The period after the second world war was a period of change, turmoil and great unrest. Singapore society then was marred by sentiments of anti-colonialism and nationalism. Across the globe, Western colonial empires were crumbling and newly self-serving independent nation states came to the forefront of the international scene. Against such a backdrop for Singapore, there came a few good men, who went on to capture the changing tide of colonial politics to awaken the minds and hearts of the people of Singapore. David Marshall, as our first chief minister from 1955 to 1959, was the first who set the wheels of nationalism rolling, and then came Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his lieutenants who made greater strides when we attained self-government from 1959. In between this period, leaders such as Lim Chin Siong fought alongside against British colonialism, participating in the London Talks for constitutional advancement (but Lim ended up at the wrong side of history, unfortunately).

Next came our merger and disengagement from our union with the Federation of Malaysia. It was during this period of less than two years from 1963-65 that made Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his orbit of ministers more resolute in governing a strong, prosperous, resilient and multiracial society. Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Toh Chin Chye, Goh Keng Swee and S. Rajaratnam embarked on a phase of nation-building and created a Singapore identity. Many young Singaporeans today had always seen this as part of the People's Action Party's (PAP) natural servitude. However, we must not forget that it was a combination of courage and determination under our founding fathers collectively who laid the foundation of modern Singapore.

Today, our defence stands among the best in the world in safeguarding our territorial integrity and sovereignty. We enjoy good relationships with our neighbours in the region and established a strong presence in international bodies such as the United Nations, etc. Our education system has been able to produce top thinkers and a high-quality workforce. We have grown from a Third World nation to a country in the First World league within a generation.

The sweat of our founding fathers has lubricated the wheels of Singapore's continuous progress and prosperity. In light of this, let us take this opportunity to thank our founding fathers. These few good men, who overcame many obstacles and difficulties, should be given greater recognition by all Singaporeans.

Jonathan Lim Wen Zhi