STAYERS AND QUITTERS

Debate resumed.

Mr Lee Hsien Loong: The Chinese in Singapore were also patriotic, but not to Singapore. They either sided with the Kuomintang or the CCP in China. So, Sun Yat Sen visited Singapore and Penang to raise funds for his tong meng hui, for his revolutionary activities. And so when the Japanese took over and captured Singapore, they massacred the Chinese, not because of what the Chinese did here, but because they saw these Singapore Chinese as helping the Chinese in China fight them, as indeed they did. We had Mr Tan Lark Sye, as Mr Low Thia Khiang pointed out, but Mr Tan Lark Sye was a champion of Chinese culture and language, and he was motivated by the success of Communist China.

So, the different communities all had different objectives and loyalties, but none strove for or were loyal to an independent multi-racial, multi-religious Republic of Singapore. In fact, such an idea did not exist and would have been dismissed as being ludicrous.

Today, we have closed these chapters, more or less. Those loyalties and struggles have all become part of our history. Yusof Ishak became our first President. We have an Indian National Army Memorial at Connaught Drive. The Sun Yat Sen Villa has been restored by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. And in the Nanyang Technological University, there is a Tan Lark Sye Professorship. So, it is a phase of our history, but that was not Singapore yet.

If you go back beyond that, then we inherit from the great Asian civilisations - the Chinese, the Indians, and the Malay civilisations - valuable and essential for us, part of our being, but not a complete basis for nation-building. For example, Mr Gan Kim Yong cited the story of Yue Fei and Qin Hui. I knew exactly what he was talking about. He asked: Is it still taught in schools? I checked with my children. Yes, it is still taught in schools, and to my relief, yes, they do know about the story. These are events 900 years ago in China, a dynasty long gone and extinct, but still a powerful impact on all Chinese-educated Chinese everywhere - in PRC, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, even, I am sure, in the West.

In 1991, I visited China. I had some MPs with me. And we visited Hangzhou. Hangzhou was the Southern Song capital. At that time, they called it Lin An. And that is where Yue Fei was murdered, and that was where his temple is. We visited his temple. I wanted to visit it. Outside his temple, there are two statues of Qin Hui and his wife, kneeling, asking for atonement. And generations of Chinese have gone there to spit on these two statues out of utter contempt. And they put out signs there saying, "Chinese Government says, `You shall not spit down here anymore.'", to no effect whatsoever. Mr Chiam was with me, and he will remember. I had Chinese-educated members in my delegation and, I can tell you, I could see the powerful influence it had on them. It was an emotional moment. In fact, it was a noble ideal which makes Chinese-educated Singaporeans better citizens of Singapore.

I remember, when I was small, I used to have at home a statue of Yue Fei, having the words "Jing Zhong Bao Guo" carved on his back by his mother. It was given to the Senior Minister by an admirer on one of his constituency tours, and we had it at home for many years. I studied in Chinese school, and we memorised all the poems. We know the history, we know the story, and we identify with them. We all did. Liu Thai Ker, recently reporting on arts, on behalf of the ERC, quoted "Ba Qian Li Lu, Yun He Yue" - it comes back to the same root. But, unfortunately, this is not a history shared by Singaporeans of other races, or even by most English-educated Chinese. So, it is valuable, but it does not go far enough. Furthermore, regrettably, its impact on the younger generation will be less. Yes, we teach it in school. Yes, they know it. I asked my children what did they know about it. They said, "Well, the mother carved some words on his back." What does it all mean? Where does it fit in? Into what world view? That is not the same. I discussed this with George Yeo. George Yeo is more optimistic. He says, "Let them learn the story first. Maybe the significance will sink in later." I hope so, but I think that the generations are changing, and we have to move. Inherit this, but we have to move forward and develop our own heroes over many, many years.

We have made English our common language. That is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, we bring the different communities together; on the other hand, we merge into the greater globalised world, the Internet world, and we lose our moorings unless we have some knowledge of our mother tongues and our roots. It is different. Hong Kong wants to keep Cantonese. The Taiwanese want to keep Min Nan Wei, not Guo Yu (the standard Mandarin), to be different from the mainland, to have a separate Hong Kong and separate Taiwanese identity. We sometimes half seriously ask ourselves, should we learn to speak Singlish? But if we did, where is our future? So, we are back to English, and back to this dilemma.

