Every 1st October, all primary schools would play a certain song in the school hall for the students to commemorate Children's Day. This song, titled "Semoga Bahagia" is written by Zubir Said, the composer of the Singapore National Anthem. In the school hall, children will be led by a teacher to sing together with the music while also learning the meaning of the lyrics.
However what does "Semoga Bahagia" really mean? In the most literal sense it translates to "May You Achieve Happiness". On the surface, the lyrics of the songs extol the virtues of being gracious to one another while also working hard for the future.
As Singapore is going to celebrate its 50th birthday as a nation, in this documentary, we aim to find out what happiness means to the youth, as well as the adults in Singapore, and how they achieve this state of happiness.
In Dazhong Primary School, one of the many primary schools in Singapore, a Music teacher, Ms. Hamidah, will attempt to explain the history behind the song. Through her perspective, we will also find out the everyday scenes that is happening in a primary school as she teaches a Music class to a group of children. She then shows us what is her daily responsibilities as a teacher in school, as well as her interactions with fellow teachers in the office. This would show the school system of Singapore
While the film progresses, one of the children, a 10-year old primary school student, Patrick, would share his perspective on what it means to be a child of Singapore as we observe what he does in the day-to-day routine inside and outside the classroom. In the morning, we would watch him prepare himself for school. The student will speak about his goals in the future as well as his short-term goals. In the school, he listens to the teacher in class, together with his classmates. Now, the class ends and it is time for recess as the school bell rings, to the reaction of joy in the children.
Recess is the source of joy for many children in school. Here, we would witness how joyful the spirit of the children can be in this short period of time as we watch children running, laughing and playing.
In the midst where all the happiness takes place, an elderly security guard, Mr. Lee, at the entrance of the school watches over.
The phenomenon of the security guards being employed in schools happened during the period in which terrorist acts of the 9/11 and Bali bombings took place, almost 10 years ago. 10 years later, it has become a common sight to see them in front of many school gates. The security guard, explains to us how he managed to be in this job scope.
He too, remembers the song, "Semoga Bahagia" during his youth, as the song is played to almost every generation of youth in Singapore since its independence. He gives us an insight to his past as a young boy and then brings us to places where he spent his time together with his friends. As he stands there, the places that used to hold his memories have changed dramatically, in the name of economic development.
In Singapore, most of the populace lives in the HDB flat. In this documentary, we would see how their lives take place within the concrete walls and whether they are truly happy.
The 10-year old boy, Patrick, reaches back home, only to see his house empty other than his grandmother. His parents, are out working to bring back enough income back to the family, like many families in Singapore, for it is a norm to see two working parents in the same household. We would then observe how Patrick spends his time at home with his grandmother.
Ms. Hamidah, reaches back home with her husband. She is also a mother as she converses with the caretaker of her child, whether it is the grandmother or the maid.
She would share with us her aspirations and dreams, as well as her regrets, and if she really did foresee herself in her youth to be a Music teacher. She then recounts to us how she makes herself happy in her leisure time.
The security guard, Mr. Lee, goes back home, to find himself alone. During his time-off, he would either spend his day at the coffee shop with his old friends or sing karaoke songs at the local community centre. He then shares with us his regrets in life and how he is going to deal with these regrets as he attempts to make himself happy.
The school bell rings. It is the next morning. We observe some of the parents wait outside the school gates as some of them they send off their children. We see Mr. Ali doing his job in the morning as he controls the incoming cars going through the school gate.
We see the students slowly assemble in the school as the numbers swell up.
The teacher-in-charge then calls the school to stand up as they then sing the National Anthem. As the National Anthem as being played, we observe various students, mouthing the words, while some of them just keeping silent. The principal then makes a speech to the students. Some of them, whispering to one another, while some, listen attentively. The same can be observed in the teachers who are seated near their assigned classes. As the speech draws close to an end, all of them give a rousing applause.