Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's interview with Singapore media ahead of the leadership transition

Bringing everyone along: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong reflects on 20 years at the helm

As PM Lee Hsien Loong prepares to step down from his post on 15 May 2024 he shares his views on Singapore, the world and the road ahead.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong thanks Singaporeans for what country achieved over last 20 years

People live in peace and contentment today due to efforts of citizens, he says

‘I tried to bring everybody to run with me. And I think we did have some success’: PM Lee

By Tham Yuen-C, Senior Political Correspondent, The Straits Times, 10 May 2024

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he has no regrets after leading the country for 20 years, having done what he set out to do with Singaporeans.

Singapore is a shining little red dot today, where people live in peace and contentment, and this is due to the effort of its citizens, he added.

As he prepares to step down from leading the country, PM Lee has this message for the people: “We’ve achieved much together... we are proud to be Singaporeans, and I am comforted by that. This is the result of everyone’s hard work, and I thank you for your effort and support.”

He will pass the baton to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on May 15.

In wide-ranging interviews in English and Chinese looking back at his years in office, a relaxed and smiling PM Lee said he was ready to hand over to a new leader to take Singapore forward.

“We have been preparing this for a very long time,” he said at the interviews held at the Istana on April 24 and 26.

Noting that there have already been two successful leadership transitions, he expressed confidence that the third will be as smooth and peaceful.

PM Lee, a former brigadier-general who entered politics in 1984 and was appointed minister of state soon after, will stay on as senior minister in the new Cabinet after the handover.

Asked if he would deal with tricky issues as founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew did after stepping down, or travel the world like second prime minister Goh Chok Tong did to cement friendships, PM Lee said: “To the extent that I have people who know me and whom I can talk to, I will certainly make use of that and engage them. Specific, sensitive policy, that is up to the prime minister to decide.”

He added: “If he arrows me to do it, I will take the arrow.”

Whatever his role in the new team, he will only be in a supporting role, PM Lee stressed.

He said he told his successor: “I will be here to do my best to help you to succeed. You have to be your own person. You have to make the decisions.

“You have to lead in your own way, persuade people in your own way.

“I will give you the benefit of my experience and my views. But you have to set the tone, you have to carry the decisions.”

The Singapore that PM Lee and his team inherited in 2004 had just emerged from the Asian financial crisis and the severe acute respiratory syndrome, or Sars, outbreak.

At his inauguration speech on Aug 12, 2004, he had told Singaporeans: “Work with me to make Singapore a home we love, a community we belong to, and a country we are proud to call our own.”

In the years since, the country has stayed open amid the backlash against globalisation, and moved to provide stronger social safety nets. Gross domestic product per capita more than doubled from $46,664 in 2004 to $113,779 in 2023.

At the same time, income gaps widened, and Singapore moved towards redistribution programmes and more collective responsibility.

ComCare was launched in 2005 to bring support schemes together, and Workfare in 2007 to top up the wages of lower-income workers. The Progressive Wage Model followed in 2012 to uplift the wages of those at the bottom. MediShield Life and CareShield Life were then introduced to provide financial assurance for those who need long-term care.

Pointing to these policies, PM Lee said: “These are all things which we have done, all within the last 20 years. It is very considerable.

“Of course, people will always say ‘please do more’, and we will keep on improving.”

But the Singaporean attitude should remain one of working hard and being prudent, and if things turn out well and Singapore has a good year, everybody can enjoy the upside, he said.

This upside, too, should not be just a distribution – “where you spend the money and it is gone” – but something society feels addresses real needs and deserves support.

Under PM Lee, the Government also introduced generational safety nets, in the form of the Pioneer Generation and Merdeka Generation packages for Singaporeans now in their 60s and older.

A visibly emotional PM Lee said: “They brought us here. If they had not stood and fought at the critical moment, and then slogged and built their whole lives to take Singapore forward, saved and enabled the next generation to move higher and further than they did, we would not be here today.”

Now that the Republic has accumulated some buffer, this is a way to thank and honour those generations, with a gesture that will help them in their golden years, he said.

With 20 more years of nation-building, the Singapore identity has become stronger, said PM Lee. “It is 20 more years of ups and downs, and trials and tribulations, and joys and sorrows.”

