A very good evening to all Tanjong Pagar GRC and Radin Mas SMC residents, grassroots leaders, volunteers, and partners. Thank you very much for joining us tonight for our 58th National Day Dinner.
For those of you who have participated in our Tanjong Pagar National Day Dinner regularly, you will know that on this occasion, I will speak candidly to all our fellow residents on some of the challenges and opportunities that we are confronted with in Singapore.
And as usual, tonight, I will make some short remarks in Malay, before I continue in Mandarin, and then in English.
So let me say some words in Malay first.
Malay
Para hadirin yang saya muliakan, malam ini saya ingin membuat tiga perkongsian pendek.
Pertama, saya ingin mengucapkan terima kasih kepada semua masyarakat Melayu/Islam kerana telah membuat pelbagai penyesuaian sepanjang tiga tahun yang lalu, untuk membantu kami mengharungi cabaran daripada pandemik Kovid Sembilan-Belas. Ini termasuk cara anda beribadah dan menyambut Hari Raya. Tanpa sokongan anda semua, kita tidak mungkin dapat bertahan hingga hari ini.
Kedua, saya ingin menggalak komuniti Melayu/Islam kita untuk terus menyemai amalan baharu, baik dan inovatif yang diraih daripada Kovid Sembilan-Belas, seperti dalam aspek perhubungan dengan keluarga kita, terutama dengan orang tua kita, amalan gotong-royong, ibadah dan kerja.
Ketiga, saya ingin memuji komuniti Melayu/Islam di atas kemajuan berterusan yang dicapai dalam arena akademik, perumahan dan pekerjaan. Walaupun masih banyak yang kami perlu lakukan, terutama untuk keluarga berkeperluan tinggi, kami yakin kami berada di landasan yang betul dengan usaha yang pelbagai daripada pertubuhan komuniti Melayu/Islam seperti Mendaki, Mesra dan Muis. Kalau kita terus bekerjasama, saya yakin kita akan mencapai masa depan yang lebih cemerlang.
Now let me continue my speech in Mandarin.
Chinese
各位居民，大家晚上好。今天在我华语的献词，先跟大家讨论一下居民们所关注的短期与长期问题。政府意识到在短期内，大家都非常关注与担心生活费高涨，及住房的问题。在长期的挑战方面，大家也非常关注人口老龄化和医药费的负担。
让我先谈一谈我们短期的挑战。在这个大环境下，战争的冲击，供应链被捣乱，石油价格的上升，这一切都影响了我们的生活费。刚才，英兰尼小姐也跟大家分享了政府能做出的一些援助配套，来帮助大家缓解生活费上升的冲击。虽然说，政府不能完全控制生活费的涨幅，不过，可以跟大家保证的是，政府将竭尽所能，好好的管理我们现有的资源，帮助更多有需要的弱势群体。让我们同舟共济：俗语说，有饭吃饭，有粥吃粥。政府将竭尽所能，与大家一起共同度过这个难关。
这也是我们一向来的做法。从1965年独立至今，不管我们面对种种挑战，我们都是秉持着同样的理念，同样的治国方针，把有限的资源管理好，帮助到更多有需要的人。不只顾好这一代，也照顾好下一代。要照顾好下一代，我们要做好准备，尤其在人口快速老龄化的过程中。在这方面，政府将会做出几项措施。就如英兰尼小姐所说，在"硬件"设施这一方面，我们会翻新每一个住屋区，让每一个住屋区的年长者都能安享晚年。在"硬件"那方面，相对来说，是比较容易。
不过，在老龄化的过程中，我们也需要大家一起配合。除了政府会把"硬件"设施照顾好，也希望大家能做出两项配合：第一，希望大家继续好好照顾好身体，照顾好健康，因为健康就是财富。如果大多数的年长者都能照顾好健康，那我们整个社会的负担将会减轻很多。
第二，除了好好照顾好自己的健康，也要照顾到家人和左邻右舍的健康。让我们携手打造一个更温馨的家园。配合"硬件"的提升，我们也要提升我们的"软件"– 怎么样互相照顾，好好的照顾好年长和有需要的人。
除了"硬件"和"软件"这方面，我相信虽然生活费的高涨，大家也意识到其实比起许多国家，我们都相对还好。在新加坡,我们吃的，90% 以上都来自外国。我们所用的，超过50%的资源来自外国。如果没有一个强劲的新元帮助我们抵过全球的通货膨胀，今天我们本地的通货膨胀率会比我们所遇到的更高。
我们为什么有这种能力，通过一个强而稳定的新元兑换率，来保持我们的物价稳定？这得归功于我们的先辈，为我们留下来许多的储蓄，有足够的储备金，让我们的新元不会在这紧要的时候受到更大的冲击。所以我们得感谢我们的先辈: 建国一代，立国一代，所为我们设下的好榜样，让后代人才能继续的享用到足够的储备金，来帮助我们缓解现在世界所面对的压力。
最后，还是希望大家安心。只要政府有这个能力，我们将竭尽所能，帮助所有需要帮助的新加坡人。让我们同舟共济，有饭吃饭，有粥吃粥。谢谢大家。
English
Residents of Tanjong Pagar GRC and Radin Mas SMC, perhaps I should recap what I said in Chinese first.
