SINGAPORE — Between juggling her hectic work schedule as a florist and taking care of her two-year-old daughter, Ms Melissa Goh, 35, often finds herself strapped for time. So, participating in any kind of civic discourse is the last thing on her mind. 

With getting her daughter fed, bathed, and ready for bed, “there’s not much energy left to do anything, and you just want to focus on getting yourself ready for the next day,” said Ms Goh.

“I don’t think you have much time for yourself till nine or 10 (at night),” she added. 

Echoing similar sentiments, Ms Rebekka Lim, a 17-year-old social work student at Nanyang Polytechnic, said that her demanding course load and time-consuming assignments do not allow her to “commit confidently” to any kind of participation on matters of public concern. 

Her assignments — on top of the usual lessons and lectures —  usually require long hours of fieldwork spanning weeks. 

“You don’t know how long it will take for you to finish the work. So you can’t plan very effectively. It’s hard to make commitments,” said the first-year Nanyang Polytechnic student.

For 25-year-old Daniel Loke, his career in the aviation industry takes precedence over everything else. 

“You don’t know how long it will take for you to finish the work. So you can’t plan very effectively. It’s hard to make commitments,” said the first-year Nanyang Polytechnic student.

For 25-year-old Daniel Loke, his career in the aviation industry takes precedence over everything else. Still, youths such as Mr Loke and Rebekka told TODAY they want to be involved if they have the time and chance, but they are not stepping forward now because of the reasons they cited. 

Mr Loke in fact thinks it is “very meaningful” to participate in civic matters and is "really happy to learn more". 

He had noticed how the elderly often have difficulty getting to medical appointments and would want to look into volunteering to take them to see their doctors but cannot find the time to do so.

“It’s more of a time constraint rather than not being interested," he said.

Similarly, Rebekka says her uninvolvement is not due to "a lack of interest", but not knowing how to contribute given the little free time she has.

She added that she would like to participate in some of the programmes offered by the NYC but was "very worried" whether she can finish her school assignments on time.