National Day Rally 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06PdmOSrboU
Finally, let me say something about the top schools. This is a somewhat awkward subject. We want every school to be a good school. Why are there top schools in Singapore? I think there are top schools in Singapore; it is good that we have these outstanding schools in our system with very high standards. It is a tribute to the teachers, the students and also to our education system. Many of these schools have long history and traditions, some even longer than Singapore’s. Over time, they have produced many leaders – leaders in the private sector, leaders in the social services and leaders in the government. They have produced not just successful people but pillars of our society. Not the only way to do so but a significant number of people have done so. Therefore, it is all the more critical that these schools should develop their students holistically and admit their students holistically and imbue the right ethos and values to them, expose them to diverse backgrounds, to build empathy and understanding and make sure the students stay rooted in the society which has nurtured them and invested hopes in them. Most importantly, we need to keep the admissions to the top schools open, so they do not also become closed circles. Not closed because you have to have certain parents, but closed because you have to have perfect grades. So I think that you should take not just students with outstanding academic results, but also very good students with other special qualities - qualities of character, of resilience, of drive, leadership - people who can show that they can make a difference in the world. And the top schools also must make sure that students from low-income backgrounds are not put off from applying to enter for fear that they cannot afford it, or that they cannot fit in because sometimes you can afford it, but if you do not feel comfortable because you feel like your friends are talking about things which you cannot afford, you feel out of place and I think that is bad and should not happen. So we must do something more to keep this spirit of openness and to enhance this diversity of opportunity for admission into the top schools.
What will we do? Two major things. One, the top schools, in fact all schools, have a DSA programme, a Direct School Admissions programme. We will broaden the DSA categories. Now if you are outstanding in arts, in sports, even in academics, you can come in on the DSA. But we must broaden this to also take into account character, resilience, drive, leadership. We have got to get the top schools to actively seek out such students, look for them. Some of them have scholarships for these schemes. We have got to get and invite primary schools to suggest possible students to the schools or suggest to the students that they take an interest (in their secondary school postings), explore it. You do not have to go there, it is not the only way up, but if you are thinking of going there, you do not have to worry. The opportunity is there, the door is open. So one, I think we should make a big effort in this to try and bring in people with the attributes we are looking for. But secondly, I think we can do more to enhance financial assistance and bursary schemes for these schools. We have the schemes; we should enhance them substantially so that anybody who qualifies and wants to attend these top secondary schools can confidently do so. And that way we can make sure that our top schools stay open, produce graduates who become assets to our society and are connected to Singapore and to our whole community which they belong to. I think that is the right way forward for us to go.
So these changes to our education system will help to keep our pathways upwards open to all and make meritocracy work better for Singapore. Meritocracy has to remain the most fundamental organising principle in our society. We have to recognise people for their contributions and their effort, not for their backgrounds, not for their status or wealth or connections. This cannot be a society which is based on guan xi (connections). It must be based on your ability, your contributions, what are you giving back to the society. So at the same time, if you succeed under our system, then you must feel the duty to contribute back because you did not do it alone. Therefore, if that works, we invest in you, you give back, then everyone will benefit from the system and will see it as fair and good. ESM Goh recently went down to RI for an alumni dinner and he described this as building a “compassionate meritocracy” and I think he was exactly on the point. One good example of this in action is Dr Yeo Sze Ling. She is here with us this evening. I met her and I thought I should tell you about her. Dr Yeo Sze Ling became blind at the age of four. She studied at the Singapore School for the Visually Handicapped. She did not go to a brand name school. She went to Bedok South Secondary School, Serangoon JC. She had an interest in Mathematics, she was good at it, she read Mathematics in NUS and she graduated with three degrees, including a PhD in Math. I stare at a page of Math with the formulas; I do not understand what is going on sometimes. But to be able to imagine it, visualise it, manipulate it, express it, that is amazing. She topped the Faculty of Science in her year, now she is a research scientist at A*STAR and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at NTU. (Pointing to slide) And here you see her, she is operating a Braille typewriter with headphones and so the headphones read back presumably the mathematical formula which she is typing in. But she is not just a successful professional, she is volunteering at the Society for the Physically Disabled, helping others to overcome their disabilities, which is why she richly deserved to win the Singapore Youth Award last year where I met her. Well done, Sze Ling! Sze Ling proves that you can do well if you work hard. It does not matter what your circumstances are and that is what we have to try to do to contribute back to the society and keep the system fair for all.
