PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School Centennial Founder's Day Thanksgiving and Reunion Dinner

Bishop Dr Wee Boon Hup, Bishop of The Methodist Church in Singapore, Professor Hum Sin Hoon, Chairman of PLMGS Board of Management, Principals Ms Chua Soh Leng and Mrs Quek Li Gek, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I am very happy to join you this evening, and congratulations to PLMGS on reaching your 100th birthday! I feel just a little bit outnumbered this evening, but I took heart because I looked at the Chairman of your PLMGS Board – and he is Professor Hum Sin Hoon – and said, “How is it you have a boy as the Chairman of the Board?” He said, he is a son-in-law, because Mrs Hum is the granddaughter of your Founding principal. So I said, maybe I have a right to be here too, because in a way, I can count myself as a grand-nephew. My mother did not go to PLMGS, but she went to MGS. So I think for tonight, you will let me count.

I am very happy to be here because PLMGS has a hundred year history. Not many schools have had such a long and illustrious record, and in Singapore we celebrate every school, we invest in every school. We support you with ample resources and good facilities, staff you with dedicated teachers and principals, we encourage the schools to build up their own identities, own communities, own traditions, and therefore every school can be special in its own way, and every student can be proud of his or her school. And that is how, as MOE says, we can make every school a good school. And that is how PLMGS can celebrate its Centennial Founder’s Day Thanksgiving and Reunion Dinner, and have much to give thanks for.

PLMGS is a mission school, and has benefitted from the leadership of The Methodist Church in Singapore. It started in 1916 when the Church purchased land at Boundary Road to build “Paya Lebar English School”. And it started with 24 students and three teachers. Actually not a bad teacher-student ratio! It was guided by the values and the beliefs of the Church. It emphasised all-round education and service to the community, and it enrolled children of all backgrounds, regardless of race, religion or sex. So I would like to thank the Methodist Church for its many contributions to education in Singapore.

PLMGS has come a very long way. By the 1950s, the school expanded to offer secondary classes and was sought after for its quality education. In 1961, more than 50 years ago, it became an all-girls school, and adopted its present name, “Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School”. In 1986, it split into PLMGS Primary and PLMGS Secondary, and relocated to its present site at Lorong Ah Soo, but I understand that you are now one school again. PLMGS – brackets – Primary, and PLMGS – brackets – Secondary. You have about 3,000 students, 300 staff, a strong alumni, and excellent facilities. And as we can see this evening, a very strong school spirit.

The backbone of any school is the educators, and PLMGS educators have given their all to their students. The late Mrs Chew Hock Hin, for example, who served 23 years as Principal, from 1935 to 1958, years which straddled World War II. During the war, the school was razed to the ground after being shelled heavily. After the War, Mrs Chew re-built the school, began lessons in a new block with three classrooms, reached out actively to the village girls, because she believed that “when you educate a boy, you educate a man, but when you educate a girl, you educate a whole family”. So to recognise Mrs Chew’s contributions, the school has chosen her birthday, which is today the 14th of October, as its Founder’s Day.

Another one of the educators in the school’s history is Mrs Claudette Poulier. Claudette taught for 50 years from 1950 to 1999, and she is remembered fondly as the “Ang Mo” who could speak Hokkien. She was ahead of her time in recognising the value of CCAs for character development. She groomed many girls through her committed leadership as the Girls’ Brigade Officer and Captain.

Over a century, many more educators like Mrs Chew and Mrs Poulier, in PLMGS, are remembered with fondness and gratitude by their students. So thank you to all the principals and teachers here, and those unable to be here. Because of your hard work, PLMGS has nurtured many outstanding alumni, who have served our country and community in different roles.

One of them is the late Mr E.W. Barker. Eddie Barker was Singapore’s first and longest-serving Law Minister, he played an important part when Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965, including drafting the Separation Agreements. Another alumnus is Mr Lim Siong Guan, Former Head of Civil Service and Permanent Secretary in several Ministries, including Defence, Education and Finance, and now, Group President of GIC.

Or Ms Chia Yong Yong, who is here this evening. Yong Yong is our Nominated Member of Parliament and a lawyer, she is undaunted by her disability, and she champions greater support and inclusivity for people with disabilities. We are very happy to have you here this evening. When I went to the United States two months ago, I brought her along with me to the State Visit and the White House dinner. I am very happy and honoured to have her in my team representing Singapore.

We have Mrs Glory Barnabas, who is also here this evening. I met her just now. She is our former national sprinter. She won many medals at the Southeast Asia Peninsular Games – this is forerunner of the SEA Games – and also in the Asian Games in the 1960s and 70s. She remains passionate about sports and advocates active ageing through personal example. She is still teaching physical education at Springfield Secondary and serves as a Team Singapore Sports Ambassador, and at the 2013 International Gold Masters for women in the 70 to 75 age group, she won the gold in high jump and silver in long jump. Even if I compete in that age group, I do not think I would be there.

I hope that many more alumni will emulate them, and become role models to inspire current and future students. But as we celebrate PLMGS’ centenary, we should also look forward to prepare more generations of students for the future.

The fundamentals of education have not changed. Our schools must continue to give their students a good academic education, build a foundation in literacy, mathematics, science and humanities. But our students must also be exposed to non-academic areas and a broad range of experiences in order to discover their own interests and talents. For example, PLMGS has a strong tradition in the arts. It hosts the East Zone Centre of Excellence for Creative Arts and collaborates with other schools to organise arts programmes to benefit more students.

PLMGS Secondary has also ventured into new areas. This year, it set up a robotics interest group. The girls represented Singapore in the World Robot Games International Competition in August in Bandung after emerging champions in Singapore, they were representing Singapore. They were the only girls in the competition and pitted themselves against more than 300 boys from other countries. Some of the boys laughed at them, but they collected 15 awards, including the Spirit of WRG Award for showmanship and perseverance. So well done indeed!

Most of all, we need to build character and inculcate sound values in our young people. So that they grow up to be good people and upright citizens with a sense of belonging to Singapore, and a feeling of responsibility to contribute back to society. I am glad that PLMGS has continued the fine tradition of mission schools to build character. Take for example, Peh Jia Xuan, a Primary 6 student. She took part in the 100 metre race at the National School Games Track and Field Championships last year, and at first she was leading, but she stumbled and she fell, and got scratched and abrasions, but Jia Xuan completed the race, and demonstrated sportsmanship and grit.

Or Amanda Chia, who graduated last year. She excelled academically, became the Head Prefect, and was active in community work. She was involved in the “Go Light Your World” school programme that encourages students to organise meaningful projects. And she continues to volunteer with charities like Willing Hearts and Meals-on-Wheels to deliver food to the needy. These students follow the example of alumni who not only volunteer in the school, but are also active in community work. I understand that the Alumni Association is very active, and in this centenary year, especially hardworking, as they have raised more than $100,000 this year as part of the centenary celebrations. So I hope they will continue to do their good work and continue to nurture well-rounded students together with the educators at PLMGS. You can be very proud of your achievements because PLMGS belongs to a small group of centenary schools in Singapore, and that you have endured for so long and prospered and built your reputation, attests to the hard work of the staff, the good education that you have given generations of students, and the strong support of the whole PLMGS community.

So congratulations once more to PLMGS. May you, in the words of your school vision, continue to be “an outstanding school of choice producing women of fine character with a passion for life and learning”, for many more years to come! Congratulations and all the best to you.