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FROM THE VALLEY TO THE HIGHLANDS
My fellow Singaporeans,
Compared to the bright sunshine of the early 90s, the recent years
look much darker.
Many of you feel that we have fallen
into a valley of gloom. You live in fear of retrenchment or have
lost your jobs. Our security is threatened by international terrorism.
And there was SARS, which weakened our already sluggish economy.
I know that you are worried that we
have lost our way.
But just remember this beautiful Chinese
verse, "Where the hills and streams end and there seems to
be no road ahead, amidst shady willows and blooming flowers, another
village appears." In other words, when all seems lost, there
is hope.
Tonight, I want to assure you that
we are not lost. I will show you the way out of the gloomy valley,
and up into the sunny highlands.
Take a Step Back
First, take a step back into the 60s.
Singaporeans felt a similar sense of hopelessness and foreboding
then.
I graduated from the University of
Singapore in 1964. At that time, we were part of Malaysia. There
was constant friction between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, and communal
tensions ran high. A few weeks after I started work, racial riots
broke out. A year later, Singapore was forced to separate from Malaysia.
We felt like an abandoned baby.
In July 1967, we were abandoned again.
Britain announced that it would withdraw its troops from Singapore
by the mid-70s, reversing its earlier commitment to give us security
coverage.
Six months later, Britain dropped another
bombshell. It was bringing forward the withdrawal of its troops
to 31 December 1971.
We had only a few battalions of soldiers
and two old navy ships. How could we protect our people?
Our economy too, was threatened. The
British military contributed 20 percent of our GDP. Their departure
would throw 100,000 Singaporeans out of work. Our unemployment situation,
which was already serious, would get even worse.
Our problems were made more difficult
by poor industrial relations. The unions were militant and confrontational.
Strikes were rampant. And our labour laws over-protected the workers.
For example, when workers worked on a public holiday, they received
triple pay. If they had to cycle from one place to another - within
the same factory compound - they received a bicycle allowance. If
companies wanted their employees to wear neckties, they had to pay
a necktie allowance. And if they wanted their workers to cut their
hair, they had to pay a haircut allowance!
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew took tough
measures to get the country out of the economic bind. He amended
the labour laws to balance the interests of workers and companies.
He scrapped the bizarre worker benefits. He snipped off the haircut
allowance.
His bold steps turned the economy around.
By the time the British withdrawal was completed, only 36,000 Singaporeans
were out of a job. This was a small number, compared to the 100,000
lay-offs we were expecting. The New Nation, an afternoon paper in
Singapore, carried the headline: "The British pull out causes
scarcely a ripple."
As a young officer in government service
then, I watched Prime Minister Lee rally the people to accept the
painful measures. If he had not had the courage, and the conviction
of his beliefs, we would never have made it from Third World to
First.
Today, Singapore again faces physical
and economic threats. We have to deal with terrorism and SARS. Our
economy has lacked shine for over two years. Unemployment is rising,
this time hitting managers and professionals as well. Can we turn
Singapore around, like Prime Minister Lee did in the 60s?
My answer is, yes. We have every reason
to be confident. Compared to the 60s, we command more economic and
financial resources. Our political and social environment is stable.
And we are not on the brink of violence with our neighbours, despite
the constant hiccups. For example, in our water dispute with Malaysia,
we traded advertisements and booklets, not bombs and bullets.
Moreover, our people are now better
trained. In 1968, only 4 percent of each cohort of Singaporeans
received tertiary education. Today, 66 percent are tertiary educated.
In 1968, the SAF could not have survived a military confrontation.
Today, the SAF has a well-trained army, navy and airforce, equipped
with the most modern technologies and hardware.
So you see, we have the resources to
pull through our problems. More importantly, we have the will.
SARS and Nation Building
If you have any doubts, look at our
performance against SARS.
When I visited President George Bush
in May, he complimented Singapore for having dealt with SARS in
a constructive, disciplined and transparent way.
The World Health Organisation too,
was impressed. It has informally invited Singapore to be a full
member of its global alert and response network. As a full member,
Singapore would join a select group of countries which provides
experts to help the WHO when infectious diseases break out around
the world.
Individual Courage
So what was it that impressed the international
community? First, it was our large reservoir of courage.
I had seen Dr Dessmon Tai in the TV
documentary, "True Courage". He is the Head of the Intensive
Care Unit in Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Later, I met him at a tea party
I hosted for key staff from Tan Tock Seng.
Dessmon said that he was afraid when
treating the SARS patients. But he could not show it. He was the
Head of the ICU. His doctors and nurses were watching him. So he
stepped right into the ICU without wavering. His doctors and nurses
followed.
That is the mark of a leader. In a
crisis, a leader shows confidence, not fear.