This identity was forged through crises, from the global financial crisis which hit in 2008 to the Covid-19 pandemic.

From time to time, Singapore has also had to work through prickly issues like the repeal of Section 377A of the Penal Code in 2022, which penalised sex between men, and allowing public sector nurses to wear the tudung to work.

These experiences enabled Singaporeans to understand one another better, accept one another’s differences, and work out practical arrangements, said PM Lee.

“But to say after this, we can fly solo – the Government does not need to watch, can take hands off the steering wheel or the controls, and it will look after itself – I do not think so. Never,” he added.

It is not possible because these issues will forever be sensitive, there have to be limits to discussions, and the Government needs to set the tone, he said.

“It is better for the Government to guide it, allow more discussions, allow freer exchange of views, and you can allow more liberal practices too. But I think we have to handle (sensitive issues) with very great care – always.”

This national identity will also always be subject to influences from the outside world, such as “wokeness”, religious norms, cultural norms, sexual norms and family norms.

Singapore will always be both part of a global humanity, and yet also a nation.

“I want to keep this Singapore nation cohesive, united, open, but not dissolved and just melted away. And that, for Singapore, for the long term, that is one of our key nation-building tasks,” said PM Lee.

While he will hand over his role as prime minister on May 15, there has been no announcement yet of when he will hand over the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) to his successor.

Observers expect that he will remain PAP’s secretary-general until at least November, when the party celebrates its 70th anniversary and holds internal elections. DPM Wong told The Economist in a May 6 interview that he would take over as secretary-general “in due course”, without stating a timeframe.

Over the years, the party has changed, said PM Lee: generationally with new leaders; in policies and how it pitches them; and also how it engages the people to get buy-in.

“We have changed a lot over the years, and it is for the better,” said PM Lee, who has been MP for Teck Ghee ward, now under Ang Mo Kio GRC, since he was first elected into Parliament in 1984.

What has remained constant is the PAP’s commitment to Singapore, and its determination to maintain high standards of integrity and competence, he said.

“Our intention to keep on providing a high-quality government for Singapore, that must always be there.

“And Singapore depends on that, because if the PAP did not do that, I think any other political party would be hard put to do the same thing,” he said. “It is a reality.”

Under his watch, the PAP was returned to power in four general elections – in May 2006, May 2011, September 2015 and July 2020.

PM Lee said each generation of leaders has had to govern in the way that worked best for the Singapore of that era.

“Mr Lee Kuan Yew governed in a certain way, it worked for his generation. It wrought miracles practically, but it was his generation, and him. Mr Goh Chok Tong did it his way for a younger generation, different from Mr Lee.

“And I have tried to do it my way, different from both Mr Lee and Mr Goh. If I tried to do it their way, either one, I think I would have failed,” said PM Lee.

Asked to assess his own performance, PM Lee gave his usual response that it would be up to others to judge.

But he became emotional as he thanked Singaporeans for having come on this journey with him. That is what he would cherish most about having served as Singapore’s third prime minister.

“I didn’t try to run faster than everybody else. I tried to bring everybody to run with me,” he said.

“And I think we did have some success.”

Speak Mandarin Campaign marks 40 years: Singapore must guard against losing bilingual edge, says PM Lee Hsien Loong

Speak Mandarin Campaign must factor in that many families are using English at home
By Tee Zhuo, The Straits Times, 23 Oct 2019

Many Chinese Singaporean families are using English as their main language, and the Speak Mandarin Campaign must adapt to this major shift, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday.

Speaking in Mandarin at the campaign's 40th anniversary celebration, he noted that most young Chinese Singaporeans can understand and speak the language, but they may not speak it fluently.



And Singapore may be losing its bilingual competitive edge, he said, adding that people all over the world are learning Mandarin eagerly. "They all know that to work in China, to build relationships with the Chinese and to grab opportunities that come with China's development, they have to master Mandarin," he added at the event at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre.

"We have to put in more effort to encourage the use of Mandarin in our daily lives, and find ways to keep the language alive and preserve the uniqueness of our Mandarin," he said.

"As our society and context keep changing, promoting Mandarin will be a continuous, never-ending project," he added.

