SM Goh Chok Tong at the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Fullerton Hotel Singapore

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good Morning

I always feel good about coming to Fullerton Hotel, whether it is for an official function or a meal. This is because Fullerton Building has seen the start of my civil service, shipping and political careers.

I began my civil service career in Fullerton Building. Here I had the privilege of working for and learning from the first generation political leaders like Dr Goh Keng Swee and Mr Lim Kim San, and top public officers like Joe Pillay and Ngiam Tong Dow. I had worked in offices on the second floor, fifth floor and also the small space up on the sixth floor. You can say that I literally worked my way up in Fullerton Building.

Not many people may know this but Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) was incorporated in Fullerton Building with borrowed space from my office on the sixth floor. Later, NOL moved out to its own premises. I joined it a few years later.

In 1976, I stood for elections and was appointed Senior Minister of State for Finance a year later. Like a homing pigeon, I returned to Fullerton Building where the Finance Ministry was. Now you know why I feel nostalgic about Fullerton Building.

Being here today for your 10^th Anniversary celebrations also brings back other memories. One memory was the occasional lunch I had at the simple canteen at the roof-top. Beautiful as the view might be, it was never crowded, unless it rained. The food was not at all great. Looking at the chic Italian restaurant which is now where the canteen was, you might say that the government lacked the keen commercial sense of the private sector. But it made the right decision to turn the Fullerton Building into the Fullerton Hotel 10 years ago, instead of retaining it as a public building. The government had learned about the value of location.

While the Fullerton Hotel is young, this building has a much longer history. Fullerton Building first opened in 1928 and was home to Singapore General Post Office which locals fondly remember as the “GPO”. Over the years, this iconic building has housed many important arms of the government, such as the Ministry of Finance, the Economic Development Board and the then Ministry of Communications.

The Fullerton Hotel is within the Fullerton Heritage area. This includes historic buildings such as the Fullerton Waterboat House, Customs House and Clifford Pier. The Fullerton Heritage is also part of the larger Marina Bay precinct. Together with the recent opening of other major projects in the Bay, such as the Marina Bay Sands and Marina Bay Financial Centre, the Fullerton Heritage development is part of our efforts to transform Singapore into a distinctive and dynamic global city.

Marina Bay will continue to grow in the coming years. At a time when opportunities in Asia abound, having this prime space to expand the Central Business District gives Singapore a significant competitive edge to grow our financial sector.

The Bay has also become a vibrant public space. The addition of a new waterfront promenade and The Helix Bridge now completes a 3.5 kilometre-long continuous loop around the Bay, which will bring visitors to a wide array of leisure and cultural destinations.

With these new developments and an exciting line-up of events such as the Singapore F1 night race and annual New Year’s Eve countdown, it is not surprising that the Bay has become a popular tourist destination. Tourists and Singaporeans have even more to look forward to in the near future with the upcoming ‘Gardens by the Bay’ and the International Cruise Terminal. Indeed, Marina Bay is a great example of how Singapore has risen from mudflats to a metropolis, and become a great home to live, work and play in.

The Fullerton Heritage team has made a significant contribution to the success of this precinct, and taken an active role in preserving the rich culture and history of this area. Today, Fullerton Heritage will also launch a coffee table book and heritage trail dedicated to this precinct.

I congratulate the Fullerton Heritage on Fullerton Hotel’s 10th anniversary. I wish both Fullerton Hotel and Fullerton Heritage continued prosperity and success.