I think as a leader, he is somehow trying to find a glue that binds the citizens together. It seems a bit archaic but maybe still relevent?
Not sure if this is typical for Singaporean families since I don't go round doing surveys of other families. Growing up, I have many fond memories of gatherings. Almost every month, extended families and friends come together to feast. Whenever someone visit, they would almost always bring some snacks for us. Sometimes homemade but usually snacks from hawker centers e.g. banana fritters, asian pancakes, bao, curry puffs etc....
And many nights, my own family would be enjoying supper together. Thanks to availability of affordable food at late hours at the hawker center.
According to Alton Brown's anthropology research. Two of the happiest activities for humans are eating and laughing. So that is quite universal in appeal, not restricted just to Singaporeans. However, the uniqueness here, if we absolutely need to search for one, is the pervasiveness of hawker centers in Singaporean lives. One American columnist once wrote that Singaporeans are the most culinarily homesick group of people he had ever met. People are quite into their hawker centers. So if you try to make any changes there, there will be a bit of public concern.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_ ... 6804456301
Another aspect I can think of is the multiculturism. Yes it sounds cliche. If I had been raised in a mono culture environment. I would have been a very different kind of person. Many (non-muslim) Singaporeans do not have unfavorable opinions of Islam. The recent xenophobia on social media took me by surprise. Just goes to show how quickly opinions can change. When people feel cornered.
If given another lifetime, Tommy Koh would like to be reborn in Singapore. Again. The article may not be entirely relevant to this discussion but you get some idea.
http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/let ... en-in-2065