Citing data from the Ministry of Education to illustrate how the language environment continues to change, PM Lee said 71 per cent of Chinese households with Primary 1 children speak mostly English at home today. The figure was 42 per cent two decades ago.

The trend is similar for the other major ethnic communities.

Among Malay families, the corresponding figures are 67 per cent (18 per cent) and, among Indians, 70 per cent (55 per cent).

The Prime Minister acknowledged the difficulties of using Mandarin at home in a predominantly English-speaking environment.

"Many bilingual parents shared with me that if a conscious effort is not made, it is easy to default to English... Nevertheless, I hope everyone will persevere because it is worth the effort," he said.

While the Government will continue to give its support, family members can help immerse young children in the language at home by speaking more Mandarin to them, he said. This is a stage where children are most sensitive to pronunciations and intonations, and can acquire a language more easily, he added.



PM Lee cited the significant contributions made by the annual campaign, saying its many creative activities have helped to promote the use of the language, so much so that some students are being taught coding in Mandarin.

Also, in multicultural Singapore, the influences of other languages and dialects have created a lexicon of uniquely local Mandarin terms.

For example, "ba sha" is from the Malay word "pasar" for market, while "pai tuo" comes from the Cantonese dialect phrase "pak tor" for going on a date.

A database of Singapore Mandarin terms will be launched next month as part of the anniversary celebration.

This will help Chinese Singaporeans develop a deeper sense of identification with Singapore Mandarin, PM Lee said.

He also announced the campaign's new slogan: Speak Mandarin? Yes, I can.

PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Business China Awards 2019

Singapore will not be seen as a stooge of US or China if it acts on its own interests: PM Lee
By Ng Jun Sen, TODAY, 8 Jun 2019

In order for Singapore to not become a stooge of any one power, it must work on the basis of what is in its own interest, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Friday (June 7) evening.

Mr Lee was answering a question about how smaller nations may act in a world split between the United States and China amid their economic and technological conflict. This was during a fireside chat at the annual Business China awards ceremony held at the Marina Bay Sands.

By acting on its own interests, “there is some chance for us to say that I’m your friend, but I’m also his friend. I’m not (anyone’s) stooge, I represent myself”, Mr Lee said.



But this also hinges on the big powers, too, who must leave room for small countries to befriend more than one side if they do not want to see a world “completely polarised into two camps”, he added.

“That means you don’t force people to take sides, and you don’t say ‘if you are not with me, then you are against me’,” he said in response to the chat's host, Mr Robin Hu, head of sustainability and stewardship at Temasek International, the management arm of state investment firm Temasek Holdings.

Mr Lee added that this would allow regional and international co-operation to develop in such a way that countries can have strong links with China, Europe, Japan and the United States at the same time.

“Those links will also grow with time. If we have many such links, then I think we can maintain a reasonably balanced position with respect to all the powers. If we only have links in one direction, then I think it is very hard to say that we are friends with everybody.”



Mr Hu later asked what Singapore has done right to forge strong links with China.

In reply, Mr Lee said he does not like to look at what the country has done “right” with China, seeing how things could turn out wrong the next day, to the audience’s laughter.

But Singapore has tried to make sure that its relationship with China is based on “reality and candour”, he added.

“We make sure that we are honest with each other, that we recognise what the situation is and that we don’t make believe and just say nice things to one another,” he said.



'NO MAKE-BELIEVE IN DEALINGS'

Mr Lee pointed out how the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping had visited Singapore in 1978 as part of a tour to hear the region’s perspectives about China’s struggle with the Soviet Union.

“He made the pitch to Mr Lee Kuan Yew, (who) said, ‘We understand what you are saying, but everyone in South-east Asia sees China as the threat, because there are (armed communist) insurgency movements in all our countries backed by China’.”

After their meeting, Mr Deng stopped supporting the Voice of Malayan Revolution, which was the Communist Party of Malaya’s radio station.

Mr Lee said there was no make-believe in their dealings: “You want my help, I understand why you need my help and I tell you why it is not possible for me to help you. And from that basis, we assess each other accurately… and we move forward on the basis that your interests align with my fundamental interests.”

Mr Lee said China’s interest is that the city-state sees the bigger power as a developing nation that will benefit the world.