The message in my Chinese speech was this: We understand the challenges, particularly the inflationary pressures faced by our residents. The Government will do what we can to help as many people in need as possible, by making judicious use of our available fiscal resources to help all those in need. For our ageing population, we will continue to upgrade our facilities as necessary to make sure that all our elders are able to have peace of mind. But beyond the hardware improvements, we also hope that residents can help us do two things: First, keeping yourself active and healthy. And second, by helping us to build a caring community, demonstrating kindness to our neighbors and friends. So that besides the hardware, we will also have the necessary software to take care of our ageing population.
Now let me start on the English speech. Tonight, I would like to share with residents of Tanjong Pagar and Radin Mas three issues: our Relevance, our Cohesion, and also our Political System and Leadership.
Our Relevance
Let me start with our relevance, and I don't just mean geo-political relevance; I also mean geopolitical and economic relevance.
For those of us who have been following the international developments closely, you will know that we cannot assume that a stable rule-based international order that has underpinned our survival and success in our last 50 years can be taken for granted in the next 50 years. The war between Russia and Ukraine, the contest between the major powers – the US and China – are some of the issues that present challenges to us in terms of how we are going to navigate these challenging geopolitical times.
On the economic front, we have seen many more countries adopting industry policies and protectionist moves under the guise of security. All these make it much harder for us to compete for investments to be planted in Singapore so that we can create good jobs necessary for our people, especially the younger generation.
But amidst all these geopolitical and geo-economic challenges, there are also opportunities for Singapore to distinguish ourselves compared to many other countries. The greater the uncertainties of the world, the more local and international businesses will look for places where they can mobilise their capital safely, aggregate their talent, and protect their investments. These are areas where Singapore can distinguish ourselves and continue to attract the investments necessary for us to create good jobs for the next generation.
You can be assured that the Government is thinking very seriously and putting in place the necessary measures to make sure that Singapore can continue to remain an attractive location for international businesses so that we can create good jobs for the next generation. In the next lap of our economic development, it will not just be about making money and earning our keep. More important than that, through the COVID crisis, we have come to better appreciate how important it is for us to entrench ourselves in the global value chain and the global supply chain so that even in a crisis, we will not be easily displaced on the basis of price or other reasons. We must have the capabilities to produce things that people want, in peace time or crisis.
And to this end, the Government will continue to keep investing in our workers to make sure that our workers will have the relevant skills that are current and able to meet the market demand. The work is cut out for agencies like MOE, MTI, and MOM. We are working closely together not just to produce 40,000 fresh graduates from our school system every year with the right skills. We have to do that, plus retrain and upskill up to half a million Singaporeans every year in order for us to stay ahead of the competition as a nation.
You have my assurance that we will find whatever financial resources available to help our people continuously upgrade. All we hope for is that every Singaporean will partner us. Because we can provide the money, we can provide the courses, but ultimately, we need individual commitment, we need companies' commitment to make sure that our workers are trained and upgraded regularly.
We will continue to invest in our people, not just in the first 15 years of their lives in schools, but also for the next 50 years of their lives beyond schools. Only so can we continue to maintain our long-term relevance, and become an attractive partner for international and local companies to site their investments here to create better jobs for the next generation.
Our Cohesion
Next, let me touch on our cohesion and unity.
In a geopolitical contest and also in the new world of social media, there will be no shortage of parties, people, internal and external agencies that will want to influence our views. And we also know that Singaporeans would also like to see a greater diversity of views. That is natural.
As we mature as a country, we will have more diverse views. But while we can and should have diverse views, we must not have diversity of purpose. Our purpose must be to make sure that Singapore can continue to defy the odds of history, to survive and thrive for the long term. Whatever we say and do, it must be to improve the lives of fellow Singaporeans, not just those in the coming generation, but for future generations as well.
Recently, for those of you who follow current affairs closely, you will know that many external parties had wanted to influence our people to support their perspective. Sometimes, even an innocuous article, be it by the Straits Times, Zaobao, or even CNA, will be read very finely and carefully by external parties to see if we have been fair, or if we have been fair to them from their perspective.
