PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Merdeka Generation Tribute Event

Good afternoon everybody. Let me begin with a few words in Malay and Mandarin.

Malay Speech

Saudara saudari sekalian,

Saya amat gembira kerana dapat hadir hari ini untuk meraikan dan memberi penghargaan kepada Generasi Merdeka, sekumpulan rakyat Singapura yang sangat istimewa.

Generasi Merdeka telah menyumbang kepada kejayaan Singapura melonjak maju dari taraf Dunia Ketiga kepada Dunia Pertama dalam satu generasi sahaja.

Anda sama-sama melalui pahit getir perjuangan ini dan memainkan peranan anda sebaik sahaja Singapura menjadi sebuah negara merdeka.

Anda telah saksikan sendiri pengorbanan ibu bapa anda dalam membesarkan anda sekeluarga, khususnya ketika Singapura sedang memperjuangkan kemerdekaan kita.

Jadi, apabila tiba giliran anda, anda faham dan bersedia untuk memikul tanggungjawab demi menyumbang kembali kepada masyarakat.

Kerja keras dan sumbangan anda telah membolehkan kita menikmati kemajuan yang besar dalam kehidupan kita hari ini.

Pakej Generasi Merdeka ini adalah tanda penghargaan ikhlas dari kami atas segala sumbangan anda.

Sedang anda melangkah masuk ke usia senja, kami harap pakej ini dapat mengurangkan kebimbangan anda, terutama sekali tentang kos jagaan kesihatan anda.

Terima kasih semua. Saya harap dapat beramah mesra dengan setiap anda, sebentar lagi.

Chinese Speech

大家中午好！

再过几天就过年了，很高兴大家在百忙之中抽空参加今天的聚会。我们希望借这次的活动，向在座的立国一代伙伴们致敬，感谢大家在立国路上所有的贡献！

新加坡能有今天的繁荣与发展，建国一代和立国一代功不可没。

建国一代，通过艰苦奋斗、勇于开拓的精神，为新加坡的发展奠定了坚实的基础。立国一代则进一步在先贤的基础上，辛勤耕耘和无私付出，塑造了我们今日的家园。

立国一代的成长经历，跟我国的发展进程紧密相连。我们这一代人成长于国家争取独立的年代，经历过早期的动荡岁月。我们在50年代出生，到了60年代，虽然不过是十来岁的孩子却能够感觉到这是个大时代，即将有巨大的变化发生。那个年代，是我国历史上的关键时刻。

1959年，新加坡成为自治邦，人民行动党在立法议会选举中获胜，获得选民委托，第一次成立政府。年幼的我们，在大选群众大会凑热闹，听到人们激昂的高喊 “Merdeka!” 时，可以感受到群众的激情和力量。

1963年，新加坡跟马来西亚合并，但在两年后分家，新加坡从此成为独立自主的国家。当时，我们感受到，周遭弥漫着恐惧和不安的情绪。相信大家都记得当年的情景。那时候生活艰苦、前途茫茫。我们见证了工潮和种族暴动发生时的流血事件，为自身和亲友的安危感到担忧。

新加坡宣布独立的时侯，虽然有人很兴奋的燃放爆竹，庆祝我们从阴暗走向光明，但许多人都质疑这个没有天然资源的弹丸小国能否生存。

英军宣布提早从我国撤离时，我们的父母对未来生计感到担忧，担心饭碗不保。

这些经历，塑造了我们的人生观，激励我们不断奋斗，要把新加坡建设成一个繁荣昌盛的国家。

我们立国一代深刻体会到国家兴亡，匹夫有责。虽然当时华人有句话说“好男不当兵”，但是立国 一代青年却义不容辞去服兵役，成为我国最早几批国民服役军人，协助我们建立起今天的新加坡武装部队。

这一代的妇女，尤其是家中的女生，很多为了补贴家用和弟妹的前途，年纪很轻就到社会上工作，没有机会完成学业。

相信在座的各位，也各有自己的一段经历回忆，为家庭，为国家做出了牺牲。因为有你们的坚持和信念，新加坡才能有今天的成就。各位的付出，是有价值、有意义的牺牲。

如今，大约50万名立国一代多数已经过了耳顺之年，60多岁了。当中有一部分人已经退休了，有些离退休的时间也不远了。跟建国一代一样，你们对新加坡的付出，政府没有忘记。

因此，在去年的国庆群众大会上，我宣布政府会推出立国一代配套。这个配套代表了我们对立国一代的一份心意。有关立国一代配套的详情，王瑞杰部长以及颜金永部长这个月会在国会，将进一步说明。

今天我要做的是感谢大家在立国路上的付出和贡献，希望大家会好好利用立国一代配套，保持身心健康。

期待稍后和大家的交流。在这里祝大家新年快乐，万事如意！

谢谢大家。

English Speech

Friends and fellow Merdeka Generation members. I am very happy to be here today with you to pay tribute to the Merdeka Generation.

It is fitting that we are here at Gardens by the Bay. Our founding leaders envisioned a beautiful, vibrant new city centre for Singapore, with a garden right in the heart of it. So decade by decade, we reclaimed land from the open sea, built a new downtown on it, and turned vision into reality. It is a vivid example of Singapore’s journey from mudflats to metropolis.

The Merdeka Generation lived this Singapore story. Our generation built good careers, provided for our families, and have lived full lives. During our lifetimes, through our efforts, Singapore grew stronger, more prosperous and more united.

Today, we are mostly in our 60s. Many of us are still working, though quite a few have retired. We can look back with some satisfaction on what we have achieved together.