“China sees that we are not against them — we have our own independent position, our own foreign policy, majority-Chinese but multiracial, and we take our position as the Republic of Singapore,” he said.



But while all countries will say they would support the needs and interests of small nations to not pick sides, Mr Lee said actions mean more than words.

“We will have to see. It is in the nature of these assurances — you cannot convey conviction just by a statement. It has to be a consistent pattern of actions over time, and people see that you calculate your interests in this way and they can rely on you, there is a certain predictability, not in what you say but what you believe, and also in the processes in which your leadership is elected and your policies are made.”

Many countries are currently being pressured and are asked “to speak up on behalf of what each participant thinks is the right thing to say”, Mr Lee said.

But not Singapore, he added. “We have to say what we think is the right thing to say — which is what Singapore is trying to do.”

Every school must promote tolerance, openness: PM Lee Hsien Loong at Hwa Chong Institution’s 100th Anniversary Dinner

Maintaining multicultural exchanges essential for promoting societal cohesion, integration: PM Lee
He highlights Hwa Chong Institution's efforts to expose its students to different cultures
By Rachel Au-Yong, The Straits Times, 22 Mar 2019

Hwa Chong Institution may be steeped in Chinese history and language, but the school has taken steps to ensure its students are exposed to different cultures, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

He underlined the importance of having multicultural exchanges in a speech last evening to some 12,000 alumni, staff and students at the school's 100th anniversary gala dinner, held at its campus in Bukit Timah.

"Maintaining such multicultural exchanges is critical to promoting cohesion and integration in our society," PM Lee said in Mandarin.

Hwa Chong, a Special Assistance Plan (SAP) school, has few non-Chinese students. The school has, however, striven to give students the opportunity to mix with peers of different races and backgrounds through various activities, he noted.

For instance, the school partners ITE College West to organise a joint overseas community involvement programme trip, during which students from both schools work and live together.

Besides Hwa Chong, every school should promote the spirit of openness and tolerance because it helps preserve the foundation of Singapore's multiracial and multicultural society, PM Lee added.

"At the same time, we should also strengthen the teaching of mother tongues, enrich the heritage of our society, and further consolidate our country's multiracial, multicultural national identity."

Speaking in both Mandarin and English, he traced Hwa Chong's history, and said it is very much intertwined with Singapore's.



The school, which started with around 70 students in a small building in Niven Road in the Selegie area, has witnessed and participated in many pivotal events, he said, from World War II to the fight for independence from the British in the 1950s and separation from Malaysia in 1965.

For instance, many Chinese students - including those from Hwa Chong - joined anti-colonial protests after World War II.

On the one hand, they were inspired by a movement happening in the world, he noted. On the other, some felt they had been treated unfairly under the colonial system, and wished to rise up against it.

"In the turbulent 1950s and 1960s, Hwa Chong provided the back-drop for anti-colonial and anti-government struggles, and many students were affected by left-leaning thinking," PM Lee said. "It was a time of turbulence."

Enrolment in Chinese-language schools dwindled in the 1970s, as English schools grew in popularity. Nine SAP schools were thus introduced in 1979 to preserve the traditional Chinese school cultural environment.

Hwa Chong was one of the nine. Today, the school is recognised for its high academic performance and bilingual alumni, PM Lee said.

He added that the school has to make a concerted effort on three fronts to continue thriving as an educational institution.

First, it must uphold high academic achievements, even as it continues to emphasise all-rounded education and the cultivation of character and values.

Second, it has a "special responsibility" as a SAP school to promote Chinese traditional culture, values and heritage, and to help students to master their mother tongue.

"This was the reason Mr Lee Kuan Yew introduced SAP schools in 1979. He wanted to revive the spirit of the old Chinese middle schools," he said, adding these schools had "emphasised character development, seriousness of purpose and the spirit of community".

Third, Hwa Chong students must "understand the context of our society, and their own responsibilities within it", PM Lee said. "You must know how Singapore society works, identify with fellow Singaporeans of all races and religions and feel a responsibility for your fellow citizens.

"You need to feel a calling to participate in community and national affairs, to contribute to the society and system that has nurtured you, and to take on leadership roles to help take Singapore forward."



