PM Lawrence Wong at the Institute of Policy Studies-Varsity Voices Dialogue (Jul 2024)

Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Students

I am very happy to join all of you for this evening’s dialogue session.

It is very good to have the chance to meet with young students from our ITEs, polytechnics and universities.

And I thank IPS, Varsity Voices, and SMU for making this event happen.

I am about 30 years older than most of you. I may not look it but I am. I reflected on what life was like when I was around your age, meaning the students’ age, not the ones seated in the front row. Life in the early 90s, at that time – the internet was still very new, we did not have smart phones, we certainly did not have social media.

It was a different world. China’s economic rise was only beginning to take shape at that time. The Berlin Wall had just fallen, and the Soviet Union had dissolved. America had emerged as the sole super-power of the world. And thereafter, we enjoyed peace and stability, especially in the Asia Pacific, we saw the flourishing of globalisation and trade.

Singapore was also very different at that time. I know sometimes there is a tendency to romanticise the past; we think that the “good old days” are always better. You probably hear it a lot from your parents. But things were not all that rosy back then either.

At that time in Singapore, our public transport system, for example, was not as connected as it is now. We only had two MRT lines – East-West and North-South, what we now call the green and red lines. And you look at our MRT map, it is so interconnected now.

There was not so much to do for recreation back then. In fact, Singapore was called a “cultural desert” by critics. There is something to be said about the criticism because all I can remember about going out with friends was to Orchard Road, to watch a movie, pretty much that.

Our arts and cultural offerings were very limited. We did not have the Esplanade, Marina Bay, Gardens by the Bay, or the Sports Hub.

Much has changed in the last 30 years.

There have been ups and downs along the way. But on the whole, our lives have gotten better in Singapore. Our living environment has improved significantly – we have beautiful HDB estates, we have more green spaces and park connectors, we have a much connected and convenient public transport system. Our economy is stronger, it is more diversified and there are many more opportunities including more good-paying jobs for Singaporeans. Life in Singapore has become more vibrant – we now have more recreational options, as well as sports, arts, and music events.

Put another way, in my cohort – those of us born in the early 70s – about 55% of us went on to post-secondary education. Nowadays, almost everyone in the cohort has the chance to pursue their post-secondary education – be it at university, polytechnic or ITE. A young university graduate at that time; someone like me in the early 90s would have started out earning around $3,000 or less. Now it is about $5,000. These are how things have concretely improved over time.

No doubt there were challenges along the way. The changes that Singapore went through over the decades were sometimes disorientating and disruptive to certain segments of society. We also went through our share of challenges. We had the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, SARS in 2004, and the global financial crisis of 2008. But each time, we rallied together, we weathered through the storms and emerged stronger.

What can we expect now – looking ahead, over the next 20-30 years? I think it is impossible to predict what will happen. No one can tell you this will certainly take place. But I have no doubt that we will face our share of challenges in the years and decades ahead. For one, Singapore will have to operate in a more difficult external environment. The previous era of globalisation and free trade is over. We are not going to go back to that again. We now see a new era of competition, especially between the major powers and between US and China. The world is becoming more dangerous and fragmented. It will be increasingly difficult for countries to come together to solve global problems.

Take the problem of tackling a big issue like the pandemic. During the height of the pandemic, everyone said – let us work together to improve global surveillance systems so that if a virus were to start up again, we would know and we would get better at detecting it quickly and we can take appropriate safeguards and measures. That was at that time, now after so many years of talking and discussing, unfortunately, not much progress has been in strengthening the global surveillance system to guard against a future pandemic.

Take the problem of climate change, which is likely to be the biggest problem humanity has to confront in our time. People talk about wanting to cut back emissions. Countries make all sorts of commitments but unfortunately, we do see a backsliding in many of these commitments around the world. Particularly from the large emitters, which means, year-by-year emissions continuing to rise, global temperatures continuing to rise, and we are all headed towards a climate disaster. On the climate, it looks like things might very well get worse before it gets better.

Take another challenge, which is that of rapid technological advancement. I think we are on the cusp of yet another major wave of technological advancements and breakthroughs. When I was your age, the big thing was the internet that had just come into being. The World Wide Web, it was a novelty. That novelty that started in the early 90s led to huge breakthroughs and transformations across businesses. No one could have predicted in the early 90s what the internet could be used for. In the end, it led to e-commerce, business transformation, social media platforms and it is now creating the Internet of Things. So many transformations.

