Singapore Government Press Release

Media Division, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts,

MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2nd Storey, Singapore 179369

Tel: 6837-9666

I support the motion of thanks to the President. The President’s call for the remaking of Singapore prompted me to talk about why I moved out of the Public Gallery, from where I have observed the debate in Parliament for many years. I was comfortable there. I was able to serve Singapore and Singaporeans. Why did I leave the comfort zone?

Last year, I visited my father's hometown in China for the first time; a small hilly village in Fujian. Condition there was harsh. But my relatives there were proud that it was much better than 5 years ago. So I could imagine how it was like 70 years ago. No wonder my father had to risk his life, sailing into the unknown.

He left his hometown because there was not enough food to go around. His choices were stark: emigrate or starve. Economic mismanagement and political chaos made economic refugees of his generation. Arriving penniless in Penang, his aspirations were basic.

His dream was a simple one: that his children would not have to starve. What he valued most were political stability and a strong economy. Day and night, he toiled in order that we would have food on the table, a good education and a ladder out of poverty.

My father had more than fulfilled his dream. As a result, I was never deprived. I was certainly not an economic refugee. So why did I end up here in Singapore?

When I was in school, some of us were deeply attracted to the value of meritocracy advanced by the Singapore leaders. Our dream was to fulfil the equivalent of the "Singapore Dream": to achieve our potential, regardless of race, language or religion.

After HSC, or the equivalent of the GCE A Level, I applied to both Governments for a Scholarship. I was accepted by Singapore. Meritocracy: it was a powerful idea.

Singapore has succeeded because we have embraced certain values: meritocracy, fair play, equal opportunities, clean government, racial and religious tolerance. As a result, we have acquired certain core strengths. First, our ability to stay cohesive over time and across racial, income and union-management boundaries. Second, our ability to preserve our core, yet we can also make changes when the situation demands. So while we are not a perfect society, we acknowledge these, and keep improving. That these have been fundamental tenets of our nation in the last 40 years does not mean that they are permanent. If we do not all chip in to actively preserve and advance the Singapore Cause, these core values may dissipate with the passing of time.

My Singapore Dream was initially a personal one – secure a good life for my family. But as I got involved in public policies and shaping the future, my Singapore Dream evolved into the Singapore Cause. My own experience is that going beyond the personal to dreaming for the community – to achieve our potential as one community -- that is deeply fulfilling.

The Singapore Dream of my generation was to make it good in Singapore. I think the Singapore Dream of the young generation is quite different. Their Singapore Dream is probably to make it good in New York, London or Shanghai, and to fly home occasionally for char kway teow or roti prata. The Global Dream is today’s reality.

When the Singapore Dream is actually a Global Dream, how do you ensure that Singaporeans remain rooted to Singapore? Will they call Singapore home and advance the Singapore Cause as their Singapore Dream? Or will they simply leave to pursue their Global Dream?

Economic dynamism is a key prerequisite to root Singaporeans to Singapore. But it is no longer sufficient. For the able, they can move to and succeed in wherever the economic opportunities are. Even char kway teow or roti prata will not be strong enough as glue; you can now get them in Shanghai, Sydney or London in food courts run by Singaporeans.

And after all, we have been encouraging the Global Dream, as it is important for Singapore. Hence, we push our companies to venture abroad. We peg ourselves to global standards. This is also why we invest so much in education. Many Singaporeans subsequently go on to top US Ivy League Universities. Do you know that in recent years, our very own Raffles JC has consistently been among the largest single sources of undergraduate admissions to Stanford University?

Without pursuing Global Dream, we cannot succeed as an economy. But it is critical for Singaporeans to remember that without a Singapore Cause, there can be no Global Dream for them.

In a strange way, in meritocratic Singapore, some of our able feel that there is no room for them to make a difference. With a competent Government worrying about the future and coming out with solutions, some of the able feel left out.

I was in public service, so I was involved and could make a difference in shaping the future. But must one be in public service to make a difference?

For the Singapore society to be robust, we need good leaders in all the three sectors: public, private and people sectors. We have done very well in the last 40 years, with a few outstanding leaders, especially in the public sector. But in the next phase of our development, we need EVERYONE to play a role, and in each of the 3 sectors. The public sector does not need to lead, nor has it the right expertise and instincts in all private and people sector issues.

In the private sector, we need to go beyond GLCs and MNCs. Our SMEs must play and can play a bigger role in business.

