Singapore Government Press Release

Media Division, Ministry of Information & The Arts, #36-00, PSA Building, 460 Alexandra Road, Singapore 119963, Tel: 3757794/5

SPEECH BY PRIME MINISTER GOH CHOK TONG AT THE NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY (NTU) ON FRIDAY, 20 DECEMBER 1996, AT NTU'S MAIN LECTURE THEATRE AT 7.30 PM

SINGAPORE'S DREAM AND

SINGAPOREANS' DREAM

When I was in my final year in the then University of Singapore, Singapore became a part of Malaysia. One month after I started work in 1964, race riots broke out in Singapore. The following year, within a month of my marriage, Singapore left Malaysia. I went on a fellowship to Williams College in 1966 and returned in 1967 to work in the Ministry of Finance. In 1968, the British announced that they would pull out their military bases in Singapore within 3 years. This would reduce Singapore's GDP by about 10%, and aggravate the unemployment rate that was already at 13 to 14%. In those uncertain times, the prospect for young people was bleak. Which young man or woman would dare dream about the future?

The last 30 years had seen Singapore transformed from a country with little hope to one full of dreams. What are Singapore's dreams for the future and what are your dreams?

Best Home

My dream for Singapore in the next century is to make Singapore the best home for Singaporeans, as ideal a home as we can make it. This is a dream which my colleagues share. Singapore is not perfect. But we can make it as near perfect as possible, as wonderful as we want it. This is the meaning of being a Singaporean. We the Singaporeans, decide our own destiny, our Dream Singapore. We decide our value system, the kind of society we want to be.

Yes, in the 21st century, Singapore will be a great cosmopolitan city. A vibrant economy. Good jobs. Cultural liveliness. Artistic creativity. Social innovation. Good schools. World class universities. Technological advances. Intellectual discussion. Museums. Night-clubs and theatres. Good food. Fun places. Efficient public transport. Safe streets. Happy people. This is not a hotchpotch of images concocted to tantalise you. It is a vision within our reach.

In fact, we have already come a long way towards such a vision. Fortune Magazine last month published a list of the world's best cities, cities which combine favourable working and living conditions, where work is great and life is safe, comfortable and maybe even wonderful. Singapore was ranked the 3rd best city in the world for work and living, just after Toronto and London but ahead of Paris and Hong Kong.

Toronto has easy-living qualities: low crime, clean streets, and lots of green places. In short, a good place for raising a family.

London is a friendly city with a bustling night life and cultural attractions that rival those of New York. London has 200 theatres, 30 major museums, five symphony orchestras, and two opera companies. As someone observes, "If you can't find something interesting to do in London, then you are just a pretty boring person."

Singapore is ranked third because it is clean, green, orderly, efficient and runs like clockwork. Traffic jams are rare, and the city safe. But, adds Fortune magazine, "This small tropical island is not a grim police state though. It's an exceptionally pleasant place for both business and family life."

To give me an idea of where we could improve, I asked for a quick sampling of views of young Singaporeans in a few schools and tertiary institutes of what things in Singapore they are proud of and what they are ashamed of.

The Ministry of Education asked 71 Singaporeans from aged 8 to 24. They expressed 138 opinions on things they are proud of and 82 opinions on features of life they are ashamed of.

An overwhelming majority were proud of our good government and what the government has created together with the people. Good government and clean and green environment ranked first, with 26 mentions each. The economy came in third with 18 mentions. Safe streets and harmony came next, each with 13 mentions.

Apparently, Singaporeans do not place too much emphasis on culture and heritage. Only one person was proud of it.

What are Singaporeans most ashamed of? Our kiasu attitude, including self-centredness, selfishness and materialism with 32 mentions. Lack of graciousness and civic consciousness like dirty toilets, rudeness, and littering featured next, with 22 mentions.

Some aspects of government also earn the displeasure of Singaporeans with 10 mentions. The complaints: too many rules, laws, and fines; no freedom; no chewing gum. There was one complaint of government brow-beating the opposition. But another Singaporean was ashamed of the weak opposition parties, their unsubstantiated stand on issues and their fighting elections for the sake of fighting.