BUILDING STRONG COMMUNITIES
I have described how the Government will do more in this new balance but for this new balance to work, we all have a part to play. The Government can provide a flat but it is up to us to make a home. The Government can make healthcare more affordable but it is up to us to take care of ourselves and one another. The Government can make our education system more open but it is up to us to seize the opportunities and realise our potential. The community will also have to do more to complement the individual efforts and the Government’s programmes. And the community is alive and well in Singapore. We saw it during the recent haze. We had young people like Sylvester Yeo who donated his own money to provide N95 masks for elderly cleaners and hawkers. We had taxi drivers who bought and distributed masks to one another so that taxis could continue to operate. We had grassroots efforts to deal with day-to-day issues. I came across one example recently in Siglap, Loyang Villas which is a private estate where Dr Maliki, who is the MP, worked with them to solve a problem. They had a problem of indiscriminate parking, which I think many private estates have. So they had a dialogue, Dr Maliki encouraged them to come together and work out a solution among themselves. So the residents set up a taskforce to study the problem and discuss what could be done. The taskforce produced a “Code of Conduct for Responsible Parking”. (Reading Code of Conduct) Code of conduct, item number two - we should park at least one vehicle within our porch or driveway. Makes sense, right? Item number three - we should not place objects to “chope” (reserve) parking spaces, so hence you see the dustbins down there, I presume now removed. They saved on parking aunties and maybe the other estates can learn something from them.
But I am particularly cheered that many young people are doing good work. For example, I showed you some pictures earlier of my residents - Mr and Mrs Lim, Mr Ho Tee Soon who is 104, Mdm Puranam who is selling spices at my market. How did I get those pictures? They were a PAYM project in my CC. The PAYM mobilised themselves, they went around, interviewed residents, learnt their stories, took pictures of them, put up an exhibition in Teck Ghee CC. (Ms Khoo) Hanzhi was the photographer. I saw the exhibition and decided this is what I am going to use for my National Day Rally. Thank you very much, Hanzhi!
Other students are more ambitious. They go overseas to do good work. Singapore Poly did a Project NEPAL (Never Ending Passion and Love). They went to Nepal and they did a project building classrooms for the children there. You can see it is hot and dusty but it is a good experience for them. So we want to encourage more young people to build a better world and a better Singapore. You are our future. You are idealistic, full of energy and passion. Go forth, change Singapore, change the world, for the better.
To help you do that, we will set up a youth volunteer corps. We will expand opportunities for young people to do projects in our community, especially students in our post-secondary institutions - the ITEs, the polys and universities. The youth corps will provide resources to support you, funding to start your own projects, allowances to take say a term off for full-time community service. Grants, so after graduation you can continue serving the community. It will offer mentors to guide you, advise you, make the most of your efforts, match you with critical community needs, help you to make a difference to our nation.
These new policies - housing, healthcare and education – are very significant shifts. They are part of “Our New Way Forward”. But our ultimate destination and core purpose have not changed. We want to ensure that every Singaporean shares in the nation’s progress. We want to support the less fortunate and the vulnerable. We want to create opportunities for Singaporeans to do your best and ultimately, to build a stronger Singapore. It is going to take some time to work out the policies and programmes and to realise this new balance between the state, the community and the individual. It is going to take still more time to show results and we will assess how our strategies, our policies and programmes turn out and then as we gain experience and as our needs evolve, we will take further steps carefully forward. We are not taking these steps because our system is bad. On the contrary, we are starting from a strong position. Whether it is housing, whether it is healthcare, whether it is education, whatever our qualms, whatever our grumbles, whatever we may gripe about sometime, it is not perfect but by international standards they are all excellent and that is a fact.
Even transport, which worries many Singaporeans, we are making progress with new buses, with new train lines, with new free early morning MRT rides into the city. Even our baseline by international comparisons, honestly speaking, is not bad. And I am glad that some people appreciate our transport system like this couple, Mr and Mrs Wesley Lim. They did not just pose in front of the railway carriage. Instead of a wedding limo, the MRT got them to the church on time. And as Wesley said, “The ride of our lives. Who needs an S-Class when you can have an $8 billion Circle Line?” So I encourage more of you to do that.
