President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and Ms Jane Ittogi,
Families for Life Chairman, Mr Ishak Ismail,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and gentlemen
Introduction
1. Good afternoon. I am delighted to be with all of you for the Golden Jubilee Wedding Celebrations. My appreciation to our Guest of Honour, Mr President, for gracing our celebrations today. Your presence at today’s event is special to us, and we thank you and Mrs Tharman for your support.
2. This is the first time we are holding an in-person Golden Jubilee Wedding Celebrations since 2019, and it’s wonderful to see many couples and families here today.
Lessons from 50 Years: Marriage Requires Heart Work
3. First, let me start by congratulating our Golden Jubilee couples on this remarkable milestone of 50 years or more of marriage! Let’s give each and every one of them a round of applause.
4. 50 years of marriage is a significant achievement indeed. The longest married couple here today, Mr Tay Yan Yong & Mdm Soh Gek Lan, have been together for 71 years! You have honoured your marriage vows by cherishing each other through good times and challenging times and your marriage is a testament that love can last. Congratulations!
5. Over the years, many of you have gone through thick and thin together and are now sharing your stories with your loved ones, and even your grandchildren. Take for example, Mr Yusoff Bin Mahmud & Mdm Khatijah Bte Mahat. As Mr Yusoff played the guitar in a band, he invited Mdm Khatijah to join as a singer when he found out she had a good voice. They performed together at occasions like weddings, and eventually had their own wedding in 1973. They shared that the secrets to their long-lasting marriage are loyalty, mutual trust, respect and spending quality time together. For instance, they enjoy listening to music and still do so together today! They continue to enjoy spending time as a couple, and also with their children and grandchildren.
6. Many couples share with me that marriage is not a bed of roses. It requires plenty of “heart work”. Our Golden Jubilee couples demonstrate that marriages can be fulfilling and long-lasting.
Celebrating and Supporting Strong Marriages
7. A lasting marriage goes beyond the couple. It needs the support of the community like all of you here – friends and family of our Golden Jubilee couples. Your presence here today demonstrates your support for them.
8. When as family, we make an effort to strengthen our relationships, we in turn are supported. And when we work to support and strengthen families, not just our own, but other families too, we strengthen society itself. For families are the foundation of our society. It is families that anchor us, both in smooth sailing times, and amidst the storms of life.
A society that supports and strengthens marriages
9. I’m glad that as a society, we continue to support and strengthen marriages, throughout various life stages, whether a couple is planning to marry, newly married, or has been married for some time.
10. For example, many service agencies, and Religious Organisations offer marriage preparation programmes, to help soon-to-wed couples prepare for life as husband and wife.
11. For couples who have been married for some time, there too are programmes to support couples in growing in their relationship with each other. These marriage enrichment programmes, offered by social service agencies and religious organisations have received good feedback from many couples. Many of these marriage programmes are supported by Families for Life.
12. Some of these programmes also have tailored content for our Muslim couples. And under the Journey with You and Bersamamu marriage mentoring initiatives, Licensed Solemnisers, Kadi/Naib Kadi and volunteer mentors help soon-to-wed and newlywed couples navigate the transition into married life and provide them with advice and support. This is made possible by Families for Life, ROM and ROMM.
Other Marriage Support Initiatives
13. For marriages to be strong, we need to regularly check in with each other and be intentional about bringing health into our relationships. Today, many couples often go online to look for resources to be supported in this.
14. To better support couples in nurturing their relationships, I’m pleased to hear that Families for Life has recently launched the Our Marriage Journey Quiz and an accompanying discussion guide. These resources are evidence-informed, and developed with local couples in mind. It provides couples with a snapshot of their current relationship health and helps spark meaningful conversations with each other.
15. The Quiz covers important topics like communication, expectations in their relationship and positive bonding. And the accompanying discussion guide, co-developed with Fei Yue Community Services, provides couples with tips, conversation prompts and reflection activities. This Quiz will also be a tool that mentors can tap on to facilitate discussions with couples. I encourage all our couples here today to try out the Our Marriage Journey quiz and share it with your friends and family.
16. We want to continue to celebrate and affirm marriages. Therefore, I’m pleased to share that we will be celebrating long-lasting marriages not just at the national level but also within the community.
17. We will begin to celebrate couples who have been married for 25 years through a Silver Jubilee Celebration at some communities. Our hope is that couples, their families, neighbours, and friends will be able to join this momentous occasion and celebrate marriages together. We are heartened by the enthusiasm from our partners and thank Families for Life, People’s Association, and the various grassroots leaders and Advisers for their partnership. If this is welcomed, we will have this marriage milestone celebration in more communities in the years to come.
18. All these initiatives would not be possible without the strong support from a network of dedicated volunteers and partners. My ministry has dedicated 2024 as the Year of Celebrating Volunteers to recognise the contributions of volunteers to the social service sector and society. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Licensed Solemnisers from ROM and Kadi/Naib Kadi from ROMM, the 3 Families for Life @ Community agencies Allkin Singapore, Fei Yue Community Services, Care Corner Singapore as well as religious organisations who have been partnering with Families for Life and MSF to uplift and strengthen marriages.
Closing
19. Once again, to all couples celebrating your Golden Jubilee anniversary, my warmest congratulations to you. Your commitment to each other is an inspiration to us all.
20. Marriage gives us meaning and strength as we journey through life together with our spouse. Whether you have been married for 70 years, married for some time, or newly married, let us continue to nurture our relationships and keep the spark alive!
21. Thank you. I wish everyone an enjoyable afternoon.