Speech by President Halimah Yacob at the Straits Times Singaporean of the Year Award

Dr Lee Boon Yang, Chairman, Singapore Press Holdings Ltd

Mr Edmund Koh, President UBS, Asia Pacific

Mr Warren Fernandez, Editor-in-Chief, The Straits Times

Ladies and Gentlemen

We are gathered once again, this year, to pick one person for the Singaporean of the Year award. As always, it will not be an easy task for the judges as there are so many worthy nominees. You only need to look at the kind of work that all the finalists were selected for to appreciate the kind of contributions that they have made to our society.

This year’s award will be even more meaningful because last year was a particularly trying period for us due to Covid-19. Our economy and lives were disrupted, and we have had to make tremendous adjustments to everything that we had hitherto held dear and thought are constants. Going to work or shopping or meeting family and friends, now requires more thought and planning. To some extent, we now must think a lot deeper about how our actions and behaviors will affect the well-being of others, and not just ourselves. The simple act of masking up, for example, may seem mechanical and necessitated by law but it is a tremendous step forward in being thoughtful and considerate to protect others. It pushes us to think about what it means to be part of a community and how much of our shared living space has an impact on us, and what we must do to collectively protect it.

The pandemic has certainly changed us in so many ways. The response of Singaporeans, particularly to the needy and less privileged, have been heartwarming. With this pandemic of disease, there is also the pandemic of kindness, generosity and compassion. The Straits Times reported at the beginning of this year, that Singaporeans dipped deep into their pockets to give record sums to charity through online donation platforms. Giving.sg, a key online website run by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NPVC), raised $84 million, more than twice the sum it collected in 2019. The number of volunteers had also increased significantly. We see a similar increase in support for the President’s Challenge, too, as more companies and individuals donated to help many worthy causes. So, deep in the hearts of many Singaporeans, reside this desire to surmount our own limitations and needs, and to be greater than ourselves.

The Singaporean of the Year award recognizes the many role models in our society who have shown outstanding acts of kindness, bravery and creativity that we want to emulate and multiply to create a better society. By highlighting their contributions, the award seeks to reinforce the values that we hold dear as a society and which stand us in good stead through good and bad times. Hence, this award will have an enduring value. Amidst the challenging COVID-19 environment, many have stepped up to help others in greater need, from migrant workers, to the underprivileged, to COVID-19 patients. The eight finalists of this year’s award exemplify this same selfless spirit we are celebrating today.

For her courage and unhesitating action in helping a neighbor in need, we have 81-year-old Madam Lim Ee Chin, who rushed to fill pails of water to help extinguish the fire in her neighbour’s flat.

For extending a helping hand to those in need within the community and keeping the kampung spirit alive, we have Mr Zulfkifli Atnawi. He became the lifeline for his neighbours who were struggling to cope with the pandemic. Together with his children, he started Project Hills to expand help to others.

We also see finalists who have put Singapore on the map for their entrepreneurship, and finalists who, through their social enterprises, help communities at risk.

We cannot forget our front-line fighters who stood up against the COVID-19 pandemic. They are nominated for their selfless dedication to their jobs in tackling COVID-19, despite personal sacrifices along the way. They worked long hours and risked exposing themselves to infection to help patients recover and prevent the virus from spreading. Their unselfish dedication and personal sacrifices continue to be an inspiration for all of us.

The pandemic is not over. It is still raging in many parts of the world with their second or even third waves. The pandemic shows how interconnected humans are, not just within our own borders, but, across countries. It is far from over for us in Singapore too although the vaccine offers some relief and the possibility of acquiring immunity, if enough Singaporeans are vaccinated. But unless a significant portion of the whole world is inoculated too, it is difficult to see how we can return to the pre-Covid-19 normalcy. Herein lies the challenge for the world; can human kindness and, more importantly, common sense prevail over narrow interests of nationalism and populism, when it comes to vaccine distribution to the whole world? That remains to be seen.

For us in Singapore, everyone will get the vaccine free. We have provided tremendous relief, using our reserves, to mitigate the harshness caused by the pandemic. As a result of the government’s fast action, through no less than five budgets, we have helped many Singaporeans and businesses. We helped to save jobs and provide stability to our businesses and families.

How long the pandemic will last, no one really knows as there are so many imponderables and variables, like the emergence of different more contagious variants of the virus. A lot also depends on the human capacity to accept some limitations on their freedom of movement and engagement in social activities, which in many countries are met with resistance. But we must continue to find occasions to celebrate goodness and virtue, like this award.

Congratulations to all the finalists and a special congratulation for our Singaporean of the Year. Thank you all for your contributions.