Transcript of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's Speech at Teck Ghee Lunar New Year Dinner, 15 February 2014

各位同胞，各位朋友，大家晚上好！祝大家今年马年万马奔腾、鸿运当头、新年快乐！

农历新年是我们华人的传统节日。不过在新加坡，不只是华人庆祝农历新年，就是其他种族的国人，也和我们一起来庆祝这个节日。所以，今晚的宴会上，我们就有各个不同种族的嘉宾朋友，一起分享节日的欢乐。这是新加坡一个非常独特的特色，非常难得，也是非常可贵的，所以我们应该好好珍惜。

明年，新加坡将庆祝建国50 周年。我们能够有今天的成就，首先要感谢的，就是我们的建国一代。这一代的老前辈们，在艰苦的环境中努力耕耘，无私地为国家奉献。他们对国家的发展，功不可没。所以今晚，我想我们应该对我们的老前辈们致敬。我有请所有在座的建国一代的前辈们站起来。什么是建国一代呢？就是今年65岁或者以上的居民，请大家站起来。May I invite all those 65 years and above to please stand up? You are our pioneer generation.  We would like to say “thank you” to you.  谢谢你们。我代表所有的新加坡人，向你们致敬。谢谢大家，你们幸苦了！

前几天，我们举行了一个宴会，招待一批建国的老前辈们。在宴会上，我就宣布了我们“建国一代配套”的内容。我们希望这个配套能够帮助前辈们，减轻他们医疗费的负担，并且减轻他们家人的负担。这样一来，大家可以有更多的资源，花在其他方面。所以，这个配套不只是帮助了建国一代，也帮到了他们的亲人。

而其他一些年纪开始比较大的长辈，可能还没有到65岁，我想你们也会担心自己的生活费、自己的医疗费，担心老的时候能不能够维持生计。我想对大家说，请放心。我们在新加坡，会照顾到“老有所养，老有所安”。所以不要担心，无论是生活费或者是医疗费，在新加坡大家可以平安的、放心的活下去，安享晚年。

政府除了会照顾好我们社会中的年长者，也会照顾好我们国家未来的主人翁。我们必须投资我们的下一代，抚养我们的下一代，让他们也能够有足够的条件、足够的能力，为新加坡创造新的未来。所以，我们将尽力做到“老有所安，幼有所学”。幼儿教育是很多家长都很关注的事情。我们在这方面加大了投资，实行了新的措施，以解决托儿所、幼稚园短缺的问题。就拿德义区做一个例子。在过去三年来，我们的托儿所学额，就增加了一倍。我们以后还计划增设更多托儿所，比如说，在Teck Ghee Parkview，现在正在施工中，建完了之后，我们会增多一间托儿所。这样一来，希望阿公阿嫲、爸爸妈妈、小朋友们，全家三代都可以放心了。

可是我们还有想到另外一个很重要的一点，那就是要确保年轻人的前途。不只是要照顾他们的教育，同时也要照顾我们国家的安全，我们的区域的稳定，能够维持新加坡社会的平安、繁荣。今天不只是农历正月十六日，刚好也是西历的2月15日，也就是我国的全面防卫日。为什么选在这一天庆祝全面防卫日呢？因为很多年前，1942年，打战的时候，就是1942年2月15日那天，日军攻进了新加坡，新加坡投降给日军。我们这一代人没有经历过那一段历史，可是老一辈的新加坡人经历了那三年零六个月的日军占领时期。那是黑暗的日子，是终身不忘得经历。经历了那段历史的人，很清楚地认识到，我们要捍卫新加坡，只能靠我们自己，我们才能够生存，才能够保护我们家庭、我们国家的安全。而我们要这样做，大家就必须团结起来。所以很多年后，1965年我们独立后，我们就实行了国民服役，加强自己的国防。当时，大家经历过这些历史事件，都很清楚的明白，为什么需要全面防卫，为什么必须守护新加坡，并且支持我们实行国民服役，支持自己的子女们，尤其是儿子们，被征召入伍，为国家服务。

因为50年前我们做了这些事情，因为过去50年来我们继续维持我们的国防，维持我们的安全，所以过去50年，我们享有太平盛世，我们能够平平安安地过活。现在，向前看50年，我们希望能继续过平安的日子。但是要这样，我们必须继续捍卫我们的国家，必须有能力应付任何的挑战。所以，我们希望在接下来的50 年，我们必须学习建国一代刻苦耐劳、坚韧不拔，这样我们才能够未雨绸缪，居安思危，为我们的下一代继续努力和奋斗。

前途是光明，成功是靠我们来争取的。让我们万马奔腾、向前迈进，为新加坡争取一个更美好、更光明、更成功的前途。

谢谢大家！

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Friends and residents,

A very Happy Chinese New Year to all of you!

I am very happy to see the Teck Ghee family here tonight, and more than usual.  Because usually we hold it at the Teck Ghee CC and we have about a hundred tables, but in fact we know that many more residents want to come.  So this year, we moved it to this new site, a bigger space, and we have about 200 tables this evening.  And I am very happy that all of you are here with us, joining us for this celebration.

