Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs Chairman, National Committee on Youth Guidance and Rehabilitation

Life is often peppered with many regrets, both big and small. Many people choose to languish in their mistakes. But the fact remains that we are not perfect people, as the Los Angeles band Hoobastank points out poignantly in the title track of their second album The Reason . While it is true that mistakes cause us to regret and live with the knowledge that we had hurt others in the past, to languish in them would stop us in our tracks. We would then be forever frozen in our fears.

An alternative is to seek change. There are many reasons why people change. Some change when they meet a certain special someone, and are in the process transformed by that individual's love. Others are inspired by someone close to them, a family member, a close friend or a trusted mentor, who chooses to believe in them no matter what happens.

This is true for all, but especially for young people, who are continually in the process of discovering who they are. Young people are saplings of the future.   If nurtured in a safe, cosy and supportive environment, they spring up like healthy seedlings, youthful and energetic, all ready to face the challenges of what life has to offer. Hoobastank, which was formed in 1994 by a group of high school youths, is one such success story. Their hard work in the music industry paid off when their first album went platinum. Theirs is an inspirational story for youths of this generation.

However, if our young people are deprived of the love and affection that are so crucial in shaping who they are, it is unlikely that they will achieve their fullest potential. They become choked by the weeds of low self-esteem, an underdeveloped sense of identity and unhealthy relationships with their loved ones, gradually experiencing loneliness and isolation.   Some of them eventually slide down the long and slippery slope towards a life of crime.

For this reason, the National Committee on Youth Guidance and Rehabilitation (NYGR) was formed to synergise efforts in rehabilitating young offenders and keep youths from crime. The National Youth Council (NYC) provides secretarial support to the NYGR, a central committee made up of representatives from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), Ministry of Education (MOE), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), National Council of Social Service (NCSS), Singapore Police Force (SPF), Singapore Prison Service, and resource persons from the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), Subordinate Courts and the academic field. Our role is to initiate and steer an integrated and holistic approach towards tackling youth crime in Singapore.

I hope this website will provide you with a clear overview of the preventive, developmental and rehabilitative programmes and measures undertaken by the NYGR, and direct you to the resources you can tap to help our youths reach their fullest potential. I also look forward to innovative ideas from you on how to engage and make a difference in the lives of at-risk youths.

We take youth crime seriously. But, we also seriously believe in giving our youths a second chance. I am encouraged by the response to NYGR efforts so far. Let us press on. Our collective efforts can galvanise the strength of a warm and healthy community, in order to shape the thoughts, actions and habits of our youths. This way, we will foster a distinctive strong and resilient youth character that will influence the destiny.