SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has asked Singaporeans to join him in
writing the next chapter of the Singapore Story that contains three broad
themes -- Hope, Heart and Home.
It was a rallying call by the
prime minister, in a National Day Rally on Sunday, which took on a different
format this year.
Three other speakers -- Education
Minister Heng Swee Keat, Senior Minister of State Lawrence Wong and Minister of
State Halimah Yacob -- also spoke ahead of the prime minister.
Mr Lee said Singapore is in a new
phase of development and the next 20 years will be full of opportunities as
well as challenges.
To progress, Singapore needs to
renew itself continually, and when necessary, re-invent itself boldly.
He invited Singaporeans to join
in the national conversation to map the next chapter of the Singapore Story.
Singapore's journey from Third
World to First World is well known. But the days of rapid growth are over, not
just for Singapore but for the three "Asian Dragons" -- Taiwan, Hong
Kong and South Korea.
Mr Lee said all of them are at a
critical juncture, searching for a stable new path forward, and no country can
say for now that it has found the formula.
What Singapore needs are new
strategies and new formulas.
The prime minister said: "To
survive, we must be resilient -- tough as individuals, close as families,
cohesive as a society, strong as a nation. And we have to be prepared to
compete and to hold our own -- the competition is there, there's no place to hide.
"And when we encounter
setbacks, we must have the spunk to pick ourselves up, dust off whatever's
stuck to us, and press on."
Mr Lee called on Singaporeans to
pitch in -- to define what sort of country they want, and how it can be
achieved -- through a national conversation.
"Please join in this
national effort! Think seriously about our future, contribute your ideas and
work together to make it happen. So what should the next chapter of the
Singapore Story be about? I think if I summarise it, very briefly, in three
words: Hope, Heart, and Home," he added.
The next 20 years will see many
changes in the world, but the prime minister is confident that Asian countries,
especially China and India, will continue to rise, posing competition as well
as offering opportunities for Singapore.
Citing global competition and
fast evolving technologies, Mr Lee warned of a rough ride ahead.
He said the future is what
Singaporeans make of it. So the country needs to set a clear direction, rather
than set sail off course or drift with the tides.
Singapore, he said, must always
offer hope for a better future.
Mr Lee said: "I know that
our people sometimes worry about the future -- can our children really do
better than us? But if you take a step back and look at where we are
objectively, and see our situation in perspective, I think the answer is, 'we
are in much better shape than we give ourselves credit for'.
"We have strong fundamentals
-- a world-class workforce, sound finances, a system that works. It's not
perfect -- every now and then something goes wrong, and every time an MRT
malfunctions, we are reminded of this.
"But we will fix these
imperfections, and we can keep on making it better. We may be very conscious of
our shortcomings, but others have a high regard for what we have
achieved."
Key in providing hope is the
investment in Singapore's future generation -- thus, the emphasis on education
and providing different pathways to meet aspirations.
In the area of higher education,
more university places will be set aside, focusing on applied,
practice-oriented degrees -- such as those for engineers, physiotherapists and
social workers.
Two institutions, Singapore
Institute of Technology (SIT) and SIM University (UniSIM) will be Singapore's
fifth and sixth universities.
Come 2020, 40 per cent of each
cohort will get a place in a local university, compared to just 27 per cent
currently.
To help Singaporean families
level up, Mr Lee said the government will play a more active role in pre-school
education.
He said: "First of all,
we'll establish a new statutory board to oversee pre-school education.
Secondly, we'll provide and upgrade pre-school teacher training to raise
standards. Thirdly, we'll bring in new anchor operators, in addition to PCF and
NTUC.
"And fourthly, we'll upgrade
the anchor operators -- the existing ones as well as the new ones -- so that
they can improve the careers they can offer the teachers.
"They can offer structured
development opportunities for the staff, they can introduce creative learning
methods for the students but to raise the base -- the quality of the mass
market."
Even singles can look forward to
something. Mr Lee said the Ministry of National Development is looking into
whether singles will be eligible to buy flats directly from the Housing and
Development Board.
On the government's part, there
has been a major shift to have a more inclusive Budget.
In 2011, the government collected
S$8 billion from its net investment returns contributions, which funded 14 per
cent of social programmes including special transfers like CPF top-ups.
Within the community, though, Mr
Lee said there are "troubling signs". He spoke of disputes among
fellow Singaporeans, and something a little bit more difficult to manage --
relations between Singaporeans and new arrivals.
The prime minister said: "I
think it's fair enough to express concern or disagree with our immigration
trends or oppose our immigration policies. That's part of the democratic
debate.
"But I am worried by some of
the nasty views which are expressed -- especially online and especially
anonymously. When a foreigner says or does something wrong, especially to a
Singaporean, response is overwhelming.
"But bad Singaporean
behaviour often goes uncriticised and a good deed by a foreigner often goes
unnoticed."
Mr Lee said such incidents
reflect badly on Singaporeans, damage Singapore's international reputation and
give the impression that the country is anti-foreigner and xenophobic.
He called on both Singaporeans
and new arrivals to show a generosity of spirit to one another. "New
arrivals must also embrace our values, commit themselves to Singapore and
integrate into our community," he added.
And finally, on building the best
home for everyone, Mr Lee gave broad strokes on measures the government is
looking into to raise the country's low fertility rate.
These include some form of
paternity leave and possibly Medisave for each child at birth.
Concluding his speech, Mr Lee
shared stories from Singaporeans, and his own recollection about growing up in
Singapore.
He said individually, the
memories are life's experiences, but collectively, they are about the soul of
the nation.
The prime minister wrapped up his
rally speech, which lasted over two hours, urging Singaporeans to help build a
better future and best home for everyone.
- CNA/al
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