In Singapore 21, every Singaporean can dream. More than that, he or she can fulfil his or her dream. Not just the 5C's, which I understand are important to you, but the non-materialistic aspects of life too! And everyone can be the best he is capable of. You may decide to become a professor - and Singapore 21 will have world-class universities for you to teach and do your research. Or you may decide to become a top engineer - Singapore 21 will have cutting-edge MNCs as well as Singapore's own world-class engineering companies for you to work in. Or perhaps you want to be a film producer - you will find the resources in Singapore 21 to produce more than "Mee Pok Man" or "Army Daze". Or an author. Or an entrepreneur, and become a millionaire before you turn 30, like David Filo and Jerry Yang, the founders of Yahoo!, and Marc Andreesen, the founder of Netscape Communications. All of them are worth more than $100 million each before they reach 30.

There Is No Alternative

But please remember: you can fulfil your dream only if Singapore's dream of the best home is fulfilled. And only if you understand the forces determining change. What are the forces determining such changes?

Let me read to you what the Shell group of companies says in its latest scenario planning studies:

" Whatever the future holds, it will be shaped by three powerful forces: liberalisation, globalisation, and technology. No alternative economic ideological model competes with the emerging global consensus about the value of open markets and the necessity for macroeconomic prudence. This consensus has gathered strength through the globalising influence of technology, especially information technology. What the world has learned in the 1990s is that 'There Is No Alternative' to adapting to these powerful forces- or 'TINA' the acronym for "There is No Alternative". Countries and organisations that heed the best practices of TINA- these groups simply do better than those who resist. And because communications technology immediately globalises these stories of success, a 'copy cat world' of intense benchmarking is created."

I cite Shell's study because through the scenario planning process, Shell had been successful in anticipating the implications of the rise in oil prices in the 1970s and the opening up of the Soviet economy in the 1980s.

The three forces - economic liberalisation, globalisation and technology - are inter-linked, each driving the other two and driven by the other two. Economic liberalisation, with the opening of trade, the lowering of tariffs and the emergence of new markets, allows all countries to benefit from the global economy. Globalisation is a reality with the continued development in communications and information technology. In the global economy, we will be linked by information networks and trading across boundaries on these networks. What all this means is that it will be a world with many players, where successful strategies can be copied overnight. It will be a highly competitive world.

Singapore has succeeded because of our ability to surf the waves of economic and technological changes. But the forces of economic liberalisation, globalisation and technology are pushing the pace of competition, and requiring us to think of new ways to stay ahead. We have to constantly come up with new ideas and improve upon existing ones, constantly upgrade our skills and knowledge, change our reliance-on-government mindset and become more self-reliant, and do things better than others, as individuals and as a national team.

Intense competition and a feeling of job insecurity will be a world-wide phenomenon. The jobless rate is high in developed countries, 5% for US, 5 to 22% for countries in Europe and almost 9% for Australia. Even Switzerland, a model I have held up for Singapore, is affected. It has a 5% unemployment rate.

Singapore will not be spared the difficulties now experienced by developed countries, unless we come up with unique solutions. Our economy is maturing and our population ageing. Emigration is not a solution even for those with the ability to do so. There will be no easy life anywhere in the world. Many emigrant Singaporeans who thought life would be easier in Canada and Australia have found that it was not so. Emigrating does not solve one's problems. Only ability to meet the competition will. It will be an exciting world for those who can keep up with the competition, but a discouraging one for others who cannot. In a world of never-ending change and competition, to cope will require a keen sense for opportunities, gumption and a willingness to embrace change. There Is No Alternative.

Opportunities & Challenges for Singapore

We are fortunate to be smack in a region which is undergoing an economic revolution. Asia, our frontyard, offers us rainbows and pots of gold. The World Bank expects East Asia to grow by 8% pa into the 21st century. The increased leverage of knowledge, the empowerment by IT, the liberalisation of trade, and the opening up of hitherto closed Asian economies to foreign investments are good news for a small country like us. Small players like Singapore will be less handicapped by their size; instead their adaptability and nimbleness will be a great advantage.

Let me give you one example of the need to embrace change. Dhanabalan, the Chairman of SIA, told me that SIA now has to grapple with the changed travel pattern as the region booms. Before, Indonesians going to Hong Kong would transit through Singapore. There were few direct Hong Kong-Jakarta flights because of the lack of demand. SIA could charge a premium for its air fare. Today, there are 23 direct flights per week, or about 3, a day, between Hong Kong and Jakarta because Indonesia is a fast-growing economy attracting both businessmen and tourists. SIA finds it more and more difficult to feed passengers from Jakarta and the region into its main trunk routes. SIA will have to find ways of offering better services at lower costs, and to seek tie-ups with other airlines to protect its passenger market.