Today, what is new – AI. We are seeing the dawn of AI which I am sure in the next 20-30 years, will have an even bigger impact compared to the internet during my time. For now, everything we hear about AI is Large Language Models (LLMs), ChatGPT. But the potential use cases for AI goes well beyond ChatGPT. It will change how we innovate, how we work, how we learn and teach, how we collaborate and interact with one another. It will change everything for everyone. And you will experience these changes in your lifetime.

These are big and powerful forces shaping our operating environment. We do not have much control over them, they will happen. And sometimes, looking from our perspective in this tiny island: it can be easy to get overwhelmed by these big changes. But I say: never fear! We in Singapore have the ability to adapt and adjust to a new environment, and to survive and thrive in this dangerous world. In fact, this is what we have been doing this last 60 years as a nation. And we can continue to do so going forward.

What are some of our strategies to take Singapore Forward in this new phase? Let me share some of my thoughts.

First, we are taking active steps to refresh our social compact, and to strengthen our sense of solidarity and unity as a country.

That is why we embarked on the Forward Singapore exercise.

What does it mean to have a refreshed social compact? For one, the Government will do more to provide assurances for Singaporeans at every stage of life.

Which means, we want Singaporeans to feel assured that they can look forward to affordable and quality homes, a good healthcare system, and an education system that nurtures diverse talents, amongst others. We will have stronger safety nets to help Singaporeans bounce back from setbacks. And we want to have in place a system where no one feels that they have to fend for themselves in an uncertain world; instead, we reaffirm our commitment to one another, and that we will always have each other’s backs.

The Government will do more to achieve this. But this work cannot be done by the Government alone because individuals must also take responsibility for themselves and their families. To illustrate, the Government can do more on healthcare. In fact, we are doing more. We want to spend more on preventive health, which is called Healthier SG to give people the power and ability to take better care of their own health through active lifestyle, diets and so on. But Singaporeans must do your part too, to stay active and maintain healthy lifestyles. We cannot do that for you, we can promote, invest in preventive care, we can make health screenings cheaper but you have to do your part as well.

Another example, the Government can spend more on skills upgrading and development, and we will. We will make courses cheaper, we will make courses more effective, more easy to access but Singaporeans must also step forward to go for training and to continually pick up and improve your skills.

Another example, the Government will want to do more to uplift the wages of lower-income workers. We want to see them improving their wellbeing, we want to see them earning more in their own right. But higher pay for workers means cost must also go up. All of us must, as Singaporeans, must also be prepared to pay more for the services delivered by our fellow citizens, and respect them for the essential work that they do.

That is why we call this a social compact – it is about the roles all of us in society play, and the responsibilities we owe to each other. We want a compact that is fair and inclusive for all segments of society – one which will strengthen social capital and foster trust, and enable us to progress together as one people.

Second, we will provide more opportunities for all Singaporeans to chart your own paths – to pursue your diverse aspirations, and your own definitions of success.

All of you will have access to far more opportunities than my peers and I had when we were your age.

Back then, it was quite simple, people just focussed on a few key professions, as what they deemed to be successful careers. You be a doctor, lawyer, accountant, teacher or engineer.

These days there are many more options, and career pathways. And that reflects our more diversified economy today. For example, we have leading global companies in aerospace, biotech and pharmaceuticals. They have set up shop here and offer good jobs for Singaporeans. In professional services, there are many opportunities for you to pursue, in Finance, IT, marketing and communications, amongst others.

Moreover, attitudes and mindsets are shifting.

For example, in healthcare, we no longer focus solely on the doctors. We also recognise the experience and expertise of many others – nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, radiographers – all who put in their hearts and souls in supporting every patient's recovery.

I see many more young people becoming their own bosses because the start-up scene has become more vibrant and there is a wider range of venture capitalists based here in Singapore. More and more are embracing less conventional paths, like being full-time athletes, or even digital content creators.

The bottom line is that there are many more opportunities and possibilities for you to explore and I will encourage you to make full use of them. It is good to have options but sometimes too much choice can be overwhelming. It was quite simple during my time, my parents would say if you can study, go as far as you can, if you cannot study, find a job. I do not care what the job is, just get to work and bring some money back home. That was the very simple mindset.

Nowadays, you have many more opportunities, and you start worrying if you are making the right choice. You start comparing with your what your friends are doing, and it may lead to a certain paralysis and a certain level of stress and anxiety. How do you decide what path to take?

My suggestion for all of you, is to start from within. Do not compare, do not ask what your friends are doing. We all have our own abilities and strengths, there is no need to compare with others to squeeze into boxes we were not meant to fit. Instead, follow your own talents and strive to reach your own full potential.