Concluding in Mandarin, PM Lee noted that Hwa Chong is celebrating its 100th anniversary and Singapore, its bicentennial.

The road ahead is full of trials and tribulations, he said.

But citing the school's motto for continuous improvement, he said the country will continue to flourish if it adopts that same approach.

Tall Order: The Goh Chok Tong Story

ESM Goh Chok Tong on why he decided to have his memoir written
Note from founding prime minister and urging of five friends led him to agree to authorised biography
By Yasmine Yahya, Senior Political Correspondent, The Straits Times, 9 Nov 2018

Even before he became prime minister, Mr Goh Chok Tong had decided not to write his memoir.

But a note from founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and the urging of five friends eventually persuaded him to agree to an authorised biography.

The result is Tall Order: The Goh Chok Tong Story, which was launched yesterday.

"I did not keep a diary of conversations and interactions with people," Emeritus Senior Minister Goh said in his speech at the book's launch.

"A memoir would be seeing events through my own eyes. Bias is inevitable.

"Moreover, unlike Mr Lee's fight for independence and struggle to build Singapore, meticulous notes were taken of my official meetings. Historians will not be bereft of materials," he added.

But when Mr Lee gave him a copy of his memoir, From Third World To First: The Singapore Story, he added a note: "To PM Goh Chok Tong, You have to write the sequel to the Singapore Story."

Mr Lee had also added the inscription: "With my hope that the lessons need not be paid again by the present generation of Singaporeans."

It was signed on Sept 15, 1998, a day before Mr Lee's 75th birthday.

"When I reached 75, I became more acutely aware of my mortality and the weight of his message," Mr Goh, now 77, said. "Several friends had also asked me to write my memoir. Still, I said no. Then, five of my senior grassroots leaders suggested an authorised biography."



These long-time grassroots leaders and personal friends - Patrick Ng, Ng Hock Lye, Chua Ee Chek, Kok Pak Chow and Tan Jack Thian - would commission someone to write, Mr Goh said.

"The author would do the heavy lifting - the research, interviews and the writing. The idea of someone looking in from the outside, and unlocking my inner memory, appealed to me."

That writer, chosen by Mr Goh, was Mr Peh Shing Huei, a former news editor at The Straits Times and the co-founder of content agency The Nutgraf.

"Today's occasion belongs to Peh Shing Huei, the writer. I am merely the subject," Mr Goh said.

"Several names were suggested as my possible biographers. I chose Peh Shing Huei. I like his easy-to-read, unpretentious, questions-and-answers style."

Mr Peh and his Nutgraf team did the research, while Mr Goh answered his questions candidly. "We checked and verified my recall of events as necessary," he added.

Mr Goh also asked The Straits Times editor-at-large Han Fook Kwang to be a member of Mr Peh's team. "I valued his shrewdness and insights (into) Singapore politics. He proved invaluable," he added.

"Peh has done a good job in writing up my life till November 1990, when I became prime minister. I am happy with the product. Readers' feedback is positive. There will be a volume 2."

In his speech, Mr Peh said he started work on the book a year ago "with more than a bit of trepidation". "For too long, since ESM Goh stepped down as PM in 2004, many Singaporeans had been wondering when he would write his memoir. We all waited. One year became five and eventually, today, 14 years.

"So I knew there were high expectations for this book. We all wanted to know what were his thoughts about global leaders, international affairs and, of course, local politics," he said.

Mr Peh recounted his mounting anxiety before his first interview with Mr Goh, as he had prepared a list of "silly personal questions", such as why Mr Goh did not play basketball despite his impressive height, what he ate at home when he was young and whether his wife was his first girlfriend - all of which are answered in the book.

Mr Peh said Mr Goh answered the questions patiently and even praised Mr Peh for them because the questions forced him to look back and recall things like what he ate as a child. "The answer, by the way, is tau geh, tau kwa, tau pok, kangkung. Not the most exciting dishes," Mr Peh quipped.

He added: "So, thank you, ESM for your patience and for sharing your life with me and my team at The Nutgraf. We are most honoured to be able to tell your story and play our role in telling the Singapore Story."

