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SINGAPORE : Singapore's first snake boat race took place at Jurong Lake Park on Sunday.
More than 1,200 members of the Malayalee community and 180 rowers gathered to celebrate Onam, the biggest festival in the Indian state of Kerala.
The harvest festival also saw members of the Chinese and Malay communities joining in.
Organisers said that the celebration aimed to encourage new citizens and Permanent Residents to participate in grassroots level activities, so as to promote and foster social integration.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Lim Boon Heng, who was the Guest-of-Honour, explained why it was important to do so.
He said: "Singapore continues to be an immigrant society, because we are continuously getting people coming from overseas to settle here in Singapore. And we need to make sure that they quickly settle in, are integrated, and that means that they have to understand the values that we have.
"So we need to continue to work to bring them together. And sports is one way to bring different people together and then from there, making friends and deepening friendships and promoting mutual understanding." - CNA/ms
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