I would like to start by drawing your attention to a picture, that all of us have drawn at some point in our childhood. On a sheet of white paper, you first draw in some green grass, followed by a blue sky. There’s a smiling sun in the sky. Then you draw a cottage, with a door and two windows, maybe four, and a chimney. There’s usually a tree next to the little house and most children would draw in apples on the tree. And this is the picture of “home”. I drew pictures like that, and now so does my daughter.
But if you look at it with a child’s eye, which I did, and compare it with what is around us, you will see that our homes are not really like that. Our tropical climate won’t produce apples. Our landscape is dense and compact. And we certainly have no use for chimneys. That was the first inkling I had that there is home as we truly see and experience it, and then there is home as portrayed in books and pictures.
I have another example to share. As a kid I was quite poor in English. My parents got their friends to send me activity books from overseas in a bid to improve my English. One book came with questions and blanks that you’re supposed to fill up. The first question was “Which country do you live in”? The answer was Singapore. The next question – “What is the capital of your country”? Okay, we supposed it was also Singapore. Next question – “What state is your home in?” In order to fill in the blank we wrote down Singapore again. Then, “Which is the nearest city to where you live”? Well there were a few new towns nearby but we wanted to be precise and these weren’t actually cities. There was just one city - Singapore again. There were other questions – “Which town does your father work in? Which town does your mother work in?” And so on and so forth. After a while I gave up, but I was aware that maybe if I lived in a ‘normal country’ the answers are not supposed to be same word all the time.
Those are childhood stories. Over time, I have come to learn that my country and home is unique, and the reasons why this is so. We are a port, island, city and state. My home, my city, my country are all one and the same. We are like no other country, and we follow our own path.
我想要谈谈家对我的意义，就从一些“有的没有的”讲起。
很多别的国家有的，我们没有。我们没有四季分明的气候，我们没有几百年甚至上千年积累的财富和文化。我们没有山川河流， 也没有天然资源。
很多别的国家没有的， 我们却有 。我们廉洁的政府， 和谐的社会，快速的发展，安全的邻里。我们这里大厦林立，居者有其屋。我国一滴石油也产不出，却可以成为全世界最重要的石化中心之一。我们是一个国土面积很小的岛屿，完全没有国内航空市场，却可以培养出全球第一的航空公司。我们的市场里可以买到来自全球各地的商品和食品。
可以这么说，我们是一个几乎什么都没有，但却什么都尽力为人民提供的国家。
这一切不是理所当然的，而对我来说是一个不折不扣的奇迹。
我们的国家是独特的，我们所走过的道路是一步一步探索出来的。几十年前，没有专家学者可以教导我们怎么脱离贫困，怎么在沼泽地上建立工业园区，怎么在一个动乱的年代、不安定的区域谋求生存，让人民安居乐业。
既然我们的国家是独特的，就要走自己的路。
我认为，我们不需要去模仿别的政府，别的国家。
地大物博的国家， 有石油，有矿产，经济再怎么衰退，国家企业再怎么低效率，国家还养得起。
有农耕基础的国家，人民觉得城市生活压力太大了，还可以回家种田。
有些国家可以维持昂贵的社会福利制度，创造连年的赤字，甚至债台高筑。
今年是兔年。有些国家寅食卯糧，那就是虎年的时候把兔年的粮食吃了，今天吃明天的，今年吃明年的，这一代的消费下一代来偿还。
其他国家也许可以这么做，但是我们必须要对自己的前途负责。
五年一次的大选，总是会听到许许多多不同的声音。这没有错，民主社会本应该如此，有批评才有进步，有回馈才有改善。问题是，我们应该怎么进步，怎么改善。是越做越好，还是老舍说的，越改越‘凉’？这个凉字，不是善良的良，而是凄凉的凉。
在这些不同的声音中，有一些论调是令我担忧的。如果有一天，政坛出现了新的执政者，不了解我们国家强盛的根本，随意更改政策，断送了国家赖以生存的经济途径，我们的下一代不是面临吃得少的问题，而是连基本生活都有麻烦。
昨天，我在早报上看到了一篇文章，很有感触。作者在叙述他的太太在送女儿出国的时候，千吩咐万吩咐，“切记不可像在新加坡一样：半夜回家或太早出门；切记不可像在新加坡一样：把钱包拿在手里闲逛；切记不可像在新加坡一样……”。后来作者恍然大悟， “原来这些在新加坡的 ‘理所当然’，正是我们拥有的最宝贵的财富”。
我看了，感触很深。有许多的新加坡的父母都这么嘱咐他们的孩子，因为新加坡处在一个环球化的世界，出国念书、生活、工作的国人也越来越多了。
有一天，我的孩子也会长大，我也可能送他们出远门。到时，我会这样地叮嘱他们吗? 还是会说，孩子，你去的国家，比我们这里好的多，你去了以后就不要回来？
我不希望新加坡成为这样的一个地方。我不希望有一天我会这么样对我的孩子说话。
我希望孩子同我一样，不管世界多么具吸引力，不管飞得多高多远，他还是会认同这是我们最温馨的家园。
家，是独特的。
家， 是我们在纷乱世界中唯一的避风港。
家，是我们要留给孩子们的地方。
同志们，同胞们，让我们团结一致，齐心协力，一起来继续经营这个家， 鞠躬尽瘁。
谢谢大家。