Both Mr Peh and Mr Goh also gave special thanks to Mr Bernard Toh, Mr Goh's special assistant, and Mr Heng Aik Yeow, his press secretary.

Mr Goh said the duo not only sat in on all the interviews and gave useful comments, but also chased up additional materials and pored over photographs to select the most appropriate ones for the book.

"Sometimes, what I found interesting, they did not. This reinforces my point that an authorised biography is better than an autobiography," he said.

There will be another book launch for charity on Nov 21, to raise funds for two groups of disadvantaged children: people with disabilities and disadvantaged students with poor grades.

Time to wake up to how China is racing ahead

By Danson Cheong, The Sunday Times, 25 Feb 2018

As a transport reporter covering cycling and its growing popularity, I often looked to Europe for examples of what a car-lite Singapore could look like - I wondered if it would end up like Amsterdam or Copenhagen with spacious underground parking and speedy highways for bicycles.

But as things are turning out, there is no need to look that far.

These days where cycling is concerned, Singapore is shaping up to be more like Beijing and other Chinese cities, thanks to dock-less shared bicycles that are now a sight on almost every street corner.

These shared bicycles, which can be rented by using a mobile phone, locked and returned at any location, were first popularised in China and brought here by such Chinese companies as Mobike and ofo.

Now, the ubiquity of these bicycles and their ease of use have meant that more people have turned to cycling to travel short distances. It is an initiative that has given the Government's push to go car-lite a much needed shot in the arm.

But due to my own myopia, I was slow to look to China as a source of good urban solutions.



Many of my peers and I have for too long held on to an image of China as a land of cheap knock-off goods, low-quality products and poorly behaved nationals.

This stereotype is fed by personal encounters with rude and loud tourists and by news stories that shine a spotlight on all things wrong with China - from tainted food scandals to sickening levels of air pollution.

But to view China through such a lens is to miss the bigger picture since the reality of this huge nation of almost 1.4 billion people is far more complex.

A communist state powered by a capitalist economy, China has in the last 40 years performed a miracle of epic proportions by lifting 700 million people out of poverty; and it continues to change and develop at a rapid pace.

Yes, some 40 years ago, when China first embarked on economic reform and opening up, it learnt from countries such as Singapore; but now the roles are starting to be reversed. Foreigners visiting bustling Chinese metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai are surprised by how far they have pushed ahead.

National Day Rally 2017

Building up preschools, Fighting diabetes and Making Singapore a Smart Nation







Pre-school sector to ramp up quality, offer more places
At National Day Rally, PM Lee also focuses on fighting diabetes and creating smart nation
By Royston Sim, Assistant Political Editor, The Straits Times, 21 Aug 2017

Singapore will double its annual spending on pre-schools in the next five years, to add 40,000 new places for children and improve the quality of pre-school education.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday announced three initiatives to build up the pre-school sector so that every child - regardless of family background - can have the best possible start in life.

Besides increasing the number of childcare places for children aged up to four, the Government will roll out more kindergartens and set up a new centralised training institute for pre-school teachers.

"Today, every child goes to a good school. We want every child to go to a good pre-school," said Mr Lee.

"If we get this right, we will foster social mobility and sustain a fair and just society."

At his 14th National Day Rally, Mr Lee focused on building for the future, highlighting three issues that he said are important for the nation's prosperity and the well-being of its citizens in the long term.

Unlike past rallies where he spoke of Singapore's future, its economy or geopolitical issues, Mr Lee homed in this year on improving pre-school education, fighting diabetes and creating a smart nation that offers opportunities for all.

He noted that the economy is expected to grow by about 2.5 per cent this year, and, most encouragingly, productivity went up by 1 per cent last year after years of almost zero growth.

But he moved beyond immediate priorities like creating jobs to discuss longer-term issues.



He said the Government had moved decisively to transform the pre-school sector five years ago, by creating nearly 50,000 childcare and kindergarten places, increasing pre-school subsidies and raising education standards.

Anchor operators will build more childcare centres in new Housing Board developments to address a shortage of places in young towns.

To improve the quality of education, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will increase the number of its own kindergartens from 15 now to 50 in the next five years, Mr Lee said. This greater scale will allow MOE to influence and raise the quality of the whole sector, he added.

