The President: The Asia Pacific region is prospering. Our Asean neighbours are doing well. Asean will soon admit Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to become an association of ten countries. China continues to grow dramatically. We hope that China-US relations will continue along the path of constructive engagement, and that this policy of President Clinton will not be upset by Congress or the US media. Good US-China relations are crucial to the stability of the whole region. Our neighbours' progress offers abundant opportunities for Singapore companies and entrepreneurs, to trade, invest, and provide services. But it also means fiercer competition for us. Our neighbours are moving into niches which we recently occupied, seeking high quality investments, launching ambitious strategic projects. They are building up capabilities in areas of our traditional strengths - such as port, airport, and financial services. We welcome fair market competition. It will spur us to improve, and stay ahead. We will also cooperate with our neighbours even as we compete. Economic growth need not be a zero-sum game, as it expands the pie for all. Domestically, we are doing well. Productivity has been improving steadily. Our economy is upgrading and restructuring, and continues to grow steadily. We have managed to stay competitive despite tougher competition. Overall, prospects for Singapore have seldom looked better. We are well placed to seize the opportunities, to transform Singapore and make Singapore our best home. Before the last general elections, the PAP Government set out its Singapore 21 programme to achieve this. The programme has five pillars: create wealth, share success, invest in the young, look after the old, and build ties. Singaporeans have given Singapore 21 their full support. We must now work together to create an outstanding living environment for our families. We will upgrade our physical environment, and build Singapore into a city of excellence. We will develop a vibrant and interesting city centre, especially along the Singapore River, Fort Canning and the waterfront, and in the new Marina South. New towns like Punggol 21 will integrate high quality HDB and private housing, convenient public transport, and varied recreational amenities. We will revitalise older HDB estates through the Estate Renewal Strategy, and the Main and Interim Upgrading Programmes. No part of Singapore should be left behind as we progress. We will expand and improve the public transport system, by building new MRT and LRT lines. The Electronic Road Pricing system will enable us to make the best use of our road network, and allow more people to own and use cars. With ingenuity, we can overcome the constraints of our small size. We will foster a gracious society. To make Singapore a pleasant place to live, it is not enough just to have handsome buildings and efficient transportation. Singaporeans must be courteous to one another, considerate of one another's needs, and well adapted to living conditions in our dense city. In schools and in society, we must gradually get people to care more for one another, to maintain a healthy balance between material and non-material pursuits, and to cultivate interests in culture and the arts. A gracious society will also attract more talent to live and work in Singapore, and contribute to our economy. We will build a nation where everyone has a stake in Singapore's success, feels a sense of belonging and ownership, and wants to contribute to make Singapore our best home. The HDB home ownership scheme has been an important means of doing this. The Government's asset enhancement schemes, such as the CPF top ups, share ownership schemes and HDB upgrading programmes, take this idea a step further. Provided we stay competitive and the economy continues to prosper, we will have more such schemes to enable Singaporeans to share in the nation's success. Our fair and open meritocratic system offers full and equal opportunities to all. Rewards depend only on each person's ability and performance, regardless of his race, language or religion. We often take meritocracy for granted, and forget how rare and precious it is. Meritocracy is not just an efficient way to organise our economy. It is a core value which we uphold and protect. To achieve these goals, we must develop our talent and educate our people to the maximum. In the information age, prosperity depends less on natural resources and geographical advantage, than on human intelligence and social organisation. They are our strengths. We will therefore invest heavily in education. By international standards, our education system is already very good. Our pupils score high in international achievement tests in science and mathematics. NUS and NTU graduates who continue their studies overseas regularly distinguish themselves. But we can do much better. Teachers are a key link in our education system. We have reformed the teaching service to make a teaching career more attractive. We are giving schools more resources and autonomy, to help teachers do their job better. We are building new and better schools to replace the older ones. We are investing heavily in a school Information Technology programme, to get teachers and pupils to learn about IT and use IT, a key competence for the future. Every child will have access to computers and the Internet, whether or not his parents can afford a computer at home. Our aim is not just to improve a few schools, but to raise the quality of education across the board. Many students who graduate from schools today will still be working in 50 years' time. We must try to foresee their needs in the next century, when technology will change faster than ever. Lifelong learning, flexibility and creativity will be crucial. We must anticipate the problems of an aging population, and tackle them early while they are still tractable. The number of senior citizens is growing rapidly. Many families already face the problems of looking after aged parents or relatives. Many more will do so. This involves many issues - housing, transport, health, welfare. It involves multiple agencies - the Ministries of Health and Community Development, HDB, CPF Board, NTUC, the National Council of Social Services, to name a few. Their actions must be coordinated and practical plans worked out to alleviate the problem. We owe this to the older generation who built today's Singapore. We must imbue in our people a sense of history and identity. The transition to a post-independence generation of Singaporeans is well underway. We must pass on to them the same discipline, the same drive to achieve, the same indomitable will to overcome problems that the first generation had, qualities that have brought Singapore so far. The first generation lived through the tumultuous events before and after independence. The post-independence generation grew up in a different environment - peaceful, stable, and prosperous. Their life experiences are different. Nevertheless, they must learn how we became a nation, how we are different from other countries, and why we must always make a special effort, and always stay ahead of others in order to thrive. Hence our schools will focus more on National Education. We will also get our population who have left school to understand the realities of living in our region, to realise that although our prospects can be bright, failure to stay competitive will dim them. From time to time we must expect rough weather, even in tranquil seasons, and despite the most careful navigation. These squalls are a useful reminder to Singaporeans of the realities of our external environment. If we handle them calmly and steadily, the shared experience of difficulties overcome together will strengthen our solidarity, confidence and sense of identity. Singaporeans need to bond more closely to become one people. We compete as individuals to get the best out of each person, but we must also work together and care for one another to do well as one country. Our survival depends on the strength of these ties among ourselves, and between Singaporeans and their leaders. If the national consensus on key issues breaks down, or if some segments of society feel neglected or alienated, Singapore will start to unravel. We all draw upon the opportunities and resources the country has provided us. Some do better, others less well. But all have contributed to Singapore's success, and to the system which has allowed able Singaporeans to do well and get ahead. So the successful ones have a responsibility to come forward and help the less successful. Each of us should contribute back to society more than what we have gained from it. Only then can we foster greater social cohesion and resilience in the next generation. The Community Development Councils are one outlet for this spirit of voluntarism. The Councils will involve successful Singaporeans in social programmes to help the less successful. They will give each community more say over their own programmes, and strengthen the sense of mutual obligation and gratitude between the helpers and the helped. The challenge before us is formidable, because now the economic competition is tougher, and we are aiming higher. But we have no reason to be daunted. We are much stronger now than in 1965: . We have a well-diversified and globalised economy, with strong and deep trading links not only with countries in the region but also with the US and the European Union. We are not over-exposed or vulnerable to problems with any one economic partner. . We have put aside sizeable reserves during our years of high growth to see us through difficult times. . We enjoy political and social stability. . We have built up top class infrastructure, and offer investors an outstanding business environment. . We have an honest, and competent government, and a well-educated, bilingual workforce, keen and productive. . We have expanded our talent pool, and put our bestpeople into the most crucial posts, in business, government, and the SAF. These are reasons to be confident, not complacent. In 1965, when prospects seemed bleak, we defied the odds, survived and prospered. Domestic and regional conditions are far more favourable now than 32 years ago. We have the will, the resources and the experience to thrive and flourish. We can realise our common vision, and make Singapore the best home for ourselves and our children. Adjourned accordingly at Eleven Minutes to Nine o'clock pm.