Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Senior Parliamentary Secretary

Ms Seah Jiak Choo, Director-General of Education

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Boys and Girls

1                                            “Singapore, in every sense, is a model state. Its phenomenal growth in every field – economic, educational, scientific and cultural – since its independence from the Malaysian Federation in 1965 is nothing but amazing. Singapore today is one of the most prosperous countries in the world and its per capita equals that of wealthy European countries. It is also one of the most sought after tourist destinations. The harmony among its multi-ethnic, multi-racial and multi-religious citizenry is well-known. The credit for Singapore’s astonishing transformation from a British trading colony into one of Asia’s economic powerhouses goes to Lee Kuan Yew, the founding Prime Minister who guided the destiny of the country for three decades.” No, these are not words from one of our own publications. Instead, it appeared in Gulf Today, a newspaper in the United Arab Emirates, on 14 August and was written by Abrar Mikkawi Al Jamal, one of a group of journalists from the Middle East who visited Singapore recently and left with very favourable impressions.

2                                            Singapore is an exceptional nation. Against all odds, in the last half century, we have been transformed from a third world country into a first world country, from a poor, decrepit colony into a shiny, rich and modern metropolis. In the next 50 years, we aspire to be a key node in the global network of leading nations.  None of what we have achieved so far can be solely attributed to sound strategies, robust policies and making the right choices at the right time, important though these may be. Permeating throughout these achievements is a single common factor, a factor which I believe our award recipients today have in common.  

3                                            Whether you are receiving special awards for bilingualism, mathematics and science, academic achievement in the normal courses, upgrading or all-round excellence, you have been blessed with this common factor – which I would term “the spirit of excellence”.  A determination to excel, a drive to succeed, a desire to accomplish something significant and meaningful, a commitment to outperform our past. You epitomise this spirit; some have pushed personal boundaries, and have prevailed over setbacks, slow starts and difficult circumstances. Through adversity, you have grown stronger. Others, encouraged by teachers and parents, have chosen to hone their innate abilities and pushed themselves to a much higher level instead of settling for just being “good”. Today, we celebrate your achievements and I would like to share a few of your stories, but before I do so, there are some questions I would like you to ponder over because they will make a difference to how you perceive your abilities.

4                                            What is your response to your ability? Indeed, what do you consider to be your responsibility, having won these prestigious awards? With great ability comes great responsibility. One response is for you to continue to excel, carve out outstanding careers, enrich your lives in the pursuit of in-depth studies in related fields, maybe even go on to win international recognition for your work. It would be wonderful if you can and I hope you will have the motivation to do so. But I also hope that this would not be your only response.  There can be another response, a complementary response, to your abilities. You can use your talents so that they enrich the lives of those around you. Share your abilities so they tell a message worth remembering, demonstrate a lifestyle worth emulating. Inspire those less motivated, help those less able. Use well the opportunities to lead as well as to serve. In doing so, we play a part to help build a more compassionate and caring Singapore where no one is left behind.

5                                             May I issue you a challenge today: over the next 12 months, create opportunities to share your abilities with those around you. You could participate in buddy-reading programmes, initiate peer-tutoring projects that will benefit your classmates, schoolmates or a nearby school. Or lead an effort to reach out to those in society who are less fortunate. You could share your story of inspiration and achievement, so that others catch the fire of the spirit of excellence. In essence, the challenge is not only to be excellent individuals, but to be catalysts for excellence in whatever position, school or organisation you find yourself in. Whatever you do, I invite you to write to me and tell me about your experience.

6                                            And now let me share a few of your stories….The Prime Minister’s Book Prize recognises the outstanding achievements of our students in English and their Mother Tongue Language.

7                                            Ian Wee Liang En (黄良恩) of Hwa Chong Institution was awarded the Prime Minister’s Book Prize in 2001 and is effectively trilingual in English, Chinese and Malay. He is a fine orator, an accomplished writer, poet and playwright. Excerpts of his prize-winning plays were presented at the Singapore Young Dramatists’ Awards ceremonies and featured in NUS’s Centennial Celebrations in 2005.

8                                            Monish Mukesh Shah from Raffles Junior College, was the only Singaporean delegate this year to the Future Leaders’ Summit on International Diplomacy in New York and Washington. Monish engaged international student leaders in debates on world affairs and national security.

