Articles
Quote by Lee Kuan Yew at Sree Narayana Mission
Topic
Defence and security
Foreign policy
Economy
Society
Subtopic
Community stories
Identity and values
National security
24 March 2023
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#TIL that early on in our nation’s independence, our founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew called for Singaporeans to "never fear", even as Singapore faced an uncertain world. On 12 Sep 1965, during a speech at the Sree Narayana Mission, Mr Lee called for Singaporeans to:
EMBRACE other Singaporeans of different races – “Here we make the model multi-racial society. This is not a country that belongs to any single community: it belongs to all of us.”
REMEMBER that every Singaporean had contributed to the nation’s growth in the past – “You helped built it; your fathers, your grandfathers helped build this. There was no naval base here, and it is not the British who built it. It was your labour, your father's labour which built that. My (great) grandfather come here and built.”
PICTURE a brighter future for Singapore – “Over 100 years ago, this was a mud-flat, swamp. Today, this is a modern city. Ten years from now, this will be a metropolis. Never fear.”
Mr Lee’s vision came true – today, Singapore is a global metropolis that we enjoy living and working in, and a delightful melting pot of cultures, ethnicities, and beliefs.
But we also face an increasingly complex world where threats and issues are multi-faceted and incredibly nuanced. It is easy for our nation, with its plurality of peoples and beliefs, to become divided and turn against one another.
So, even as we progress forward, we need to keep protecting the foundation upon which our nation was built — a multi-racial society that does not “belong to any single community”, but to all citizens, who care for, and contribute to this land we call home. By joining the different strengths of our people, our nation has overcome, and continues to overcome, challenge after challenge. Never fear.
#Singapore #LKY #history #neverfear #mudflats #metropolis
📎 The full transcript of the speech can be found via NAS. You may also wish to check out a video excerpt of the speech here! https://www.facebook.com/hengsweekeat/videos/444223259771211/