Speech: Singapore, a Blessing for Every Child (16 Dec, 2023)

On behalf of our Grassroots Advisor and Leaders in Sengkang East, I’m delighted to welcome you to this annual event, held in concert with the Christmas season.

I thank our patron Malcolm Koo for being a big supporter of Sengkang East. Malcolm has been behind these last eight years of ‘Bless a Child, Share a Gift’, with his generosity and largeness of spirit, together with his wife Sharon, their family and friends.

Many children, aged 5 to 12, benefit from this initiative every year. Today, nearly 50 children and families are joining us - and I’d like to say a warm welcome to every one of you.

Christmas in most places, is a religious tradition. In Singapore, in Sengkang East, we’ve made it a tradition celebrated by all, and whose spirit of new hope and giving to one another can be partaken by every Singaporean. And it’s for this reason that I think Malcolm’s and Susan’s blessings upon our children, symbolizes something quite special.

Letting our children pursue their destiny

If you ask me to name the one singular obsession Singapore has, it’s this: Everything revolves around our children. And our promise to them that you get to choose your destiny.

We are a country that assiduously plans for our future and works hard to make straight our present paths. We are a nation that believes we will never be done building Singapore, that our best days are ahead of us, and that our children can reach for the stars, because we are doing everything we can, to give them the opportunities that we might not have had at their age.

And we do this because we have benefitted from the sacrifices of previous generations, each standing tall on the shoulders of the ones before. Our pioneer and Merdeka generations, along with our young seniors, saved frugally and taught us well.

And the fruits of that labor has translated into billions in reserves, and reservoirs of trust in one another and the PAP Government, that helped our generation survive the Covid-19 pandemic.

Being generous in blessing one another

"For everything, there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven”, says the Book of Ecclesiastes. In our youth, it’s not uncommon to think that life revolves around the individual - "How do I get ahead, how can I become successful and how can I get all the things I want?" But now as a father to a six-month-old baby, my life now revolves around one little girl, and I am constantly thinking about what kind of a world I would want to leave her with.

Is this going to be a Singapore where there is a huge gap between the super wealthy and everyone else struggling each day to make a living? Or a Singapore where we look out for each other, where we all get second and third chances, where we can find our footing even if we fall down, and where we are generous in blessing one another? Will I teach my daughter that life is a rat-race, or will she learn instead that we can only truly do big things - and have fun while we're at it - if we finish the race together?

As parents, we are constantly thinking about the best ways to prepare our children for an uncertain future. And we do our best to build our houses on the sturdiest rock. So that when the winds blow and the rains fall, home becomes a safe space - and our children can grow up with confidence and optimism.

Yet despite our best efforts, sometimes the things that shape our life are simply factors outside our control: Like where you were born and what your family circumstances are. But I envision a Singapore, where every child should feel so blessed to grow up, and where your family background doesn’t matter so much, because we can be a society organized on the basis of merit, on values like respect and compassion for one another, and we are propelled forward by the human spirit.

Taking Singapore forward together

This holiday season provides a time to reflect and remind ourselves of what we must commit to, in order to turn this vision into action. Initiatives like this one that Malcolm, Susan, family and friends have launched and sustained, are indeed blessings to our children in Singapore.

These reinforce the efforts of our grassroots organizations to bring Singapore together and propel us forward as one people. I am confident they will endure beyond any of our individual lifespans. Our founding Prime Minister, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, expressed this sentiment at an Association Dinner in 1965. He emphasized that the journey of taking Singapore forward is an enduring movement. The servant-leaders charged with this mission will remain 'recognizable; identifiable', continuing the legacy of dedication and progress.

Through my previous interactions with Malcolm - and today with Sharon - I’m grateful to have been blessed with their friendship. And I’ll always remember how much of a blessing they’ve been to all of us in Singapore, by starting right here in Sengkang East.

And so, to all of you - whether you’re a homemaker, a corporate executive, a business owner, or a retiree - I’d like to affirm you that regardless of your circumstances, we (our grassroots organizations) are committed to be stewards of a movement that will strive to assure you and your family a place in Sengkang East.

Your children should be able to pursue their destiny from a place of purpose, throughout their different seasons in life. And as they grow up, do well, and some may even move out of our division in the years ahead, let us never forget to remind them of our friends and the blessings they showered upon you, when you were a child and a valuable member of our Sengkang family.

Thank you very much - and may each one of you enjoy a blessed Christmas and a happy new year.