Success of Singapore due to trust in country's brand of upholding values: Halimah Yacob

SINGAPORE - Singapore succeeded in the last 50 years not just because of the country's excellent infrastructure, good policies and a hard-working people, said Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob.

"Much more than that, we succeeded because people trusted the Singapore brand which upholds values such as honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, dependability adaptability and hard work," said Madam Halimah. "In other words, our words and actions are based on honour."

She was commenting on how honour plays an integral role in the growth of Singapore, adding that Singapore has the same need in the future to have people "whose word is our honour, and whose care for each other is our hallmark".

Speaking at the Honour International Symposium 2016 on Thursday (May 19), Madam Halimah also noted that founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew made sure that "every religion, every race, every person has a place in Singapore".

"We must be a society where we honour each other - through appreciating, recognising and seeking to understand each other, even if we have different views on some issues - but also with the common goal of seeking the collective well-being of the nation, not only for ourselves, but for future generations," she said.

Madam Halimah added that honour extended beyond social development and has a role in business too.

"Businesses who honour their word will not only be making a good choice, but it will be virtually the only choice they can make if they want to attract and keep their customers," she said.

The symposium, held at The Fullerton Hotel, was organised by Honour (Singapore), a charity that seeks to promote a culture of honour and honouring for the well-being of the nation.

At the symposium's opening panel, the importance of honour in many aspects of life was discussed as well. Speakers shared their insight on the importance of honour for the well-being of nations, organisations, families and people across cultures and religions.

It was moderated by Professor Kishore Mahbubani, Dean and Professor at the National University of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

The panellists included Mr Lim Siong Guan, chairman of Honour (Singapore); Professor Huang Jing, a Lee Foundation Professor on United States-China Relations and director of the Centre on Asia and Globalisation at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy; Mr Walter Fust, president of Globalethics.net (Switzerland); and Mr Mohammad Alami Musa, president of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore.

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