But our society is still evolving, still progressing. We are building something rare and precious here. It is a secure, stable society in an uncertain world. It is a harmonious, multi-racial society in a global environment where race and religion are rising and disruptive forces. It is an honest, clean and efficient Government in a continent where corruption is an endemic problem. It is a system based on equal opportunities and open competition, and one which has delivered a high and rising standard of living for 3 million Singaporeans. So, I think it is precious and it offers individual Singaporeans something special.

In this environment, each one of us has the maximum opportunity to develop ourselves to the fullest, and to make a difference to society, much more than anywhere else in the world. At the lower end, Singaporeans enjoy a standard of living better than nearly any other country, certainly better than China and India with their billions, probably even better than the US with the many homeless and destitute. In Singapore, you can be poor, but the chances are you have a roof over your head, and there will be help available. For all Singaporeans, rich or poor, there are exceptional opportunities - through the education system, through the scholarships we give, through working with companies, big and small, through public service, to develop ourselves and to be exposed to what is going on in the world.

Because of our small talent pool, we go to great lengths to develop our people. So, when we go overseas, the quality of our people is not in doubt. Many top universities in the US and the UK have disproportionate numbers of Singaporeans. In fact, Stanford University in their intake, of all the high schools in the world, the one which sends the most students to Stanford every year is Raffles Junior College (RJC). So, our standards are high, and the opportunities are there. It is not just for the few. Recently, A*STAR gave a scholarship to a young girl to do a PhD in the life sciences. Her father is a butcher. In Singapore, if you have talent, in one generation, you can make the leap, and "Li Yu Tiao Long Men", become a dragon!

So, I think this is a cause well worthwhile fighting for. We are beginning to develop a national identity, but this is far from complete. But you see the signs of it, sometimes in crisis, sometimes in moments that you do not notice. When Michael Fay happened, Singaporeans in the US were stout hearted. They stood up, and they were not ashamed of themselves. They were not afraid to say, "I am a Singaporean. We are doing the right thing." When we send SAF and Police officers overseas, on UN missions, peacekeeping operations, they do us proud. They are multi-racial contingents. They all wear the Singapore flag with pride, and they serve with pride. And people know that, when you have Singaporeans in the contingent, they do real work! When East Timor became independent, one of the soldiers lowering the UN flag before midnight, the man in front, blue beret, blue uniform, but red and white Singapore flag on his shoulder patch. Our hearts go with them, and they mean something to all of us.

So, I think we have a long journey. If you look up, it is far and steep. If you look back, we have come a long way. So, let us work together, year by year, and as we do so, we will strengthen our sense of nationhood and shared destiny. [Applause.]

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Mdm Deputy Speaker, we tabled this Motion with the intention to identify possible causes of people thinking of quitting Singapore, and an attempt to look for solutions. As we prosper and excel in our economic development, we cannot afford to lose sight of the need to also develop a sense of belonging, a sense of ownership, and a sense of responsibility. The issue of stayers and quitters cannot be resolved overnight. Like Mr Lee has mentioned, it is a long process, and it will take time. I hope that we will not stop at this debate. I hope that this debate will serve as a road sign, a guiding post, for us to work towards building a Singapore for Singaporeans, a home that we can all call our own.

Mdm Deputy Speaker, it leaves me to thank all the MPs who have spoken on this Motion. They have spoken passionately because this is an issue that is close to their hearts. Their participation has undoubtedly helped clarify and crystallise the issues at hand. Many of them have made specific and useful suggestions, all with the single purpose in mind - to root Singaporeans to Singapore.

I would also like to thank the Government for responding to the Motion - Mr Hawazi, Dr Ng Eng Hen, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. I would also like to thank Deputy Prime Minister Lee, in particular, for his insightful remarks. Having heard his comments, I am heartened that the Government is taking a serious view and making serious efforts to look at this issue.

Mdm Deputy Speaker, I am glad that the Motion has been thoroughly debated in this House. Madam, we have achieved what we set out to do. Finally, I would like to thank the Speaker and you, Mdm Deputy Speaker, for giving us this opportunity to table this Motion.

Question put, and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House, noting the concern of Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong as highlighted in his National Day Rally Speech on "stayers" and "quitters" and in view of the increased mobility of third-generation Singaporeans, urges the Government to review its policies and programmes thoroughly and to take meaningful measures that will help to strengthen their sense of belonging to Singapore.