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The Istana
Speeches

Speech by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at Victoria School's 150th Anniversary Dinner on 24 July 2026 at Fairmont Singapore

24 July 2026

1.         It’s a privilege to be here with the Victoria family. Thank you for counting me as a friend of Victoria School (VS).

2.         VS has, as Mr Low Chun Meng put it, been quietly shaping Singapore for a century and a half. From its beginnings in 1876 as an English class for 12 Malay boys in Kampong Glam, to the well-rounded training of mind, body and character that it now offers to young Singaporeans from all backgrounds.

3.         You have contributed more than your share.

  • Three former Presidents of Singapore in Encik Yusof Ishak, our first President, Mr C. V. Devan Nair and Mr S. R. Nathan.

  • Senior politicians, most notably Mr S. Dhanabalan, who was instrumental in shaping Singapore’s economic and foreign policies, as well as in housing and culture. Even after stepping down from his government responsibilities, Dhana continued to lead in the finance, investment, and transportation sectors.

  • In the sports, where VS has long been legendary. There was Ali Ahmad who in 1940 became the first Singaporean to run the 100 yards in 10 Seconds, equalling the Malayan record, while he was still a schoolboy. There was Dr Arumugam Vijiaratnam, the only sportsman to don National Colours in four games - soccer, hockey, rugby and cricket. And in more recent times, sailing champion Muhammad Daniel Kei Yazid, and Olympic track and field runners Gary Yeo and Calvin Kang.

  • In the arts, where Victoria produced Edwin Thumboo, who captured the spirit of the times through his poetry. And T. Sasitharan, leading theatre director, actor and educator.

  • And numerous other leaders in the public and corporate sectors, in our different faiths, and in the community. 

4.         Yet much of what Victoria has contributed is intangible. You have helped form young Singaporeans who think and serve beyond themselves.

5.         That is not only a school aspiration; it is national.  It is about the traits of character that cannot be churned out in any predictable way, but emerge quietly through the regular habits we grow up with. The exercise of humility, even as one excels. The ability to look at life from where others stand, which is at the heart of the leaders we seek to nurture. And the instinctive sense that our lives, materially and emotionally, are bound up with others in the community.

6.         Victorians have, in different ways, given yourselves to the communities around you. Mr Low told us about some of the initiatives of your current students, at St Andrew’s Autism Centre across Siglap Link, and at Farrer Park Primary School.

7.         Let me add another example: TASEK Project Joy, a partnership between Victoria School, the Old Victorians’ Association and TASEK, supporting children from disadvantaged circumstances. Some three dozen Victoria students have been engaged as mentors, on the football field and in mathematics. The alumni supports the effort. Importantly, the boys themselves grow in the process: learning to coach younger students with patience, and with a sensitivity to their backgrounds that often involve a difficult complex of issues.

8.         Another intangible that the school has cultivated is the curiosity about other cultures and peoples. It is the foundation of the society that we must be in Singapore, as well as the mutually beneficial interactions and collaborations that we have in the region.

9.         VS was in the first batch of schools to start the Regional Studies Programme (RSP), and is the only school offering Bahasa Indonesia (BI) as a subject. It takes students in the programme on at least two regional learning journeys during their four years in VS, helping them gain an appreciation of the rich cultures and histories that have long been intertwined with ours, and which we will continue to be bound up with in future.

10.     In closing, let me congratulate VS on its 150th anniversary. Thank you especially to the school leaders and teachers, who through their daily work have helped successive generations of Victorians grow in character. Together with the members of the Victoria Advisory Committee and Old Victorians’ Association and the parents and other stakeholders over the years, you have made possible that quiet shaping of Singapore. I have no doubt that Victoria will continue to do so. Thank you.