In the public sector, key issues, such as defence, will have to be led by the Government. But there are others where the Government can take a supporting role to allow the people sector to take a lead. For example, the Nature Society has taken a lead on nature preservation matters. I believe the public sector has benefited from their expertise.

There must be more areas where the Government can devolve to the people sector, to let the community decide for themselves. But let’s don’t go for quick fixes. As a young nation, shared vision and mode of participation need time to evolve. We need to move at a pace that meets the expectation of the young, while balancing domestic concerns. What we seek is not diversity for its own sake, but the ability to integrate such diversity in a useful way.

We do this very well in our schools. As a student, there were so many activities I could involve myself in, beyond the textbooks. I helped to set up the Red Cross Society in my school. I ran remedial classes for fellow classmates. Others organised sports training sessions. Together, we participated in inter-school competitions. These activities built strong bonds amongst the students. They made us feel proud of our school and our heritage. Thirty years after leaving school, we still gather regularly, 3/4 times a year, to talk about the past, and plan what we can do to help the school in its mission.

My experiences were in a Penang school. From my children and colleagues, I gather that their experiences in Singapore schools are similar. But there is an unfortunate break in such active participation in the community, when one enters adult life. We should remedy this.

The sense of spontaneous participation, to connect with one another, should continue into adulthood. I hope everyone can come forward to make things better in our community, for example, in VWOs, in NGOs. If they are passionate about education, they can help in the schools. If they care about helping the elderly sick, they can help in the nursing homes. Business people and professionals from other fields can bring new perspectives.
In fact, many Singaporeans do. I just came across the Centre for Fathering. It was started by 3 fathers, to promote responsible fatherhood in Singapore. Two of them, at the initial stage, actually gave up their jobs, to help push this cause whole-heartedly, because of their personal conviction.
PS Lim Soo Hoon told me that just last week, at a low key function to thank the volunteers at the Pelangi Home for the destitutes, Jack Neo turned up to entertain and encourage the volunteers, even as he was rushing off to catch a flight out.
PS Yong Ying-I told me about Helen Chia, a Volunteer Probation Officer who gave generously of her time helping the delinquents, besides giving tuition in an RC to children who cannot afford private tuition.
Jack Sim is another example. Driven by his passion to good public education on restroom manners, he started an Association and went on to host the first WTO Conference here. WTO stands for World Toilet Organisation. He even commissioned a Toilet Anthem. He sees exciting partnership possibilities with practically every group he comes into contact with; for instance, with Nature Society and with AVA, on suitable toilet plants.
There are many more such fine Singaporeans, from all walks of life, who come forward to help make our community better: Subaraj Rajathurai, Prof Bernard Tan, Brother Joseph McNally, Prof Aziz Nather, Henry Tay, just to name a few. They are excellent role models for all, as we contemplate how to expand the people sector.

Mr Speaker, Sir. My father left his hometown. I left mine. I have left the comfort zone in the Public Gallery to help ensure that my children and grandchildren do not ever have to be forced to leave their hometown.

As we remake Singapore, one top priority must be to involve all Singaporeans in the Singapore Cause. To succeed in this, we must listen to their voices, whether from inside Singapore, or from overseas, from high or from low, EM1 or EM3.

But how do we engage them, especially the younger generation? What do we need to do? Change our style? Change our assumptions about them? Change our attitudes as adults?

Through my work in the Economic Review Committee, I am experimenting by working with overseas Singaporeans residing in the US. Yes, there was some initial skepticism among some of the young participants. But as we engage them more, I sense a strong pool of goodwill and enthusiasm to want to contribute, to make a difference. Many are now burning their nights and weekends on this project, with lots of emails in between.

The media reports on their activities have in turn prompted a group of young professionals in Singapore, on their own initiative, to also work into the nights, so as to be able to contribute to the work of the Economic Review Committee. It has been a very heart-warming experience for me.

One key take-away in this experiment is that we should never assume that the young would not have much to contribute. They may have different values and points of reference. They may see the need for "fun" together with being "serious". But that does not mean that they are frivolous. Their energy and freshness of ideas should find a happy merger with the older generation’s wisdom and experience, to evolve and advance the Singapore Cause.

To succeed, we need to engage the new generation and transform their Singapore Dream, so that it is not just the Global Dream, but has the Singapore Cause embedded in it.