Recognising corporate support for the Singapore Botanic Gardens

Mr Kwek Leng Joo, Deputy Chairman, City Developments Limited

Excellencies and distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

1. A very good evening to all of you. Let me first thank City Developments Limited (CDL) for graciously hosting tonight's Gala Dinner, and in particular Mr Kwek Leng Joo for his support of the Botanic Gardens. Let me also thank the young musicians, dancers and singers who are doing us the honour of performing tonight. 

2. CDL has been a part of the Gardens for many years, marking many memorable moments together. Tonight, they have brought all of us together to celebrate Singapore's Jubilee and the inscription of the Gardens as our very first UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is such a fitting birthday present for us this year, when we celebrate SG50. 

3. Our Jubilee Year has been as eventful year for all of us. For me in particular, when I look back at the year so far, we've had the passing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew where the whole country came together to mourn; we had the SEA Games in June where we rallied the whole nation to support our athletes; then we had the Jubilee celebrations over our National Day period; and of course recently, we had a watershed elections. But the proudest moment of my year so far was in Bonn, Germany, when we were representing Singapore and flying our flag high, and when we achieved the endorsement from the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to have the Botanic Gardens as our first ever UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a proud moment for the entire team, who had been working very hard on this inscription. We had a great team working on this, the officials are here tonight from NParks and NHB, and of course, our Ambassador Andrew Toh. So I think we should recognise all of them for all the work they've put in. 
   

4. Being host to a World Heritage Site is truly a great honour for Singapore. There are 1000 World Heritage Sites around the world. For us as a little red dot to be host to a World Heritage Site, it is something that we can all we can be very proud of. We are not the first Gardens to be on the list, there are two other Gardens that are on the Site – the Kew Gardens in the UK and the Padua Gardens in Italy. But we are the first Botanic Gardens in Asia and the only tropical Gardens to be recognised as a World Heritage Site. So it is truly an honour and distinction that all of us as Singaporeans should be very proud of. 
   

5. Beyond being a World Heritage Site, I think the Gardens has special memories for all of us. Many of us would have gone there, taken walks there and have many special memories of the Gardens. For me, personally, it is one of my favourite places to go to for jogs, and to take my dog out for walks. Whenever I go to the Gardens, I see people walking and jogging and going for concerts or having picnics, I see young couples pak-tor-ing in the Gardens. I see people having their wedding pictures taken. Recently, I met a netball pioneer Mrs Tan Yoon Yin. She is 86-years old. She brought the game from UK to Singapore, she started the Netball Association and she grew the game in Singapore. She shared that she met her husband at the iconic Tembusu tree in the Gardens. It was a school outing and the both of them were there. Her husband was then taking pictures of the classmates, saw her and it was love at first sight. He pursued her, wrote letters to her. They have been married for 57 years now, and they still spend time in the Gardens. I don't think this is an isolated story. Many young Singaporeans would have spent time in the Gardens, probably on their first date and continued spending time in the Gardens after they are married. So if we were to give another award to the Gardens, it should be given the best pak-tor site in Singapore award! 
   

6. Our connection to the Gardens is more than just a personal one. It is a connection that also links to our own Singapore Story. Many of you will know that the Gardens played a key role in fulfilling the vision of our founding Prime Minister, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew. He wanted Singapore to be a Garden City; clean and green. The Gardens thus became the lead organisation in “greening up” Singapore. It was the training ground for many horticulturalists, and supplied the plant materials for trees and shrubs as seen in parks and roadsides all over Singapore. 

7. You may have wondered, for example – why do we have the Bougainvillea plant all over Singapore, when it's a native plant of South America? The answer lies in the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Eric Holttum was the Director of the Gardens in the 1920's. He started a collection of Bougainvilleas in the Gardens and carried out research and experimentation to produce hybrids that would grow well in our humid climate. That is why, decades later, the Gardens was able to decorate long stretches of road with this colourful bloom. So there are many stories like these that you can find of our Gardens that links to our culture, our heritage and what we have in Singapore today. It is truly a site rich not just in personal memories, but it is a site that has contributed and played an important role in our Singapore Story.

8. We must all now do our part to help preserve this very precious jewel. The Government will do its part. We are going to expand the Gardens and enhance it. We have some state land alongside Tyersall Road and this is on the western part of the Gardens. We are going to set that aside as part of the Gardens and we are going to merge it with the existing Gardens. We will continue to preserve and make sure that the Gardens is well-maintained and well-preserved for future generations.
   

9. But we can't do this work alone. That is why your contributions are so valuable tonight. All of you are contributing to this shared effort to preserve and improve the Gardens for future generations of Singaporeans and for all of humanity. I want to thank all of you for your support and for your contributions.  
   

10. In particular, I want to again thank City Developments for this gala dinner; and Mr Kwek Leng Joo for his personal commitment and for his book Embrace. I have seen the book, it is truly remarkable. I would encourage you to take a look at it and purchase it. The proceeds of the gala and book will go to two agencies – NParks and NHB. Fundraising for the dinner will go the Garden City Fund. The book proceeds will go to the National Heritage Board, to help us with our work in the preservation of sites and monuments. Proceeds from the sale of the book will also receive one-for-one dollar matching from the Ministry, from the Cultural Matching Fund. So I hope with all our shared efforts and our contributions tonight, we can continue to make progress in our cultural development, in strengthening our heritage in Singapore. It is an important part in our development in our next phase, and to help contribute to the soul of our nation and to help create a more holistic development in Singapore.  So we look forward to strengthening this partnership between public and private sectors, because there is a lot more we can do together.
    

11. And certainly for the Botanic Gardens, we look forward to enriching the Gardens as a World Heritage Site. Many Singaporeans may be familiar with Gardens, but not many are very familiar with the history and heritage of the place. It is beyond going there for walks and picnics. If you go for guided tours, and experience and see for yourself the richness of the Gardens, there is a lot that can be learned about our heritage and history. And that is something that we hope to step up our efforts in – in terms of public education and public outreach. Many of the funds that are going to be raised from tonight's fundraising will help us with these efforts. 
    

12. So on behalf of MCCY, NHB and NParks, let me once again thank all of you for your generosity and support. Let's continue to work together and celebrate our nation's green legacy and continue to look forward to many years for Singapore.
    

13. Thank you very much, and enjoy your evening.