Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry Ms Low Yen Ling,

Board Directors of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre,

Friends from our arts and cultural community,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good evening to all of you!

A very warm welcome to our Guest-of-Honour Ms Low Yen Ling and all our distinguished guests to the opening ceremony of the 6th Cultural Extravaganza. 

This is the first time I am speaking at this occasion in the capacity of Chairman of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Centre’s Founding Chairman Mr Chua Thian Poh, and the past board directors for laying a strong foundation for us to promote and develop Chinese Singaporean culture.

Cultural Extravaganza 2023

Cultural Extravaganza was first held in conjunction with the opening of our centre in 2017. Today, it has become our signature event, showcasing the vibrancy of our unique local Chinese culture through cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary and cross-generational programmes.

We have always done this together with our local partners. This year, we are presenting 11 exciting programmes from today till 18 June.

To kick off the festival tonight, you will be watching an original dance-theatre production Present Past which is a harmonious blend of Chinese music, Indian dance and Cantonese opera.

Our theme for this year’s Cultural Extravaganza is 传承 – the passing on of our culture to the next generation. This is integral in the Centre’s work, as we strive to preserve and present traditional art forms in contemporary ways to our audiences. 

Incidentally, this year marks an important milestone for several of our       partners. We see Lianhe Zaobao celebrating its centennial year, our arts tenant Nam Hwa Opera marking its 60th anniversary, and Dance Ensemble Singapore and the Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra marking their 30th and 20th anniversaries respectively. We are honoured that they are presenting their anniversary celebrations programmes as part of Cultural Extravaganza.

Now, please allow me to continue in Mandarin.

(Content below is translated)

Working with local arts and cultural community   

SCCC strives to work closely with our local arts and cultural groups to build a vibrant arts and culture scene. Last year, we signed Memorandums-of-Understanding with the local groups Paper Monkey and Dingyi Music Company. 

I am pleased to share that the latest MOU will be signed with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra who is located next door. This new collaboration will leverage our strategic location in the heart of Singapore to build a cultural hub spotlighting our unique local Chinese culture. We believe that one-plus-one can be larger than two. Under this MOU, both sides will collaborate to share knowledge and facilities. The first project under the MOU will be a joint celebration for the Mid-Autumn festival this year in both our premises. Do look forward to the details that will be announced later.       

6th SCCCA

I am also delighted to witness the conferment of the 6th Singapore Chinese Cultural Contribution Award (SCCCA) with everyone here today. SCCCA was set up in 2017 to recognise individuals and organisations who made extraordinary contributions to the promotion, enrichment and development of Chinese Singaporean culture. 

We have recognised individuals and organisations which have made significant contributions through this Award. My sincere congratulations to this year’s recipients – Mr Goh Boon Teck; and Nam Hwa Opera! I would also like to express my appreciation to Mr Lim Jim Koon and the members of the SCCCA Judging Panel for their hard work to evaluate the final recipients.

With the conferment of the 6th SCCCA, we have also opened the nominations for the 7th SCCCA today. I encourage everyone to nominate and recognise our deserving cultural heroes.

Once again, thank you for taking time to attend the ceremony today and I hope you will enjoy the performance we have prepared.

Thank you.