A WORD OF CAUTION
Our new strategic direction will take us down a different road from the one that has brought us here so far. There is no turning back. I believe this is the right thing to do given the changes in Singapore, given the major shifts in the world. We proceed but let me sound a word of caution: All this is not without risk.
Other countries have tried to do similar things in the past with the best intentions but ended up with unwanted outcomes. America has the highest healthcare spending in the world. Their outcomes are worse than many developed countries, including Singapore. Finland has comprehensive protections for workers, yet 20 per cent of its youth is unemployed despite a good economy and a good education system. It could happen to us. Therefore, we have to tread carefully, beware the pitfalls. We will do more for the low income but we cannot undermine self-reliance. We will increase healthcare spending but we cannot encourage over consumption and unnecessary treatments. We will make the education system broader and more open but we cannot compromise academic standards and rigour.
And finally of course, all good things have to be paid for. For now we can afford these measures from existing revenues. In the longer term, their costs will rise, especially healthcare costs. MediShield Life and additional subsidies. Over time the amount will grow year-by-year. Today, people accuse us “why are we spending so little on healthcare?” One day we will be lamenting “why are we spending so much, how do we save?”. The risks are there. We have to realise this, we have to be prepared to pay for this, whether by raising taxes, whether by cutting back on other spending, if we want to keep the social safety nets and the programmes. We cannot saddle our children’s generation with debt so as to pay for our consumption. And I think Singaporeans know this. When I posted onto my Facebook page what I was going to talk about at the National Day Rally, one reader – Julie Chin - commented on my Wall and she spoke absolute sense. She said: “I just hope any changes are not populist ones that aim to appease the angry, entitled populace and put the burden on our kids and grandkids in the future. I would rather I have it tougher now just so my kids will not have a heavier burden to carry later.” And I think she spoke absolute sense. We are here now because our parents had it tougher and built this for us. For us to say let us be comfortable and let our kids take care of themselves, I think that is irresponsible.
I BELIEVE IN SINGAPORE
We must pass on to our children a better Singapore than the one we inherited. We owe it to them to do so. Just as we owe what we have today to our founding generation. Dr Goh Keng Swee, another of our founding fathers once said, “We must not think of where we are as the pinnacle of achievement, but as a base from which to scale new heights.” And I am glad that our young people are up to this challenge. On National Day last week, I opened the newspaper or rather I looked at it on my iPad, and I was greatly cheered to read a Forum letter from a young lady, 15-year-old student, Ms Cheang Ko Lyn. And she said “Singapore is not perfect and there may be flaws. But if we do not fight to protect and build it, no one else will. It is precisely because Singapore is not perfect that my generation must remain here, working to further improve it. We are all still learning, so have a little faith in our country.” And she quoted Mr Lee Kuan Yew what he said back in 1967: “There is tranquillity, poise and confidence in Singapore. And it is a confidence born out of the knowledge that there were very few problems which we cannot overcome.” And then she ended by saying, “Let us not be the generation which forgets that.” I think it made my day and if our young people feel this way then I think it is our responsibility and my responsibility to make sure that in fact they are able to fulfil their dreams. As the OSC participants said, to build a Singapore with Opportunities, with Purpose, with Assurance, with Community Spirit and Trust. A home where we celebrate many talents like Anthony Chen, whose “Ilo Ilo” film won the Cannes Camera d’Or for Best First Film. Or the LionsXII, who won the Malaysian Super League after 19 long years. Above all, a society where the human spirit flourishes.
To realise these dreams, we need to do the tangible things too - to build our city, to improve our living environment, to prosper our economy. And we are doing so all over Singapore. Punggol Waterway, a beautiful river for residents in Punggol and all over Singapore - not far from Fernvale Riverwalk. Jurong Lake District, an integrated town with homes, offices and leisure by the lake. The Sports Hub opening next April, a beautiful new stadium to watch sports. Also many facilities to play sports, whether as a professional athlete or weekend warrior. And maybe one day I can hold my NDR there too!