Dessmon chided the doctors who were
afraid. He said that the nurses were not afraid, so how could they
be afraid?
But the nurses were afraid. Mdm Kwek
Puay Ee, the Director of Nursing at Tan Tock Seng, told me how she
swung them around. She borrowed Dessmon's line. She told her nurses
that the doctors were not afraid, so how could they be afraid?
But we know the fear was there. It
was natural. Day after day, our healthcare givers faced the deadly
virus. It was a potential death sentence.
Dessmon's wife pleaded with him to
resign. She wanted a husband, not a dead hero. Dessmon explained
to her that he was trained to do the job. How could he quit when
he was most needed? His wife cried but understood his devotion to
duty. She supported him.
Dessmon's and Puay Ee's commitment
to their job is typical of all the doctors and nurses in our hospitals.
Their dedication and sense of duty prevailed over their fear. They
drew strength from the support of their families.
Dessmon, Mrs Tai and Puay Ee are here
tonight. Will the three of you please stand up to be recognised?
We honour you, and all the healthcare workers and their families
whom you represent.
I am also proud of our researchers
who worked on the genetic sequencing of the SARS virus. In the beginning,
they knew very little about the virus. They could easily have been
infected.
That was why Professor Edison Liu,
Executive Director of the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), asked
for volunteers. He could not guarantee the safety of the researchers.
But despite the risks, more than 50 of his scientists raised their
hands. They were from the US, Canada, France, UK, China, Taiwan,
Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore - quite a collection
of international talent. Professor Liu himself is American. The
GIS scientists worked relentlessly and sequenced the SARS virus
in just two and a half weeks. It was a great achievement.
Collective Effort
Despite their fear of SARS, Singaporeans
kept their sense of humour. Khaw Boon Wan and his combat team drank
Sarsi to fortify themselves!
Chitra Rajaram, Editor of Tamil Murasu,
told me that the great Tamil philosopher of the second century,
Thiruvalluvar, advised Indians to laugh whenever they meet misfortune.
Thiruvalluvar said there was nothing comparable to laughter for
overcoming misfortune and going on to victory. In this regard, I
think there is a little bit of Indian in all of us!
So when schools were closed because
of SARS, our students rejoiced that "S, A, R, S" stood
for "Schools Are Really Shut". When schools re-opened
on 16 April, they moaned that "Sixteenth April Return School".
To SIA staff, SARS was a depressing
acronym: "Singapore Airlines Retrenching Soon". But to
the feisty Malay nurse who recovered from SARS, the acronym had
a happier meaning. She proclaimed that for her, SARS stands for
"Single And Really Sexy".
This "Single And Really Sexy"
nurse is here somewhere. I hesitate to ask her to stand up, because
I may lose your attention. But never mind. Miss Ashirdahwani, would
you please rise? We applaud you, and other SARS survivors, for the
wonderful spirit you all showed in overcoming SARS, and getting
on with your lives again.
For me, the most appropriate coinage
for SARS was "Singaporeans Are Really Scared". Yes, we
were really scared. Scared for our lives and our loved ones. Scared
of taking a taxi, scared of going to the hospital. Scared that tourists
and customers would not return, and we might lose our jobs. For
the first time in our history, all Singaporeans felt the same fear
at the same time.
But far from being frozen by the fear,
the entire nation sprang into action. We armed every household,
every student, with a thermometer. Individuals and companies contributed
generously to the Courage Fund. A friend of my wife gave half a
million dollars, and she and her husband are not even Singapore
citizens. Ministry staff, our soldiers, policemen, CISCO and Civil
Defence officers worked day and night to prevent, detect and isolate
SARS. MPs, grassroots and volunteer organisations gave a helping
hand, and a comforting shoulder, to those affected by the disease.
And, of course, in the eye of the storm
were the Ministry of Health and our healthcare givers, led ably
by Lim Hng Kiang. They showed outstanding steadiness and team spirit
despite the tremendous pressure.
Tonight, I have invited representatives
of organisations that were involved in our fight against SARS to
join us at the Rally. Because of the shortage of space, some organisations
could not be here. But their contribution was also important. May
I invite the representatives to stand up. Let us show them our appreciation
for a job well done.
People Bonding
A crisis reveals the true character
of a people. Singaporeans passed the SARS test with distinction.
We were at war with SARS. To overcome
the enemy, we knew we had to work together as a nation. And we did.
We closed ranks and stood with each other. We helped each other
without regard for race, religion or social position.
During this crisis, I saw a national
spirit I have never seen before. Our country bonded with stout hearts,
tenacity and determination. SARS did not break Singapore. It made
us stronger.
I am very proud of our solidarity.
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