The Christian Brothers have contributed hugely to Singapore. Everywhere in Singapore, their students have risen to positions of responsibility in the public and private sectors, and as husbands and fathers. Our Anniversary celebration today is also a celebration of the contributions of the Christian Brothers.

The Catholic Church provides well over 10% of all school places in Singapore. However, in few Catholic schools, if in any at all, are Catholics in the majority. There is never any attempt to impose the Catholic faith on the students, which is why many Muslim parents send their children to Catholic schools. About half of the Ministers in the Cabinet today studied in Catholic schools. This is a wonderful tradition in Singapore, where Singaporeans of different races and religions live and work separately and side by side, contributing in different ways to the betterment of our society.

We have a strong multi-racial tradition in St Patrick’s School. In any one cohort, the racial breakdown in St Patrick’s would be about 10% Malay, 15% Indian, 10% Eurasian and 65% Chinese. Catholics make up slightly less than half of the school population. In addition to Catholic priests, the school has produced Protestant ministers, and at least one Buddhist monk.

We are fortunate to have modern school facilities on the same site. The architects have done a good job to ensure that the present school resembles very much the old school, so that old boys do not feel a sense of strangeness when they come back to the school. Of course, the surrounding areas have changed, but that can’t be helped. Before St Patrick’s School was established in 1933 by Bro Stephen Buckley, the Brothers had a seaside retreat bungalow here. My father, as a boarder of SJI stayed there. There are many stories of the bloody happenings that occurred during World War 2, when the buildings were occupied, first by the Australian Military Hospital and then by the Japanese. The old septic tanks beside the canal were thought to be haunted. I brought my kids there some years ago to frighten them, but found that the tanks had been demolished. I don’t know if the old ghosts are still around.

Every generation of Patricians has its fond memories of the School.

As a primary school student, we climbed the angsana trees, scraped for cockles on the mud flats and used tall grass to catch fighting ants in their burrows. We sat on the walls to watch soccer matches until, one day, glass shards were stuck on them. In Secondary One, I strained to do my first chin-up beside the tennis court.

We were Katong boys and we will always be Katong boys. Unlike many parts of Singapore, which have been redeveloped beyond recognition, Katong has retained its character. Katong continues to be where the Eurasians in Singapore are concentrated. At Ceylon Road, the new Eurasian Community House will soon be officially opened by President Nathan. The Eurasians use the St Pat’s School field every Sunday to teach young kids soccer. From a few parents, there is now quite a crowd every Sunday afternoon. The Eurasian character of St Pat’s is part of our tradition and should be sustained. Among all the races, the Eurasians mix the most freely. This is partly the reason why Patricians mix well everywhere. I don’t think the Eurasian community would have asked me to represent them in the Cabinet after Eddie Barker stepped down, if I were not a Patrician.

But of course we can’t just be indulging in nostalgia. Like the rest of Singapore, we have to remake St Patrick’s School too for the 21^st century, and continue to make our contribution to Singapore’s future. We are adding facilities. We now have a new Kiely Block. Bro Kiely came back from Ireland to visit us two months ago, sponsored by some of his old students. Alban Block is being upgraded. And next year, we will be establishing our own multimedia corridor in Stephen Block.

We have to keep pushing for excellence. Our academic standing is improving. We continue to excel in sports, especially cricket, tennis, table-tennis and soccer. Our school band has done us proud by its consistently-outstanding performance.

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