These are things already happening but beyond that, we have to plan and dream and build for the very long term. Take for example, Changi Airport. What is Changi Airport? To travellers - an icon of Singapore. To Singaporeans - a welcome landmark telling us that we have arrived home. To me it is a part of the Singapore identity - a symbol of renewal and change. I was one of the first passengers to use Changi Airport in 1981. In fact I took off on a test flight before the airport opened – I was a guinea pig to help test the airport systems. MINDEF chartered a flight to some secret place for training and we took off in the middle of the night, went through immigration, customs, searched and they picked up my knife in my hand luggage. Fortunately, I kept my knife. But they (the customs officers) were on duty, it worked. We arrived home a few weeks later at Changi Airport. Paya Lebar had moved to Changi. Changi was in full business. We found Changi a vast improvement compared to the old Paya Lebar Airport. The control tower was especially beautiful.
But Changi Airport is more than an emotional symbol. It is how the world comes to Singapore and how Singaporeans connect with the world. It is why we thrive as an international hub for business, for trade, for tourism. The airport and all the things which are connected with the airport, all the related services, they provide a lot of jobs in Singapore. I would not ask you to guess how many. But it is 163,000 jobs in Singapore, 6 per cent of the GDP and it is all levels of society. When air travel goes down during SARS, during a recession, taxi drivers feel it immediately. Especially the taxi drivers living in Tampines and Pasir Ris nearby, business is down, the queue at the airport of taxis becomes longer. But the airport is also the reason for our vibrant aerospace industry and the popularity of our aerospace courses in schools. For example, here in ITE College Central, we have an Aerospace Engineering course. In fact there is a Boeing 737 outside. A real aeroplane here to train our students, avionics, airframe, mechanics, engines. I posted this picture (referring to slide) on Facebook. Somebody asked, is that (Boeing 737) real or is that photoshopped? I said it is real. It is here because we are the hub, because we have Changi Airport. And we have Changi Airport today because in the 1970s, forty years ago, Mr Lee Kuan Yew had the vision to imagine the old RAF Changi Airbase becoming an international airport to replace Paya Lebar and he pushed for it against the advice of experts who recommended expanding Paya Lebar, building a second runway in Paya Lebar. Can you imagine? One runway in Paya Lebar, already aeroplanes coming in and going out over so many houses. (What more) two runways in Paya Lebar? But Mr Lee said no, study, study, study again. Got Howe Yoon Choon to lead it who pushed it and made it happened. And I think we owe it to them and we are grateful to them.
So we inherited this but we have also progressively expanded and upgraded Changi over the years. Now three terminals, handling 51 million passengers last year. Can still grow some, but approaching its limits and the business is growing. Passenger traffic is up. All over Asia, middle-classes are travelling, air travel is booming. People are going on holiday, doing business. Singaporeans are travelling all over the world. National Day weekend, how many of you were not in Singapore? I was recently on holiday in Japan, went to Mt Fuji. I met more Singaporeans on Mt Fuji than Japanese. Other airports in Southeast Asia are expanding to take advantage of these opportunities. KLIA, they are planning to service 100 million passengers per year. Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (Airport) also aiming for 100 million passengers a year and both of them are geographically better-placed than Singapore to be the hub in Southeast Asia. Because from Europe to Southeast Asia to the Far East whether it is Hongkong or Japan or China, KL is nearer, Bangkok is nearer still. But we are the hub. Why? Because they are not Changi Airport! That makes a difference.
Now the question is: Do we want to stay this vibrant hub of Southeast Asia or do we want to let somebody take over our position, our business and our jobs? That is our choice. Do we want to let somebody else eat our cheese? And I think we must be part of this growth and we have to plan ahead and continually build up Changi. And we have plans to do so. (Talks through video) Today, in Changi we already have T1, T2 and T3. They are there but we will keep on upgrading them. We are building a new terminal. There was a budget terminal. They said they are rebuilding a budget terminal, next thing I knew it became a T4. I told them it does not look like a budget (terminal) anymore. But the business is there. It will be good and we have one more trick outside T1, we will build something special. There is a carpark there, open air car park there, since the beginning. It should not still be there. We are going to replace with what we have codenamed “Project Jewel”. “Project Jewel” looks like this. We will expand T1, so T1 will be connected with it as will the others. But it will have shops, restaurants and a beautiful indoor garden. So we have Gardens by the Bay, this one is Gardens at the Airport. Not just for visitors but for Singaporeans too – families on Sunday outings, students maybe studying for exams, newly-weds taking bridal photos.