Remember that your talents do not exist fully formed. You cannot possibly become an instant expert. Just because you graduate from ITE, polytechnic or university, does not make you knowledgeable about whatever you studied.

Learning must continue. At this stage, you may not even be sure what your strengths are. It really requires you to gain some work experience, start doing things. And over time, cultivate and nurture your abilities and strengths. It is a journey.

Along the way, you will very likely face some rejections and setbacks. But if you work hard to cultivate our own virtues and excel at what you do, you will see breakthroughs.

This is not just talking in abstract. We see real-life examples of this around the world. Look at what happened during COVID. One of my favourite stories during COVID was about this scientist who had made a breakthrough in mRNA vaccines. We know all about mRNA because of COVID. The pioneer of mRNA is a researcher called Dr Katalin Kariko.

But for 20 years prior to Covid, her research was not recognised. Her funding applications were rejected. In fact, her university demoted her, cut her pay, and did not grant her tenure. But she continued doing her work because she enjoyed it, because she had passion in it. She cared little about status or rewards. She felt the science was good, she enjoyed the science and she wanted to persevere in her research. Because of her dedication to her work, she ended up saving countless lives globally and she now a Nobel Prize Laureate.

You may think this is an exception. But this is really what all of us have to go through in life. Behind every success story, there will often by failures. You have to be prepared for dry spells and setbacks in your lives.

Sometimes, maybe even many times, it will feel like the work you do is not being appreciated or recognised sufficiently. But it is precisely in those moments that you must focus on doing your work well. You must keep on working hard and maintaining high standards of excellence. If you do that, you will only learn and get better at what you do, and eventually your talents will be recognised, other doors will open, and you find new possibilities to flourish and thrive.

So I encourage all of you to embrace this attitude of learning and excelling at whatever you do – not just when we are in school, not just after we graduate, but throughout our lives.

The Government will do more to support you. That is why we are investing significantly in SkillsFuture, in providing you more opportunities to upgrade your skills to be fresh and get better at what you are doing. As you get older, and even when you are in your 40s or around my age in your 50s, you will be able to get a fresh injection of skills, learn something solid and you might very well get a second wind in your careers.

Third, we must all do our part to contribute to a better society.

We do not want a society where everyone is for themselves, where the fittest survives and the weak suffer what they must. Indeed, all of us do not want that to happen in Singapore. During the Forward Singapore exercise, many told us that they want a Singapore that is inclusive, where everyone belongs, where benefits are shared with all, and not just held by a few. What is heartening to see is that many of us do want to do our part to contribute to this better Singapore.

We certainly saw this during Covid. We saw so many Singaporeans stepping forward, to help on their own accord – be it to collect essential supplies to help families in need, or to reach out to isolated seniors. More recently, when the oil spill happened in Singapore – many volunteers came forward, and helped out with the beach patrols and clean ups.

As far as the Government is concerned, we will create more opportunities for you to contribute to the common good, and to shape the character and tone of our society. We set up the Singapore Government Partnerships Office earlier this year, to make it easier for Singaporeans to partner with the Government.

We are creating more platforms that bring together citizens, community groups and businesses to develop and implement solutions on significant issues of the day, be it uplifting lower wage workers, or making Singapore more food resilient. More recently, we have setup youth panels to deliberate over issues of concern to young people. We have setup four such panels, that cover issues like financial security and sustainability. The youths on the panels that come together put in tremendous time and effort to understand the issues, and they will be given a chance to present their recommendations for improvements at an inaugural Youth Policy Forum in August. You may not have had the chance to participate in this round of Youth Panels, but there will be subsequent editions, and we welcome more of you to join in.

Conclusion

To conclude, I started by talking about how the world is changing, and how we have to adapt and thrive, as we have done many times before in the past in Singapore. We have certainly come a long way in these last 60 years. But Singapore has been and will always be the underdog. We will always be a little red dot, with no hinterland and no natural resources. If Singapore falters, there is no one coming to our rescue. In the end, it is really up to us, Singaporeans, it is up to our own wits and ingenuity, to fend for ourselves and determine our own fate and to chart our own future.

That is why, whatever our differences, we must always stand together as one people. That is how we saw through the Covid pandemic together. That is the same spirit we need – to think boldly, to think far, and to chart our way forward.

All of you are the authors of the next chapter of our Singapore Story. I am confident that our best days are ahead of us. Let us imagine the exciting new possibilities for our next bound. Let us work together to blaze new paths and take Singapore forward into a brighter future.

Thank you.