|
PM Lee on Singapore spirit
PM Lee: But education has to imbue the next generation not just with knowledge but also with the Singapore spirit.
What is this Singapore spirit? It's a very relevant question in a globalised world as Singapore becomes more cosmopolitan and receives more guests and visitors every year.
We are proud of our Asian cultures and heritage - Chinese, Indian, Malay, and others, and we want to keep this heritage alive and keep this Asian identity.
But this Singapore spirit is not based on a common race or language or religion.
It is based on deeper things which we share: shared values like multi-racialism, meritocracy, or respect for every talent. Shared loyalty and commitment to Singapore.
Shared responsibility for each another, and pride in what we have done together. Shared memories, as well as dreams and aspirations.
It is the determination that makes us press on when things are tough, like in the recession last year.
The trust that keeps us together when forces try to pull us apart, like when we encountered extremist terrorism after 9/11.
It's the competence and the quiet pride and discipline that makes sure that things go right, like when we hosted the YOG.
It's the confidence that we will prevail come what may it is the spirit in each of us which makes Singapore work the way it does and which makes Singaporeans special.
Mr. Rajaratnam, long ago drafted the National Pledge, and he wrote: "Being a Singaporean is not a matter of ancestry. It is conviction and choice."
We got to maintain a Singaporean core in our society, which is stiffened by this Singapore spirit.
And around this core, we can gather talent and resources, and use them to build a better Singapore.
As IT people say we want to keep an open architecture.
The kernel must be protected, make sure no viruses come in and make it malfunction.
But the applications, the peripheral software can be adapted, extended as circumstances change, as new needs arise, so that we're always current and up to date and always with the latest version.
And we have to pass this spirit on to the next generation so that they have the same conviction, and make the right choice for themselves through the schools, but also many other activities: through community involvement.
For eg, pursuing passionate causes, tackling daunting challenges and trying out many new things to learn about themselves, to discover their own abilities and to gain confidence and maturity.
We do our best to give our youth such exposure.
We encourage them to care for the less fortunate and develop a social conscience like these students are doing.
These are young NTUC visiting a seniors home, obviously making a connection with senior citizens, or protecting the environment.
These kids are at Tanjung Chek Jawa doing some work rescuing some horseshoe crabs.
You see a few horseshoe crabs down here in good health.
They saw us looking at them. And support youth to pursue diverse passions too, sports and social activities, like the PAYM cheerleaders group.
And if this is not exciting enough for you, you can do extreme sports at the Xtreme SkatePark @ East Coast Park.
I'm very happy that many of our youths are also venturing abroad and they are volunteering in countries all around us.
They go as community groups, religious groups, with Mercy Relief, with the Youth Expedition Project, or Singapore International Foundation.
They do all kinds of things, disaster relief, medical care, giving tuition.
Here is one young man who is doing something interesting. Mr. Alvan Yap. He is hearing-impaired. He graduated from NUS.
He works in the publishing industry but he's active as a volunteer.
So this year, he went on SIF's Singapore Volunteers Overseas Programme.
He went to Dili which is in Timor Leste and he's there for a year teaching deaf children and some adults proper sign language because their kids didn't grow up with proper sign language and he needs to teach them the signs and the vocabulary and the grammar and the proper way to communicate.
And he's also a role model and an inspiration to the kids, as well as some adults. So here is Alvan with his class, that's him there and they are saying hello to us.
"Happy Birthday, Singapore!"
Alvan is here with us tonight. He is on a short break in Singapore. I think he's up there and he'll soon be back to Timor Leste again.
Welcome, Alvan. I hope more young people will venture forth like Alvan, pursue your dreams and make a difference to others. One thing we cannot do for the youth unfortunately is purposely to create hard times to toughen you up.
In fact, we've tried our best to do the opposite - the create a stable and favourable cocoon for Singaporeans to grow up in, and young people to grow up in.
Last year's financial crisis might have been a major test but we emerged more quickly than expected.
For more stories on the National Day Rally speech, click here.
| 
