Mr Muhammad Dzul Azhan Haji Sahban

THE Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Leaders' Week took place in Singapore and came to a close yesterday.

Firstly, I wish to congratulate the Apec Singapore 2009 Organising Committee for its excellent job in hosting the event.

We should be proud of its members and thank them for extending Singapore's warmth and hospitality to our distinguished international guests.

Secondly, Apec 2009 was convened in the middle of a global economic recovery, making it an important event not only for governments and businessmen, but also for the man in the street.

It is sad that many Singaporeans did not consider it an important event and did not take note of what was going on.

I hope that this attitude would change in the near future, especially among the younger generation, and also because Singapore will be hosting other international events, such as the Youth Olympic Games, next year.

Schools, tertiary institutions and grassroots organisations could do their part in educating students and the public on such events, which are of national interest.

Thirdly, I have been paying close attention to the Apec proceedings. We are still in the midst of an economic recovery, and not all businesses have recovered fully.

I urge the 21 Apec members to come up with ideas, initiatives and proposals to promote the common good in the economic sector.

On our part, I hope that we can continue to do our best at work and keep upgrading our skills and knowledge.

We should also be prudent with our finances and start building a nest egg.

For the unemployed, there are still various job opportunities, particularly in the retail, security, hospitality, food-and-beverage and transport sectors.

All of us have an equally important duty to ensure the ongoing success of Apec and to ensure that we emerge even stronger than before.

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