SINGAPORE - American Alex McKenzie has chosen to make Singapore home after seven years of working here and marrying a Singaporean.

The 42-year-old data scientist was attracted to Singapore’s safety, efficiency, the ease and comforts of living here and multiculturalism. He was formerly working in San Francisco and had asked his company for a role in Singapore as he wanted to explore living here.

However, he only recently grasped all the effort behind the Republic’s social harmony after attending an integration programme for new permanent residents (PR) called the PR Journey.

Mr McKenzie said: “My biggest takeaway was seeing the deliberate effort that goes into maintaining social harmony. It’s easy to take it for granted when you are just going about your daily life, but the PR Journey helps you to remember that it requires active participation from everyone.”

The PR Journey, piloted in November 2025 for selected new PRs, helps newcomers learn about and appreciate Singapore’s shared values, history and culture, said a Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) spokesperson.

The ministry plans to offer the programme to all new PRs by mid-2026.

There are two parts to the programme, and the first is an e-learning module that introduces new PRs to Singapore’s culture, way of life and social norms.

The second is an experiential segment, where participants visit a museum, such as the National Museum of Singapore, Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre and Indian Heritage Centre, to learn more about Singapore’s social history and ethnic culture.

Each visit takes about one to two hours, after which participants share their photos and brief reflections of their experience.

Or they can join a community event, such as activities, interest group sessions or outings organised by the Residents’ Network and community clubs.

The PR Journey comes as Singapore prepares for more immigrants, with the Go...