People are watching us very closely. People want to know whether we are pro- this country, or anti- another country. All I will say is that we are neither pro- nor anti- any other country. We are all pro-Singapore. Everything that we do starts from the fundamental basis of how our decisions will help us to strengthen the chances of Singapore surviving the odds and overcoming the challenges. We take principled positions that best further our national interests. We don't take positions on the basis of whether it will further other people's interests.
Perhaps it is credit to us that so many external parties want to influence our domestic opinion, because they know that Singapore is a country with leadership and people who work on the basis of principles. People can trust what we say, expect us to fulfil our promises, and do what we say. Not many countries have such an ability to do so.
But this ability for us to be a trusted and principled partner is hard earned. And we have every reason to want to make sure that we continue to uphold this reputation as a trusted and principled partner. Because to a small country, any other way would mean that you have lost the trust, confidence, and faith of our international partners. We will continue to do this to make sure that we provide Singapore the best opportunities to overcome all the challenges.
When we say something, we will deliver on what we say. We have been doing so since our founding years, through the oil crisis, and most recently through COVID-19. We keep our promise, we maintain our principled position, and we earn the world's respect for doing this, even though at times it may seem challenging.
Our Political System and Leadership
The last topic that I want to touch on tonight is our political system and leadership. I know and understand that many of you are concerned with the recent developments. Some of you may ask what has gone wrong. Others may ask if we are able to make sure that we put things right.
Well, I will say the following tonight. You can have our assurance that this Government will make sure that we handle all issues transparently and fairly to continue to earn the trust and confidence of our people in Singapore and our international partners.
But it is not just that. It is not just about earning the trust of our people and international partners. Why are we doing this? Why do we need to make sure that whatever we do, we are upfront with our people and that we will not hide anything from them? The larger reason is not whether one political party has a political advantage over another party. The larger challenge for us in Singapore is this: Are we able to run, maintain, and keep improving our political system that inspires confidence in the next generation for us to attract the best and most committed people to come forth and serve?
This is the larger reason why we are doing this. For any country, the moment a political party no longer inspires confidence in its people, and when the best and brightest people do not step forth and serve, that will be the first step downhill and it will become very hard to turn back. Regardless of political party, we must make sure that we run a clean, incorruptible, and transparent system that can inspire confidence in the next generation.
Just now, I mentioned the challenges of attracting a new generation of investors into Singapore to create better jobs for the next generation. Why do people put their money and investments here? It cannot be because we have cheaper land and cheaper wages than other people. Even the carbon budget is a constraint for us as a small country.
In order for us to attract investments here, we have to distinguish ourselves – that we have exceptional people, we have an exceptional leadership team that can inspire confidence domestically and overseas. That when we promise people that if they put their investments here, the rules will stay for the next 10 to 50 years. When we tell people that they can put their investments here, you need not worry about paying fees under the table, or any other thing of that sort. People can take our word for it. We tell people that they can come and put their innovations here, and it will be protected. We understand what they need to do, and we will be as facilitative as possible. People know we have good, honourable, and trustworthy people. Without which, there is no reason why any big multinationals will want to put their investments here. And this is why we must continue to make sure to upkeep our system to inspire the next generation to step forward and to serve. Only so will we be able to defy the odds of history and survive many more years to come.
You have all heard the story that PM told, of Mr Lee Kuan Yew attending one of his last Parliament sessions. This year marks his 100th birth anniversary. Mr Lee reminded us then, in a few simple words, what we needed to do to keep this country going: Make sure that our system stays clean and not corrupted.
By that, he wanted us to always remember that Singapore exists not just because we have better ideas than other people. It is because even the simplest of ideas, so long as we execute it consistently and together, we will give ourselves the best chance to succeed. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to uphold this.
Our political system cannot become political theatre. Our political system must have intense debates based on facts. It must be based on reason, and that will allow our people to make the best decisions for our society. If our political system ever degenerates into a political theatre, good people will not stand forward, and when good people do not stand forward, everyone in Singapore will lose. And this is why it is so important that as we go forward, we must make sure that the political culture is constructive. Otherwise, we would not have as many opportunities as we would like to.
So finally, let me say this. This is our 58th anniversary. The leadership team has every determination to make sure that we celebrate SG100. We will make sure to keep our system upright, clean, and transparent to earn the trust of everyone in Singapore. We will make sure that we harness our resources well to not only take care of our people in the short term, but also in the long term. And finally, we will make sure that regardless of the circumstances that we encounter, we will overcome it together with cohesion. We will always remind ourselves to start from the basis of our own national interests.
Finally, circumstances do not define us. Our response to the circumstances will define us for many years to come. Thank you very much, and happy 58th birthday!