Values and ideals that underpin the foundations of our nation

Excellencies; 
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. I’m very happy to join you this evening to open the “We Built a Nation” exhibition.

2. Let me begin by acknowledging the presence of Mr Ong Pang Boon and Mr Jek Yeun Thong. They are our old guards, our first generation of leaders. They are among the ones who signed the independence of Singapore agreement in 1965. So we’re very honoured by your presence. Thank you for being here with us.

3. It is also wonderful to see so many family members of our founding leaders. In particular, we deeply appreciate having with us Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Wei Ling who are the Executors of the Estate of Lee Kuan Yew, and who have donated many of the key artefacts that are showcased in this exhibition. The exhibition would not have been possible without your donations so thank you very much for being here as well.

4. I thank Mr Goh Kian Chee for being here with your family. It is also a pleasure to see the Hon family here. Thanks to all of you for your generous donations and loans that have made this exhibition possible.

5. The motivation for this exhibition arose earlier this year after the passing of our founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew. As many of you would remember, there was a memorial exhibition held then and we saw an overwhelming surge of visitors who came to pay tribute to Mr Lee and also to learn more about his life story and his contributions to build modern Singapore.

6. In fact, the exhibition was so popular that the deadline had to be extended twice. It was supposed to close in April. Then by popular demand, we pushed it back to May. And then again by popular demand, we decided to push it back even further to the end of June. So that children and their families could visit it during the holidays.

7. Despite extending the deadline twice, we still continued to receive many calls for the exhibition to carry on in some form or another so that many more people, especially the young, can continue to learn about our critical years of nation building, and the contributions of Mr Lee and our founding leaders.

8. So we deliberated over how best we could carry on the exhibition. And at that time, the National Museum team had been working on a major revamp of our permanent galleries. These were just launched over the weekend and some of you may have visited. And these new permanent galleries already contain stories of post-independent Singapore. They include stories about our founding leaders and defining moments in our nation’s history.

9. But the team from the National Museum thought that this was not sufficient. They felt more could be done to dive deeper into the key period leading up to independence as well as the critical years following after that, particularly the decade following independence. And so, they decided to set aside additional gallery spaces for this special exhibition – to tell the story of the 10 pivotal years after independence, and how our founding leaders shaped Singapore’s economy, foreign policy and diplomacy, security and defence, education, and infrastructure during this very difficult period.

10. So because of the revamp of the permanent galleries and addition of these two galleries that showcased the special exhibition, I would say we now have a very comprehensive and rich offering of exhibits relating to Singapore’s history. If you go down to level 1 of the permanent gallery, you will see an exhibition that traces the broad arch of history of Singapore – from ancient times to post-independence history.

11. In level 2 in the permanent galleries here, we have snapshots of what Singapore life was like over the last 100 years. And with this special exhibition, we now have two additional galleries dedicated to telling what Singapore was like during that tumultuous period when we became independent and the 10 years following from that as well as the contributions from our founding leaders. So all together it makes for a rich and immersive experience in the Singapore story. And I would encourage all visitors who come to the museum to take their time and spend time through the galleries, learning more about the entire range of Singapore’s history.

12. In putting together this exhibition, we were guided by two key principles. First, the exhibition should honour not just one man Mr Lee Kuan Yew, but our founding generation of leaders. Mr Lee himself was always conscious that he did not act alone, but as a member of a team. As he put it, “running a government is not unlike conducting an orchestra. No prime minister can achieve much without an able team… The single decisive factor that made for Singapore’s development was the ability of its ministers and the high quality of the civil servants who supported them.” That was what Mr Lee had said.

13. Mr Lee’s core team included Goh Keng Swee, S Rajaratnam, Othman Wok, Hon Sui Sen, Lim Kim San, amongst others. Our guard were men of honour and moral courage – I will quote what Mr Lee himself had said about them, he said that they were “an extinct breed of men who went into politics because of the passion of their convictions.” This was a rare and unique team. A team that was multi-racial, they complemented one another’s strengths, they trusted one another, and through their joint efforts, they created a fair and just society in Singapore.

14. So in telling the story of how we built this nation, the curators have attempted to highlight the contributions of our founding leaders. For example, the table in the basement dining room of Mr Lee’s home in Oxley Road serves as a reminder of how the founding members of the PAP came together, discussed the setting up of a new party in the early 50s, and later came together to lead the nation in the turbulent years.

15. In addition, among the most significant artefacts on display are a group of recently declassified documents from Dr Goh Keng Swee’s Albatross file. Some of you might have heard about this file. It was a personal file which Dr Goh himself had compiled, including handwritten notes of meetings with the Malaysian leaders and other documents relating to the merger and separation from Malaysia. They show the crucial part that Dr Goh played in negotiating the separation from Malaysia, and provide his perspective of events. And we know from oral history interviews that the founding leaders had different opinions about the issue of separation. The documents show that Mr Lee himself had deep conviction that there should be integration with Malaysia, and indeed he worked tirelessly to bring this about. At the same time, he recognised that there were risks. In his own words, he said, “we must be prepared for the final possibility to act independently in extremis.”

16. Besides honouring our founding leaders, we also want to make sure that the exhibition focusses on their ideals and values. Naturally, in an exhibition like this, there will be interest in the many artefacts that are being showcased for the first time. But I hope that visitors will also take time to reflect on the stories behind the artefacts, and how they speak of the values and ideals that underpin the foundations of our nation.

17. Our founding leaders themselves exemplified values like integrity, incorruptibility, courage, the pursuit of excellence and the putting of country above self. They firmly believed in and upheld the ideals of multi-racialism, equality, meritocracy and rule of law. These were the principles upon which they built today’s Singapore. So in this exhibition, we have tried as much as possible to explore the ideals and values of our founding leaders, and to show how they have shaped us as a people, and as a nation.

18. This effort to honour our founding leaders will not end with this special exhibition. As many of you are aware, Mr Lee Tzu Yang is presently chairing a committee to conceptualise a memorial for our founding leaders. The committee has started work, and they are gathering views from the public, through various forums and focus group discussions. So we hope this exhibition can also play a part in this process – to see what resonates with Singaporeans, and to help generate further conversations about the Founders’ Memorial. Ultimately I believe we all want a Memorial that will allow us and future generations of Singaporeans to remember a key period in our history, to reflect on the ideals of our founding leaders, and to pledge to continue their work of nation building.

19. Finally, I’d like thank once again all who have made this exhibition possible. In particular, my sincere thanks to the Executors of the Lee Kuan Yew estate, and the families of Mr S Rajaratnam, Dr Goh Keng Swee, Mr EW Barker, Mr Hon Sui Sen, Mr Yusof Ishak, Mr Devan Nair, and Mr Othman Wok, all for their generous loans and donations to the Museum. My appreciation also extends to the public sector agencies who have also worked with us and provided tremendous support in making this exhibition possible.

20. NHB and the National Museum team have been working very hard to put together this special exhibtion. They have consulted and engaged many stakeholders and taken in various feedback and inputs. For all of us involved in this project, it’s really a labour of love. Because this is not just an exhibition, it is an important way for us to pay tribute to our founding leaders. At the end of the day, we know that no single exhibition can ever capture fully the contributions and sacrifices of Mr Lee and our founding leaders. Now, we hope that through what we’ve done here, we can play a part in sustaining their values, their ideals, their legacy and we can also help to strengthen our shared conviction that Singapore is worth striving and fighting for. On this note, I am pleased to declare We Built A Nation open.

Speeches