Our challenge is finding people of quality to lead big organisations like SIA to meet changes. Joe Pillay, former SIA Chairman, now our High Commissioner to the UK, was a Malaysian. The present Managing Director of SIA, Dr Cheong Choong Kong was also a Malaysian. Malaysia is now growing rapidly. It enjoys political stability and social harmony. There are ample opportunities in Malaysia. So fewer top quality Malaysians now choose to settle in Singapore. In fact, some Malaysians working in Singapore are returning to Malaysia. Not only are we losing brains and skills, but these brains and skills are competing with us in Malaysia. We now have a smaller talent pool to draw our private and public sector leaders from.

How To Meet These Opportunities And Challenges

How can we prepare ourselves to meet future challenges? Remember that we are a small city state, 650 sq kilometres, no natural resources, 3 million people, having to make a living against bigger countries with bigger populations and abundant resources. Our solution lies in expanding our talent pool and raising our talent pyramid. We must attract foreign talent, particularly those with background similar to ours and can be easily assimilated. At the same time, we must nurture our population, invest in our young and retrain our workers, so that we can all perform better. We have to raise the height of our talent pyramid.

There is no organisation that needs talent more than the Cabinet. The Cabinet is where decisions are taken regarding your immediate concerns, your education, the quality of your university, your homes, your environment, your security, and your long-term future. Every decision that the Cabinet takes has a bearing on your life in one way or another. While decisions are taken on a collective basis, it is the individual minister who has to formulate, present and argue his Ministry's policies and programmes.

Not only that. At international meetings, he has to safeguard Singapore's national interests. For example, if we had a weak Minister for Trade and Industry, we could not have hosted a successful WTO meeting. But because we had an able and skilful Minister, Yeo Cheow Tong, in the chair, the meeting achieved more than most delegates expected. He left a very good impression on the delegates.

The transportation arrangements for the more than 160 delegations totalling over 2,700 people and another 1500 journalists were excellent. We did not have to declare a public holiday to cope with the traffic because we had no traffic problem. Other capitals in South-East Asia had to declare public holidays when they hosted large international meetings so that the normal traffic snarls do not clog up the roads.

Our traffic would not have flowed so smoothly had it not been for Mah Bow Tan leading the Ministry of Communications, and before him, Dr Yeo Ning Hong. They had the vision, the political courage and skills to implement the array of measures to moderate vehicular growth and restrain usage. No other city in the world has the political ability to solve its traffic problems with similar measures.

Our fundamental strength is a strong, fair and forward-looking government. Without such a government, I would not be here talking about your dreams. Your speaker is more likely to discuss your nightmares. Do you think we could have done even half of what was achieved in the last 30 years if we had a multi party system and a revolving-door government? Do you think we could have done just as well if we had a government which was constantly being held in check by 10 to 20 opposition members in the last 30 years? Look at the time which we wasted to pin down the fabrication, typo error and selective amnesia of just one ambitious but not so honourable politician. If you have clever but dishonest politicians in Parliament, the energy and time we have to spend to wipe off their false allegations and deliberate distortions would mean less time and attention to solve real problems affecting your interest. Such politicians are actually political vandals. They cause damage by tarring your mind with distortions, half-truths and untruths.

The best bed for Singaporeans to dream is the one built by capable, honest, and committed men and women. I remember the first time I voted in the 1963 General Election in Pasir Panjang constituency. I had to choose between a barber and a laundryman. It was not much of a choice. I chose the barber, not because I ranked the barber higher than the laundryman, but because the barber's leader was Lee Kuan Yew. I voted for Lee Kuan Yew and his programme, by voting for the barber. At that time, if the electorate had voted just on the merits of the individual MPs, instead of their party's programme and leadership, the PAP might not have won. The quality of the individual candidate in an election is important, but more relevant is the quality of his party leaders, and the soundness of his party's programme. The party leaders are usually appointed Ministers. They draw up programmes to benefit you, like Edusave or HDB upgrading.

I have seen how Singapore grow under the PAP. I myself have grown with it.

