Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam said that he understands that many Singaporeans value their culture and dialects and are dissatisfied with the fact that the electronic birth certificate does not show the dialects of the parents. The authorities should have explained the reasons for omitting this information earlier, he explained.
Mr Shanmugam told the media after participating in community activities this afternoon (13 August) that dialect and cultural heritage are closely related, and he also understands that many Chinese people want to preserve the culture of their dialect.
He said that the Government must pay attention because this is the concern of the Chinese people, and the deletion of this information is worrying to them. He also said that the authorities should have explained earlier that the dialect of the child will still be registered, and the relevant information will still be available in the Singpass account.
Shanmugam said that the authorities have contacted the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry has been in discussions with the Government. They have also spoken with Minister Edwin, because his portfolio covers culture, and he chairs the Chinese Community Liaison Group. They have also spoken with MOS Sun Xueling who is with my Ministry, the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Since May 29 this year, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has simplified the birth and death registration process, allowing Singaporeans to register their births and deaths online in order to obtain an electronic version of the birth and death certificates, and the required information has also been simplified.
However, the fact that the electronic birth certificates do not show the parents’ dialects has caused some people to be dissatisfied. The authorities announced yesterday (12 Aug) that electronic birth certificates issued after September 1st will resume showing the parents’ dialects; as for electronic birth certificates issued between May 29 and Aug 31, parents can also download them again without the need for an extra payment.
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority stated that parents were no longer required to fill in some policy or administratively unnecessary information when applying for a birth certificate, such as parents’ dialects, parents’ birthplace, mother’s address, the place where the child was registered, and the information of the person who gave birth.
In order to simplify the registration process and reduce the required information, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority pointed out that before the introduction of electronic birth certificates, the paper certificate only indicated the parent’s dialects, not the child’s dialect.
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