and Member of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar
GRC, was the Guest-of-Honour for the ceremony.
khwaish 1

During the project, the team developed a library
of 2,000 books in the school. At the same time, it
cleaned up, refurbished and painted the school. The
participants also conducted teacher training as well
as distributed toys and clothes to the children and
needy in the local community. In addition, they spent
time interacting with the local community and visited
places of cultural and historical importance such as
the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The community service project was supported by
the Youth Expedition Project at the National Youth
Council, Lee Foundation, TriStar Electronics, donors
and well-wishers.
Reflections
Ang Seng Yong
my own beliefs and practices with my
Sikh friends. At the same time, the
involvement has helped me to grow
personally and professionally.
2 khwaish
It is my pleasure
t o s h a r e m y
experiences of
being involved
with YSA.
I was probably one of the first few
non-Sikhs to join YSA. Many of my
friends were surprised and puzzled by
my joining an organisation of another
ethnic group. At that time, it did raise
some eyebrows. Honestly, I too was
not sure what I was getting myself
into.
I joined a group of youth from different
ethnicities and backgrounds on
YSA’s community service expedition
to Punjab, India, in December 2004.
It was a life-changing experience for
me. Not only did it teach me about
how fortunate we are in Singapore,
it also showed me the message of
understanding and appreciation
that YSA is trying to promote. The
professional manner in which the
expedition was organised also
impressed me. After all, YSA was only
three months old then.
When I returned to Singapore, I decided
to join the YSA Executive Committee.
I became actively involved in its
activities and have been representing
it in various events. I recall that, at
one interfaith session,
the other participants
were pleasantly surprised
to lear n that I was
representing YSA at the
event.
It has been a great
pleasure being part of
YSA. I have not only come
to know more about the
Sikh community, I have
also been able to share
I believe my involvement as a non-
Sikh in YSA has paved the way for
many other non-Sikhs to contribute to
it as well. We now have a multi-ethnic
Executive Committee at YSA and
close to 30 percent of our membership
comprises non-Sikhs.
I strongly believe in the mission and
vision of YSA. It has made tremendous
progress in the last five years. I am
glad to be a part of the progress.

Promoting Racial Harmony Though Futsal
With racial bonding as the main goal, close to 200
footballers came together to participate in the Sixth “Racial
Harmony” 4-A-Side Football Tournament on 22 February
2009. Organised by YSA, the event included, for the first
time, two hearing-impaired teams and five teams from the
expatriate communities.
The Guest-of-Honour, Mr Teo Ser Luck, Senior
Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development,
Youth and Sports, joined players from different ethnic
groups and professions in an exhibition match. He then
officially started the full-day tournament.
Mr Teo stated that, “Such avenues are important to
promote communal bonding. They are fun, informal and
enjoyable. The government has taken the initiative to
build sporting facilities all over Singapore so that people
can come together, not just to exercise but also to meet
and interact with others in the community. YSA’s event is
unique in that it requires the teams to include players from
different ethnic groups; not just from one particular group.
This is a good idea. Other youth groups can follow YSA’s
example.”
2-0 win over X-Men in the final while Paris 23 won the
‘veteran’ category.
The annual tournament is aimed at bringing youth of
different ethnic groups together to interact and network
for greater rapport and camaraderie whilst promoting a
healthy and sporting lifestyle among Singaporeans. It is
also geared at creating a platform for Sikh participants to
better understand and appreciate members of the other
ethnic communities as well as provide the opportunity for
the latter to know the Sikh community in a more intimate
manner.
This year’s tournament was supported by Trust Central,
Central Singapore CDC, OnePeople.sg, Football
Association of Singapore and National Youth Council, with
a grant through its Youth Development Fund.
During the tournament, the players dished out some very
exciting and entertaining football. At the end of a highly
competitive tournament with more than 70 matches, Joga
Bonito emerged champion in the ‘open’ category after a
Fundraising for a
Humanitarian Cause
YSA joined the Harmony Centre and
the inter-faith organisations in January
2009 to raise funds in aid of the affected
victims of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Many innocent civilian lives have been
lost in the ensuing violence.
The participating organisations raised
more than S$200,000. The funds were
channelled to Mercy Relief, which then
worked with United Nations agencies on
the ground in the affected
areas to deliver the much
needed assistance and
supplies to the victims.
The fundraising effort
showed that all
Singaporeans, regardless
of race or religion, were deeply affected
by developments in the conflict zones. It
is hoped that the joint fundraising effort
has helped, in a small way, to alleviate
the sufferings of all the victims in the
affected areas.
khwaish 3

Sixth Khwaish Lecture
YSA will be organising the Sixth Khwaish Lecture on Saturday, 16 May 2009, 3.00pm to
5.00pm, at The Pod, 16th Floor, National Library.
Mr Ong Keng Yong, Ambassador-at-Large; and Director, Institute of Policy Studies, will
deliver the Khwaish lecture on “Engaging the Citizens in Policy Development”.
This lecture is indeed relevant and opportune. How can the Singapore government engage Singaporeans in
a constructive manner to help in Singapore’s development? What avenues, including old and new media, are
available for Singaporeans to participate in policy development? What outcomes can we expect from citizen
participation in policy formulation?
To register, please contact Mr Malminderjit Singh at 9436 4676 or email him at malminderjit@hotmail.com.
Book Launch-cum-
Panel Discussion
YSA and the Harmony Centre
will jointly organise a book
launch-cum-panel discussion
on “Humanity Amidst Insanity” on 13 June 2009. Dr
Mohamad Maliki Osman, Parliamentary Secretary for
National Development; and Member of Parliament
for Sembawang GRC, will deliver the keynote for the
event and launch the book.
Certificate Presentation
Ceremony Khwaish VIII
This book documents some of the positive episodes
of compassion and kindness during the partition of
the Indian sub-continent. The message of tolerance
and humanity is relevant, not only for the subcontinent,
but for all regions of the world, especially
in the post-9/11 world.
The panel discussion of three speakers will examine the
importance of creating awareness and understanding,
and to ensure that all faiths co-exist harmoniously
and integrate well into the global community. The
panelists will focus on the international, regional
and local relevance of peace and harmony. This is
important in the context of Singapore which is home
to a multi-ethnic society. The desired outcome of the
event is to further strengthen the Singapore social
fabric.
For enquiries, please contact Mr Malminderjit Singh at
9436 4676 or email him at malminderjit@hotmail.com.
YSA Project Khwaish VIII team members returned
from their community service expedition to Punjab,
India, on 22 December 2008.
To recognise their selfless efforts, YSA will organise
a certificate presentation ceremony in April/May
2009. The event will witness presentations by the
participants and a video show on the project, as well
as a dinner reception.
If you are keen to attend the ceremony, please
contact Ms Sheetal Kaur at 9336 2904 or email her
at mannkaurmaude@yahoo.com.sg.
Editorial Information: Khwaish is a newsletter of Young Sikh Association (Singapore). Please feel free to forward your comments and feedback to:
4 khwaish
YSA wishes its Sikh members a very happy and joyous Vesakhi and
its Buddhist members a blessed Vesak Day.
Mr Kulwant Singh, Editor, Khwaish, Young Sikh Association (Singapore) 8 Jalan Bukit Merah, Singapore 169543
Tel: 6327 2007/5 Tel: 9026 5910 Fax: 6327 2009 Email: nashkul@singnet.com.sg
No part of this newsletter should be published without the consent of the Editor, Khwaish.