It was never my dream to be a Prime Minister. My ambition was more modest - a PhD and a professorship. Come to think of it, I never realised my ambition. I was under a 10-year bond to serve the government because of the bursary and the fellowship. I was sent to where my services were required - first, the civil service, then the national shipping line and later, politics. It is the meritocratic system which enabled me and others in my generation to succeed. Not everyone ends up as Prime Minister, but everyone can go as far as his own ability and performance will take him.

My government will ensure that you too will enjoy the fruits of meritocracy. You will go as far as your knowledge, skills and drive will take you. But we must balance this meritocratic system with compassion. Those who are better endowed intellectually, and do well, must return to society what society has given them. They are the ones who benefit most from political stability, the meritocratic system, the tertiary education, the scholarships, and the opportunities to climb up the ladder. If they spend time to help the less able in society to also move up, to help them keep up with the competitive race, to encourage and motivate them, they will contribute to the political and social harmony in Singapore. The less able and the lower income group, those at the lower rungs of the ladder, will find it in their self-interest to support those at the higher rungs. Then there will be social cohesion and political stability for all to realise their dreams.

You have to decide for yourself the dream you want to chase. We can only build the bed for you. You can decide to be preoccupied by immediate concerns - exams, girlfriend/boyfriend, housing, cost of living, - and I do understand these are real and not unimportant concerns, or you can see beyond these daily needs, extend your horizons, explore new areas and conquer new heights.

There will be many expanding niche markets for us to take advantage of.

On the basics and material aspects, like political stability, social harmony, high standard of living, cleanliness, low crime rate, infrastructure, schools, transportation, we have done exceedingly well. We have built a City of Excellence, as we promised in 1984 with our Vision 1999.

But we are not yet a Society of Distinction. Let us get rid of our self-centred, selfish and overly materialistic streaks. Let us be more considerate, selfless and balanced in our acquisition of material wealth. Let us be more cultivated and refined, with a keener sense of the beauty in human relationships, arts, music, and our cultural heritage.

Singapore is where East meets West, and we can create an outstanding, refreshing cosmopolitan society. For the young, there must be enough fun places where they can let their hair down, within the law of course. We will give them more space to do their own things, and encourage more street life and performances. We should encourage roadside portrait artists, calligraphers and open-air performances. We should bring back exotic crafts like snake-charmers. We can do with more spontaneity and creativity, and more interesting night life. We will allow neon-light and liquid-crystal advertising to brighten up selected entertainment areas.

Conclusion

To support our dreams, we have to create wealth for the people. Economic progress is essential to enable us to build the infrastructure, the homes, schools, hospitals, recreational facilities, and to provide us with meaningful jobs. But just as a home is more than bricks and mortar and is about the well-being, the happiness and the relationships of all the people within, so a nation is more than its physical infrastructure and its GDP: we need to strive towards the well-being of all its communities. Singapore 21 emphasises the need to share success, to invest in the young and to care for the old. It is a Singapore that goes beyond wealth and individual success, to sharing and caring and contributing towards making the lives of all Singaporeans better.

A Singaporean's success should not be measured by his car or private condominium. His stature and place in society should be defined by his contribution to his chosen field, by his giving his best in whatever he sets out to achieve, by whether he makes a difference to his place of work, his community, his country, the lives of others.

You are among the top 20% of your cohort who made it to university. In you, our country has invested the greatest amount of time and resources in education. And in you, we have invested much of Singapore's hopes and expectations. You have a greater responsibility to provide leadership, to raise our standards and to keep Singapore going after us.

My advice to you: take a long term view and develop your own interests and competencies in depth. Look beyond narrow materialism to a more interesting world of people, relationships, arts and sports, the software of life to complement your hardware. Your intangible skills and knowledge will be worth more than your material wealth in the knowledge-based society of the future. Be more independent and rely less on the government. In conquering the mountain, you may fail many times but treat each failure as a lesson bringing you closer to success.

Yes, the 21st century will usher in a tougher and more competitive world. But we have never been better equipped to compete. It will be rough. It will be challenging. You will need to have the tough-mindedness, the hard-headedness, the stout-heartedness to succeed. You will need conviction and stamina. But it will be exciting and rewarding. Our parents never dreamt we could achieve today's high standard of living, but we did. Your children should say the same thing of you. Propel Singapore upwards into the rank of developed economies and gracious societies. Make Singapore the best home for ourselves.

__________