Our journey was not always onwards and upwards. In retrospect, it sometimes seems like we were sure to succeed in overcoming all these crises and problems. But in reality, this was not like a superhero movie. Success was never fore-ordained. As each crisis unfolded, it was a struggle and a fight. We could not tell if our solutions would work, or what the final outcome would be. We had to prove, each time, to ourselves and the world that we had the tenacity and unity to pull together and rise to the challenge.

Our most vulnerable moments were in the early years. 1965 itself was a defining moment for our people, for many reasons. Overnight, Malay Singaporeans became a minority. Overnight, our businessmen and entrepreneurs lost the Malaysian market. Overnight, relatives found themselves divided by a political border.

Barely two years after Separation, the British announced that they would withdraw their troops from Singapore earlier than planned. We risked being left exposed and vulnerable in a volatile and unstable region. But we gritted our teeth and served National Service, built up the SAF quickly, and kept Singapore safe.

Meanwhile, in the region around us, the Vietnam War was raging. In 1975, the North Vietnamese finally won – a humiliating defeat for the Americans. Laos also fell to the Communists. Cambodia also became Communist. We feared that the rest of Southeast Asia would also turn Communist. Fortunately, ASEAN held together and stemmed the tide.

More recent is the memory is September 11, 2001. The attack on the World Trade Centre in New York shocked the world. But what really shook Singaporeans was to discover, right in our midst, the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group, linked to Al Qaeda, planning similar suicide attacks here. This was a dire internal threat, not just to our safety, but to our racial harmony and national cohesion. But we did not tear apart. We held together as a nation, supported one another and collectively addressed the problem at its root.

Two years after 9/11, danger came from an unexpected direction, in the form of SARS. Fear and anxiety gripped the nation. Singapore nearly came to a halt. It took courage and discipline for people still to turn up for work, keep the lights on, and help neighbours along. Many of these unsung heroes belonged to the Merdeka Generation.

During your working lives, Singapore faced major economic crisis too. They came upon us about once every ten years. In 1973, the Oil Crisis sparked off raging inflation. In one year, prices shot up by 20%. You can imagine the impact on the cost of living of households at that time.

In 1985, we suffered a major recession, our first. We had been upgrading the economy, replacing low wage industries with high wage, skill intensive ones. But in the process, business costs rose too far, and we lost our competitiveness. We did not take the easy way out. We took drastic steps to cut costs, including deep and painful cuts in employer CPF contributions.

A decade later, we ran into the Asian Financial Crisis. The economies around us – Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia – they were toppling like nine-pins. We could easily have been knocked down with them. But we took decisive steps, cutting CPF again, and supporting worker training during down-time to prepare for the future. As a result, we not only maintained confidence, but reinforced Singapore’s reputation with investors for sound economic management and enlightened, responsible workers.

In 2008, the Global Financial Crisis hit. Financial markets everywhere seized up. Trade and business plummeted. We had to draw on the financial reserves which we had carefully built up to help businesses and save jobs.

With time, the sharpness of these bad memories may have receded. But these were all defining moments for the Merdeka Generation. It is worth reminding ourselves of them. Because each time, the Merdeka Generation faced the problems resolutely, worked with the Government, and when necessary, accepted the bitter medicine that made us strong again. Each time, we pulled together and overcame the challenge.

The Merdeka Generation did this because we understood what was at stake. We had lived through the upheavals of the independence struggle in the 1950s and early 1960s, as well as the years in Malaysia. We saw what our parents went through. We were determined to pick up from them, and keep on building Singapore.

Looking back now, we can all see how Singapore has completely changed. Here we look out at Marina Bay, previously open sea but now our iconic skyline. Modern HDB flats are a far cry from the “chap lau chu” (ten story flats) in our first housing estates, and the kampong houses with no running water or modern sanitation. Our grandchildren enjoy educational opportunities beyond anything that our generation enjoyed. Our economy is more vibrant, our companies more prosperous, our jobs more fulfilling and rewarding. Our social fabric is stronger, our diversity is celebrated, and we stand strong as one united people. The Merdeka Generation played a big part in making all this happen.

Now, the Merdeka Generation is passing on the baton. But Singapore’s journey continues. We face new challenges – keeping our economy competitive, preparing for an ageing population, maintaining social mobility. And surely more challenges will come.

Singaporeans cannot afford to take them lightly, because success is never certain. But neither have we any cause to be daunted. For as the Merdeka Generation have shown time and time again, Singapore can and will come through, provided we pull together, and tackle the challenges as one.

If the Merdeka Generation can pass down your life experience and survival values to future generations, you will do another great service to Singapore. If future generations share your resourcefulness, determination and sense of duty – the Merdeka spirit – Singapore will continue to do well.

It is only right and fitting that we pay tribute to the Merdeka Generation for your contributions in building our nation. So to all of you here, and to all the members of the Merdeka Generation in Singapore and all over the world, a very big thank you!

At the National Day Rally last year, I announced that we would put together a Merdeka Generation Package. The package is for those born in the 1950s – the years when we strove for Merdeka – freedom, independence and sovereignty. Those born in 1949 and earlier who had missed out on the Pioneer Generation Package, but who obtained citizenship by 31 December 1996, will also qualify.

Minister Heng Swee Keat and Minister Gan Kim Yong will announce the details in Parliament later this month. So I shall not steal their thunder. But I can tell you without giving away any secrets that it is a substantial package, and will go some way to helping you with your medical expenses, and to expressing the nation’s gratitude to the Merdeka Generation.

I thank you all once again and I wish all of you a very Happy Chinese New Year!

Thank you.