1. A very good afternoon to all of you. I would like to join Dr Syed Harun to thank all of you for being here. Particularly, the donors who have contributed your treasures, and more importantly, your time and your talent to inspire the next generation. Congratulations also, to all the recipients today.
2. Today, I would like to share a couple of things with all of you. Some of you, might be wondering, why do we need this ceremony? Given that Singapore is such an efficient society, and that the Government has provided so much for our fellow Singaporeans, why is it that we still have ceremonies like this today - whereby we have donors and volunteers who go out of their way to collect donations, and give out bursaries and scholarships on top of what the Government has done. Over the years, the Government has also continued to do more and more. But the question remains, why not have the Government do everything?
3. I was chatting with the leadership of LBKM, and they told me that every year, they need to raise a couple of million dollars. In the larger scheme of things, this couple of million dollars could have simply been part of the Government expenditure. So why do we have this at all? Moreover, for most of the social services, more than 90% of funds would have come from the public as well. So, let us take a moment to ask ourselves, why are we doing this? Why have we been doing this for 58 years, and why do we intend to do this for many more years to come?
4. Well, the answer is simply this. The simple way might be to take on a more transactional approach by distributing the funds from public taxation, without the need for any self-help group or community group to do anything. But if we do so, will we be a better society? We might be able to meet the material needs of our people in a more efficient way but we might not be able to meet the higher order aspirations of us as a society - whereby each of us is empowered to do something according to what we desire and we are inspired to contribute beyond what is just required by the law.
5. It is crucial for us to do what we can based on our abilities and desire, and not just based on what other people tell us. That's why in Singapore, we have a very unique system. In all our social services and community support, while we mobilise the Government resources and public resources for the bulk of the funding, we will always leave space for community groups like LBKM to do an extra bit based on what they need and prefer. That allows us to contribute beyond what is required and it is a very important part of the Singapore spirit.
6. By encouraging this spirit of contribution, all of us will be able to do something according to what our heart calls us to do. Hence, I want to acknowledge all the donors here today, not just because of the funds that you have been giving, but more importantly, you have stepped forward to contribute your time and your talent to mentor the people that you have reached out to, to serve the community beyond what is required. And in this way, as what Dr Syed Harun said, you have inspired people to pay it forward. To pay it forward because we are not just concerned about our own material well-being, but we are concerned for a larger cause.
7. After all, we are not just concerned about how we individually progress, but we are concerned about how we progress as a community. I stand before you as an example of a beneficiary who has achieved many things in life because of the community. Once upon a time. I was like many of you in the audience. I would not have been able to complete my education, if not for the public bursaries and scholarships that I had obtained. It would have been difficult for me to afford some of the books and materials that I needed for school, if not for the generous contributions by many community members, many of whom till today I do not know their names nor their faces. They contributed quietly, in their own way, regardless of whether they were rich or poor, to help someone whom they did not know, to try to give that person a better chance.
8. And that is why, I hope that for all the recipients here today, one of these days, one, if not more of you, will continue this proud tradition to stand in front of the next generation to continue to inspire them, to spur them on to do their best. And I want all of us to remember that regardless of our station in life, all of us have something in us. Beyond just academic excellence, we could contribute in the sports field, in the arts or in any other ways, as we are blessed with different gifts. When we contribute through our diversity of gifts, we will become a warmer, kinder nation that we all aspire towards.
9. Hence, all of us have a responsibility - not just to take a scholarship, bursary and to excel, but to make a contribution. And I really look forward to the day, when we as fellow Singaporeans define our success, not just by how well we do for ourselves individually, but how well we contribute to a larger collective. That will make for a much warmer society and a much greater Singapore. We would be able to proudly tell everyone in the world that if you are born a Singaporean, you will have the best chance to fulfil your potential regardless of your starting position. This is because we empower everyone to do their best.
10. So on this note, let me once again congratulate all the award recipients. I look forward to the day where one or many more of you will stand in front of the next generation to keep the flame burning and keep them inspired, so that they will achieve even greater things than our generation. Each generation of Singaporeans will never define success by just how well we do for ourselves in this generation, but define success by how well we enable and empower the next generation to do even better than us.
11. On that note, may you inspire the next generation to contribute more and serve a larger cause beyond ourselves. Thank you very much.