1. A very good morning to Mr Tan Lee Huak, Chairman of the Singapore Buddhist Lodge, members, religious leaders, donors, and beneficiaries. 大家早上好。
2. This is not my first time joining the Singapore Buddhist Lodge and the many donors and kind-hearted people in distributing the hongbaos to our beneficiaries. Every time I come, it always feels special. There is something unique that I hope to continue to see and cherish.
3. If we look around the world today, there are many conflicts – over politics, military, and religion. But today in Singapore, not only do we live in peace and harmony, we have the various religious groups, regardless of their background and religion, coming together to take care of and serve the community. This is something that we can take pride in and cherish, and not something that I take for granted. It is always a work in progress.
4. I would first like to thank our religious leaders and volunteers, for your hard work in demonstrating this cooperation for the welfare and good of our country.
5. While Singapore may be materially well off, there will always be people in our society that require a bit more help. In Singapore, we never define our success just by how well we do for ourselves. We define our success by how able we are to take care in the weakest, the least, the smallest amongst us. We also look at how we can enable the next generation to even do better than us. This is something unique about Singapore, that we should continue to take pride in and cherish.
6. Today, I would like to thank the leaders, volunteers, and donors, not just because of the money that you have collected and will be distributing to beneficiaries, but more importantly, to demonstrate that spirit and show our younger generation the kind of values and spirit that we have in Singapore. Thank you very much.
7. Last but not least, we all know that this year may be quite a challenging year for the world. There are still wars going on in Europe and the Middle East, and there are tensions in Asia. All of us are facing the challenge of inflation, where prices, particularly for food, have gone up quite a bit. On one hand, we can say that in Singapore, we are still a bit more blessed compared to many other countries because of our strong Singapore dollar or the way that we manage our economic resources.
8. Nevertheless, the Government is keenly aware that many Singaporeans are facing the challenge of rising cost of living. On this, I would like to assure everyone that the Government will continue to muster and be good stewards of our resources to take care of each and every Singaporean – so that everyone in Singapore can hope for a better future, and be assured that they can take care of themselves and their families. Together, we can take care of one another and be proud to be Singaporeans.
9. This year may not be easy. We are expecting more challenges on the geopolitical and economic fronts. But we have the quiet confidence in Singapore that we can overcome these challenges together – not just because the Government is working hard, but we have the confidence that we can work with the community, religious organisations such as the Singapore Buddhist Lodge, Jamiyah Singapore, Taoist Federation, and many more to take care of one another. The Government will never be able to do this alone. We will need the help of everyone who is able. Even our beneficiaries can also contribute in their own ways to take care of fellow Singaporeans.
10. All of us can do our part to reach out and help somebody else. That is what makes Singapore special and heartwarming.
11. Thank you all for working together with the Government, the religious organisations and community organisations to take care of one another. So long as we work together, I am confident that we have the means and ways to overcome the economic, strategic, and security challenges that will confront us in the coming days and years. Thank you all very much.
12. Let me now say a few words in Chinese. 我刚才用英文说了，我想特别感谢所有的义工。因为有了你们的付出，我们有了今天。虽然在这些活动上，往往我们都非常关注受义者，我今天也想肯定义工们的付出。你们的付出，你们的精神，展现了我们新加坡的精神。你们的付出让我们更有信心克服所有的困难。有一句话说：'施比受更为有福' 。今天，你们的付出也展示了你们希望把我们所得到的福气、贡献于此、和大家分享。这是我们新加坡特殊的精神。也希望我们世世代代能传承这种精神 – 不分种族，不分宗教，大家团结一致，克服未来所可能带来的问题和挑战。
13. 今年我国庆祝60周年。60岁还算是一个非常年轻的国家。让我们引以为豪的不只是今天的物质上的成就、更重要的是我们的新加坡精神，不分种族，不分宗教，大家团结一致，出钱出力照顾我们的弱势群体，把我们最好的献给下一代，创造更好的明天。我希望我们能代代相传，把这种精神传下去。感谢我们今天所有在场和不在场的义工们，因为有你们的付出，你们所展现的精神，我们有信心克服未来的困难。谢谢大家。