In addition, a National Institute for Early Childhood Development will be set up to consolidate existing training programmes for teachers and develop new curricula.

The Government will also work with employers to ensure salaries for pre-school teachers rise in tandem with their career progression.

Annual spending on pre-schools, which was $360 million in 2012, has more than doubled to $840 million this year. It will double further to $1.7 billion in 2022, he said.

But pouring resources into the sector will mean little unless young parents do their part, he added, as he encouraged them to have more babies.

Singaporeans have evolved a distinctive identity: PM Lee Hsien Loong

Chinese Singaporeans confident of culture and aware they differ from Chinese elsewhere
By Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh, The Straits Times, 20 May 2017

Singapore is not a melting pot, but a society where each race is encouraged to preserve its unique culture and traditions, and appreciate and respect those of others, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.

No race or culture is coerced into conforming with other identities, let alone that of the majority, he added yesterday at the opening of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC) in Shenton Way.



In fostering such an approach for a multiracial, multi-religious society rooted in its Asian cultures, Singaporeans need the arts and culture "to nourish our souls", Mr Lee said.

"We don't wish Singapore to be a First World economy but a third-rate society, with a people who are well off but uncouth. We want to be a society rich in spirit, a gracious society where people are considerate and kind to one another, and as Mencius said, where we treat all elders as we treat our own parents, and other children as our own."

In a speech, Mr Lee articulated how Singapore's multiracial approach has forged a distinctive Singaporean identity that is unique.

Singapore's diversity is a fundamental aspect of each group's identity. "Our aim is integration, not assimilation," he said. "Being Singaporean has never been a matter of subtraction, but of addition; not of becoming less, but more; not of limitation and contraction, but of openness and expansion."



Over time, each race has retained and evolved its own culture and heritage. But it has also allowed itself to be influenced by the customs and traditions of other races.

"The result has been distinctive Singaporean variants of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian cultures, and a growing Singaporean identity that we all share, suffusing and linking up our distinct individual identities and ethnic cultures."

Singaporeans who travel can identify one another by the way they speak and act. When dealing with citizens of countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, China or India, "we are confident of our own Singaporean cultures and identities, even as we are conscious that we are ethnic Chinese, Malays, Indians or Eurasians".

"Thus the Chinese Singaporean is proud of his Chinese culture - but also increasingly conscious that his 'Chineseness' is different from the Chineseness of the Malaysian and Indonesian Chinese, or the Chineseness of the people in China or Hong Kong or Taiwan," Mr Lee added.

Singaporeans now speak of a Singaporean Chinese culture, and in the same way, a Singaporean Malay and Singaporean Indian culture. "For a country that is just over 50 years old, which is a very short time compared to the ancient civilisations from which we spring, this is quite an achievement," he said.

New dialect TV series to help explain Govt schemes to seniors:《吃饱没?》Eat Already?

By Siau Ming En, TODAY, 1 Sep 2016

A new dialect drama series aimed at communicating government information and messages to seniors who are more familiar with the vernacular will air on Channel 8 starting next week.

This series will be shown weekly in the afternoon within the existing time belt for dialect programmes — Fridays, from 10.30am to 12.30pm — and “the amount of dialect content on free-to-air TV remains unchanged”, broadcaster Mediacorp said on Thursday (Sept 1) in a joint statement with the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI).

The 10-episode Hokkien series titled Eat Already? is a collaboration between the MCI and the broadcaster, and will touch on issues such as active ageing and lifelong learning.



It will also provide information on government schemes and subsidies, including MediShield Life, the Community Health Assist Scheme and the Silver Support Scheme.

This information will be woven into a story centred on an elderly widow and the problems she faces in her job and as a mother, and the support she receives to overcome them.



Veteran actors Li Yinzhu, Wang Lei, Marcus Chin and Aileen Tan star in the series, which is directed by filmmaker Royston Tan.

Mr Tan’s recent telemovie on Channel 8, The Provision Shop, was also commissioned by the MCI.

The ministry and Mediacorp said on Thursday that this new drama series, which will air from Sept 9, from noon to 12.30pm, builds on the use of dialects in explaining the Pioneer Generation Package (PGP) to seniors.