By working together, we have built today’s Singapore.  But there was a special generation which started us on this journey and made a big contribution to our success, and that is our pioneer generation.  So as we approach the 50^th anniversary, I think it is right that we honour them, and thank them for everything they have done.  So that’s why last week I hosted a Tribute Party for the pioneer generation at the Istana, and that’s why I announced the Pioneer Generation Package to take care of their healthcare needs – to honour them for their sacrifices, contributions, and achievements to Singapore.

The Pioneer Generation Package will take care of the needs of older Singaporeans.  It will include more subsidies for MediShield-Life, for the premium.  It will mean cheaper outpatient bills for this generation.  And it will mean more Medisave top-ups, so that it can help to pay for your other medical expenses too.  These measures are on top of the many other things we are doing, to improve our healthcare system: Building more hospitals; expanding the CHAS scheme – the blue cards and the orange cards; making home-based care more affordable and so on, so that everybody can have peace of mind.  You don’t have to worry about seeing a doctor or affording your healthcare should you become ill.  So I hope this Package will be of value to the seniors, the elders, and also to all your families.

But even as we honour our elders, we also have to build a better Singapore for our younger generations to live in.  So that’s why we are upgrading our economy and creating exciting new jobs.  We are transforming our city, just like we have transformed Ang Mo Kio from a kampong in the old days to today’s modern estate.  That’s why we are making Singapore a better place to bring up our children, such as providing more childcare facilities, including here in Teck Ghee; organising more activities to bring families together, especially this year because this year is the International Year of the Family, so we have more baby shows, family interest groups, more visits to the zoo, more activities where grandparents and parents and children can come together, enjoy together, bond together.

All these are good plans, but I should remind ourselves that all these plans can only work if Singapore stays safe and secure.  And I think today is a good day to remind ourselves, even though it is Chinese New Year and usually we don’t talk about defence things in Chinese New Year.  But today also happens to be Total Defence Day.  It is the 15^th of February, and on the 15^th of February many years ago – more than 70 years now, in 1942, Singapore surrendered to the Japanese.  I think amongst Singaporeans today, not so many have lived through the surrender, the Japanese Occupation, the three years and six months of terror and misery, which our parents and our grandparents and their generations did.  But I think we should learn from our parents and grandparents on what that taught them: That it was our own responsibility to defend Singapore and we must do it; nobody else will do it for us.

It is because of those experiences, in the war, after the war, the turbulence we saw in Singapore, then when we went into Malaysia, the Confrontation which we experienced with Indonesia during those years – Konfrontasi, that’s why after we became independent, when we built up our SAF, introduced National Service, Singaporeans supported us and supported National Service, and supported sending their sons in to do NS, to train as soldiers, as policemen, as civil defence officers.  So that we can guard our country; so that we can guard our families, our homes; so that we can be safe, and we can be secured, and we can be at peace with our neighbours.  Because by being strong, I think that is the basis on which we can make friends. 

And because that generation supported National Service, supported defence, so for 50 years, we have not had trouble; for 50 years we have enjoyed peace, stability, prosperity and progress.  Now, it’s 50 years.  Next year, we are celebrating the 50^th year.  We have had many years of peace, but we must keep up our vigilance and we must keep up the effort, because we will face external challenges from time to time.  Some big, some small, but these challenges will come, some from close by, some from far away.  When they happen to us, we must have the ability to handle them with confidence.  We must be there, united as one people, to be able to defend ourselves, to protect our interests, to make sure our children and our homes are safe.

One very important way we have been able to do this and to build up the SAF is because we have kept Singapore a very special place, and we have maintained very special standards in Singapore.  People know that we are determined to fight for our interests, to defend our place in the sun.  People know that in Singapore, you go for the best.  We have pursued excellence.  We try to be Number One in many of the things we do – the best port, the best airport, the best SAF, the best school results, the best homes, the best opportunities for our children.  Whatever we do, we do it to make sure that we are up there, at the top.  We are special in our willingness to work together for the common good, to cooperate, to come together, to be united and not to be divided by external forces, whatever happens outside, whatever the difficulties we run into.  At the same time, we are also special because we try very hard to cooperate with our friends, our neighbours all round the world, and also our friends and neighbours in our region, in Southeast Asia, in fact, our nearest neighbours in Malaysia, in Indonesia, in Thailand and other ASEAN countries.

Because we are strong, because we are special, that is why we are successful, that is why we are respected in the world, that is why Singapore can stand tall and we can hold our own beside much bigger countries in the world.  Because otherwise, if you are small and unsuccessful, small and weak, I think people may be polite with you, people may say the right things to you, but you can be sure people will also be able to take advantage of you.  But if you are small but a shining red dot, that is different.  Then they will know this is a serious country.  May be small, but is capable.  May not be huge, but it knows what it is doing.  It can succeed.  It can look after itself.  It can contribute and cooperate with the others, and therefore, let’s work together and let’s be friends together.  That’s how we have made Singapore succeed, and that’s why we must stay a special country, show the world what Singapore can do.  And then our children can grow up peacefully, live and prosper in peace and harmony for many years to come.

So thank you very much.  I wish you a very happy Year of the Horse and many more successful years ahead!  Thank you very much indeed.

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