9                  Nur Hafizah Bte Mohamed Nor from Jurong West Primary School topped her cohort in English and Malay from 2003 to 2005. She was also the top student at Primary 4 and Primary 6. She is now with the NUS High School of Mathematics and Science.

10           Our winners of the Lee Kuan Yew Award for Mathematics and Science have been making impressive inroads on the international stage and home front. Let me highlight two examples.

11                    Hong Wenxian（洪文贤）is intrigued by concepts and applications beyond what textbooks offer. In an overseas attachment at the Research Science Institute at the California Institute of Technology, Wenxian embarked on an engineering project, “Design and Characterisation of a Littrow Configuration External Cavity Diode Laser”. He received the award for one of top 5 papers and top 5 oral presentations. At the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar, organised in connection with the Nobel festivities for young scientists, Wenxian presented another engineering project “Design and Optimisation of an Underwater Propulsion Device” and was invited to attend the Nobel prize presentation and banquet.

12                Steve Teo Wai Ming from Temasek Polytechnic, is fascinated by applications beyond that which is taught in the curriculum. In his third year, Steve led his project team to work on a computerised system that helped school teachers manage students’ performance in school-based science practical assessments. The system helped to reduce teachers’ workload by collating students’ scores and generating assessment results for analysis.

13                  Two winners of the Lee Kuan Yew Award for Outstanding Normal Course deserving of special mention are Amy Ruth Tan Tian Yue（陈天悦）of St Margaret’s Secondary School and Lee Jun Loong Brendan（李俊龙）from Xinmin Secondary School. Both Ruth and Brendan did not let dyslexia affect their performance. Their diligence and unflagging determination to excel, together with the encouragement from their schools and family, enabled them to emerge as top students in the 2005 GCE ‘N’ and ‘NT’ Level examinations respectively.       

14                    Harwant Singh Gill from ITE College Central (Yishun) joined the ITE after his ‘N’ levels, but did not complete the course. He worked for several years before it dawned on him that without relevant skills and a good education, he would face employment difficulties in the future. With newfound determination, Harwant returned to the ITE. Given a second chance, he shone in his studies and Co-Curricular Activities. One of his peers whom he tutored even chalked up a perfect Grade Point Average of 4.0.             

15                    Chia Hua Chew did not allow setbacks to deter him from achieving his best. He worked his way from EM3 to Normal Technical, before making it to ITE and Ngee Ann Polytechnic. It was at the ITE that Hua Chew thrived and topped his cohort. His lecturers recognised his leadership potential and gave him opportunities to grow. As Chairman of the Student Quality Circle Club, he inspired his team to present their project at the first ITE Student Quality Showcase. Hua Chew is a step closer to realising his dream of being an entrepreneur. He will be reading Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the Nanyang Technological University. Both are deserving of the Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship to Encourage Upgrading.

16                    Finally, let me highlight two students who will be receiving the Lee Kuan Yew Award for All-Round Excellence. Sim Jingwei (沈敬畏) has achieved a remarkable balance between academic excellence in the languages, Mathematics and Science, and co-curricular activities and community work. Not only did she distinguish herself at the Singapore Mathematics Olympiad, the Australian Maths Challenge Stage and the Youth Science Conference, Jingwei is also an exemplary role-model, having led as Head Prefect and Head of the Student Leaders’ Network in Raffles Girls’ School in 2005. This remarkable young lady who excelled as an orator and debater, also spearheaded the organisation of a camp for children from financially-disadvantaged families.

17                    Muhammad Mirza Bin Mushadat did not let his past academic performance deter him from taking on challenges in leadership. Coming from a Normal (Technical) class, Muhammad led by example and inspired his school-mates. He was the Unit Sergeant in the National Cadet Corp and the Head Prefect of Juying Secondary School.

18                    Our best students have demonstrated not just academic excellence, but values and mindsets that will lay a strong foundation for their future. While we recognise their drive and tenacity, we want to acknowledge the guidance of school leaders and teachers, who, together with families and the community, have supported them. We  also want to acknowledge our industry partners such as Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, A*STAR's suite of Research Institutes and the MIT Centre of Excellence in Education for their active participation in mentoring students in the sciences .

19                    I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations to all winners, their parents, as well as the teachers, schools and institutions that have nurtured them. May I wish you all success as you seek and scale new peaks of excellence in life.