In his address on Seniors’ Wellness Day on Thursday, Minister of State for Health, Communications and Information Chee Hong Tat said statistics have shown that among the Chinese pioneer generation, more than half of them still use dialects at home.

Following efforts to release videos on the PGP in vernacular languages and having volunteers explain in dialects how the package works, it was found that 96 per cent of the pioneer generation said they were aware of the package, Mr Chee added.

Bilingual babies 'learn languages faster'

NUS study finds they have an advantage over infants exposed to just one language
By Amelia Teng, The Straits Times, 17 May 2016

Babies exposed to two languages at the same time can master the rules of each language faster than monolingual babies, a new study by National University of Singapore (NUS) psychologists has found.

They are able to differentiate between English and Chinese, and hearing both languages in their first year does not confuse them.

The study of 72 infants, which was completed last year, is believed to be the first in the world to show a bilingual advantage in language learning in infants up to two years old, said Associate Professor Leher Singh from NUS' department of psychology, the study's lead author.

Previous studies have focused on the language skills of older children or visual recognition and information processing skills of infants.

The study was conducted by Prof Singh, Ms Charlene Fu, a PhD student, and Ms Felicia Poh, a research assistant at NUS' Infant and Child Language Centre. It was published in the global journal Frontiers In Psychology last month and its results were shared at a media briefing yesterday at NUS.

The researchers found that one-year-old infants who have been exposed to both English and Chinese are able to detect tone changes in Mandarin speech, using a method that tracks the time that they spent looking at an object on a computer screen while a word is read out to them.

At the same time, they ignored tone changes in English, showing that they can differentiate between the two languages and understand the different rules of each language.

General Household Survey 2015

More young people in Singapore staying single
Singles now make up 70% of those in 25-29 age group, which experts say has hurt fertility rates
By Charissa Yong, The Straits Times, 11 Mar 2016

More Singapore residents in their mid to late 20s are staying single, with most putting their career before marriage, said experts.

They make up 70 per cent of the people in their age group last year, a sharp rise from 50 per cent about 15 years ago, the latest General Household Survey shows. Their decision to delay marriage has hurt the country's fertility rates, and more needs to be done to get them to find partners earlier in life, said sociologists interviewed yesterday.

"One reason we are concerned is that if a woman marries past the age of 25 to 29, it will not be as easy for her to conceive naturally or have a larger family," said National University of Singapore (NUS) sociologist Paulin Straughan.

The decision not to get hitched is as prevalent among men as women in the 25-29 age group, often viewed as mature enough to marry.

Proportionally, their numbers have been rising steadily in the last 15 years, government surveys and the population census show.

In 2000, bachelors formed 64.2 per cent of their cohort, rising to 70.6 per cent (2005), 74.6 per cent (2010) and 81.2 per cent (2015). The corresponding figures for women are 40.2 per cent (2000), 46.3 per cent (2005), 54 per cent (2010) and 63 per cent (2015). But as they grow older, many do get married.

The latest household survey shows the proportion of married people among the resident population of citizens and permanent residents has hardly changed in the last 15 years. Overall, it hovers around two-thirds of the population.

The main reason young people are not marrying earlier is because more are better educated and choose to focus on their careers, said Associate Professor Straughan and NUS sociologist Tan Ern Ser.

Said Prof Straughan: "The pressure to perform is very strong as the rewards of employment are immediate. There's a promotion at the end of the year and you get praised.

"But if you invest time to find a life partner, nobody's going to praise you."

Shaping Singapore Chinese Culture

The Sunday Times, 7 Feb 2016

A recent exhibition showcasing the unique aspects of Chinese culture here is but one of several ongoing efforts to articulate and define Singapore Chinese culture.

While Chinese Singaporeans have embraced their roots and honed their mastery of the Chinese language, they have also developed distinct traditions and values as part of the larger fabric of a multiracial nation.

Take, for example, how Chinese New Year celebrations feature dishes unique to Singapore. Or how Chinese New Year, like other festivals, is a celebration shared with neighbours of different races.

The new Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre taking shape in Shenton Way, which organised the recent exhibition, aims to promote a Singapore Chinese culture.

What shapes this unique culture? Why is there a need to highlight it, and what lies ahead for it? Leong Weng Kam explores the issue.