For the longer term, we are already planning T5. T5 sounds like a terminal but actually it is a whole airport by itself, as big as today’s Changi Airport but connected together so it all operates as one. Two runways, third runway, new T5, doubling the capacity. Starting work now, target date, mid-2020s –12, 15 years time. And this is how we can stay the hub in Southeast Asia and create many more opportunities for Singaporeans. But this is just one phase. Beyond this we have further bold plans because we are going to build a new RSAF airbase and a new runway at Changi - Changi East Airbase. And why are we doing that because if we do that, we can move Paya Lebar Airbase to Changi East and free up Paya Lebar Airbase. You look at this area, it is 800 hectares. It is bigger than Ang Mo Kio, it is bigger than Bishan. But it moves out, we will build new homes, new offices, new factories, new parks, new living environments, new communities. But in fact, it is not just these 800 ha. Because if you move the airbase, you remove the height restrictions on a big area around the airbase which are now constrained because you have to take off, you have to land, you have to provide safety and that frees us to develop new exciting plans for the big chunk of eastern Singapore, going all the way down to Marina and Marina South. So you are talking about 2030 and beyond, and it would not fully happen for maybe 20, 30 years after that because houses are built, houses do not need to be pulled down overnight. But the potential is there. We can dream.
Besides Paya Lebar, we also have plans for our port in Tanjong Pagar. Tanjong Pagar, with Brani, with Keppel, with Pasir Panjang, is one of the busiest ports in the world. Business is good. The port has been very successful. It is growing, it is reaching its limits. So we are building a new port in Tuas, bigger, more efficient, almost double the present capacity. And then we can stay the hub port and make sure the business stays here. And when this is done, we can move from Tanjong Pagar to Tuas. Starting 2027 when the ports’ leases expire and when they move to Tuas, you will free up the prime land in Tanjong Pagar. And there we can build a Southern Waterfront City. This is a satellite picture, so you can see it all on one screen. But it is a huge area. It 1,000 ha, or 2.5 times the size of Marina Bay, all the way from Shenton Way to Pasir Panjang, from the east all the way to the west.
These are very ambitious, long-term plans. It is an example of how we need to think and plan for our future. And it reflects our fundamental mindset and spirit – to be confident, to look ahead, to aim high. If we can carry off these plans, we do not have to worry about running out of space or possibilities for Singapore. We are not at the limit, the sky is the limit! We are creating possibilities for the future. We are opening up opportunities for our children, for their children to continue to build, to upgrade, to reinvent the city for many more years to come.
Very few countries or cities anywhere in the world can think or plan over such a long term. But Singapore has been able to do it. This is how we got here and this is what we must do to be here tomorrow, next year and for many years to come. But in a deeper sense, these are not plans. These are acts of faith in Singapore and in ourselves. Faith that a generation from now Singapore will still be here, and will still be worth investing in, for the sake of our grandchildren and their grandchildren. Faith that we can thrive in the world, whatever the challenges, and hold our own against the competition, bigger, stronger, but we are there. Faith that we can get our politics right, that we can throw up honest, capable, trusted people to lead our country well, to make our system work for Singaporeans. Faith that we can stay together as one united people, maintain a steady course year after year and make our dreams come true. Nowhere was this faith more vividly expressed than in our National Day Parade. When we sing Majulah Singapura together as the flag is flown past on a helicopter. When we “pledge ourselves as one united people… to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation”. This year’s Parade showed what Singapore can do. In the stories of our fellow Singaporeans, especially those who have overcome adversity, like our wheelchair basketballers. In the faces of the participants, radiant and happy, thrilled to be part of this shared story. In the response of the crowds, crowds at the Floating Platform, crowds around Marina Bay, crowds before TV screens and monitors all over Singapore in fact around the world. Watching them, feeling them, made me and my colleagues more determined to do the best for Singaporeans. They bolstered our conviction that it is worth doing and we can do it.
We may have made major shifts in our policies, but our core purpose has not changed. To create opportunities for Singaporeans, to fulfil their potential, do their best, to invest in every Singaporean and develop their innate talent, to keep Singapore a place where the human spirit thrives. We are not done building Singapore, we never will. Work with each other, work with us. Together, let us forge our new way forward. Together, let us build a better Singapore for all of us. Good night.