This year is the 100th anniversary of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s birth on Sept 16, 1923. Some of you might have read RedAnts, the Mandarin online media outlet. It ran a piece on Mr Lee on Jan 2 this year which quoted his New Year message in 1966, five months after separation. The article asked – looking at what Mr Lee said – do the words, the lessons feel familiar, although we are listening to them more than 50 years later?

What did Mr Lee say? He said we need to make friends overseas, grow our markets worldwide, keep our politics stable and predictable, otherwise there can be no growth, and remain quietly confident, especially when there is anxiety all around us.

It is very familiar to many of us because Mr Lee kept repeating these hard truths, over and over, his entire life. And the succeeding prime ministers have done the same. Why? Because as a country, our fundamentals don’t change.

We are a small country, our people are our only resource. We are highly vulnerable to external forces. No one owes us a living. To earn our living, we have to rely on our wits, be exceptional, so that others will want to deal with us.

We have followed these principles and because of that our standard of living has increased tremendously, from US$500 gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in 1965 to more than US$55,000 (S$72,800) GDP per capita today; we enjoy social and political stability, our children grow up in peace, safe and secure; and we have become an advanced, global city with good standing in the world, and strong links with many countries.

Complex challenges

But, the current global situation is more uncertain and challenging than any period we have had to deal with, almost since independence. There is a real war in Europe, there is the threat of superpower conflict in Asia-Pacific, and there is protectionism all around, undermining the multilateral trading system. Very complex challenges.

Many of these bubbled over and erupted last year, which some might refer to as the Year of the Tiger. But now, as we enter the Year of the Rabbit, it is not much better. We just saw how a balloon – the Chinese say it is a weather balloon, the Americans say it is a spy balloon – was shot down, setting back United States-China relations.

Almost one year ago, Russia invaded Ukraine. Many were surprised that Russia did not have a quick victory. The Ukrainians fought back, fiercely, with political and military support from the Americans and the Europeans. They pushed the Russians back.

The war is now at a stalemate. There is terrible human suffering in Ukraine, and there is no good outcome in sight. The Ukrainians will not stop fighting until they reclaim all their territory, which is going to be difficult. And Russia, with its large population and huge resources, cannot be defeated entirely.

To complicate this, there is the danger of the conflict escalating. US and Nato are supplying to Ukraine more powerful military equipment. And we cannot rule out that if Russia is pushed to the wall it might choose to employ more dangerous weapons – including chemical or, as some fear, even nuclear – which would have terrible and unpredictable consequences for the entire world.

Then you move to US-China. Both sides continue to see each other not just as competitors, but also as threats. Taiwan is a dangerous focal point. Taiwanese independence is a clear red line for China. But, in the West, if you read the newspapers, the rhetoric is that Taiwan is a vibrant democracy, and it should be protected from authoritarian invasion, just like Ukraine.

In Taiwan, a recent poll showed that two-thirds of the people in Taiwan see themselves as Taiwanese only. They do not see themselves as Chinese. In 1992, there was 17 per cent who thought like that. Now it’s two-thirds – increased by four times.

Moves on all sides have increased the tension. Last August, the then Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi went to Taiwan. China reacted, as many of you know, with military exercises and test firings. Some say it resembled a practice for a real blockade of Taiwan. Now, we hear reports that the new Speaker, Mr Kevin McCarthy, may visit Taiwan this year.

We are already feeling the impact of the war in Ukraine and if there is a conflict in Taiwan, closer to us, the direct impact on Singapore would be very high. And if the US and China come into direct conflict, the global impact would be catastrophic.

So, we hope that a war over Taiwan never happens, but the risks – including of accidents – has gone up.

Finally, and very importantly for us, to Singapore, the global multilateral system of free trade, based on a common set of rules, that has made us prosperous over 50 years by allowing us to make our living, is now being undermined. What we previously took for granted, that there will be trade, win-win cooperation, is now being changed. More on-shoring, friend-shoring of supply chains, sometimes outright protectionism.

Countries do not want to rely on other countries, so trade is also being weaponised. As an example, some years ago, China launched a “Made in China 2025” programme to develop its local industries. The US and the European Union accused China of protectionism and illegally subsidising its own projects.

Now, the US itself has passed the Chips and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. It is also subsidising investments in semiconductors, in green industries, and Europe is now looking at doing the same thing.

More countries are taking steps to prevent their own companies from losing out. Who is going to lose out? Small countries, like Singapore, which are part of the supply chain. We are going to be hurt very badly if this carries on.

Singapore’s approach

How do we, as a small country, survive in this situation?

On the geopolitical front, we have always believed – and this is important, that I put the message here – we have always believed that many major countries need to participate and be in this region. To have a balance of power. So we have extensive, long-term ties with the US. We support the US’ economic, military and security presence in the region, the jobs that they create, the investments they bring in.

Parallel to that is the growing Chinese influence in the region. China is Singapore’s largest trading partner. There have been numerous collaborations, government-to-government development projects between China and Singapore over several decades.

The Europeans, too, are keen to engage in the region, and we have strong ties with them. For example, we buy submarines from Germany. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently went there to launch our navy’s two new submarines. Fighter jets, they come from the US. Our military equipment comes from the West. I once told the Chinese Vice-President, when I go to sleep at night, I’m not worried about China and the US coming to attack Singapore. That’s not my concern. I offset that against my threats by making sure my technology is first-rate. That is what protects Singapore. So, you work out for yourself why we need that technology, where we get it from, who we are protecting ourselves from.

Some big countries in the region say that only Asian countries should be involved in Asia. We are a small country, we take a different view. Big countries may not like our view, but we hope we can agree to disagree.

It’s safer for a small country to have many players in the region, instead of just one dominant power. That was Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s wisdom, and we have no intention of abandoning that. Good to have friends from near, good to have friends from far. From Asia: Asean, China, India, Australia, Japan. From afar: the US and the EU.

As a small country, we have to be clear on what are our principles. We must always put Singapore’s interests first, and never be afraid to act in our own interests. Uphold our principles and positions consistently, impartially, objectively, and not let other countries, big or small, no matter how friendly, dictate to us what we do.

Our policies, whether foreign or domestic, must be for Singaporeans to decide. Nobody else. That too was the principle that Mr Lee was very clear about.

The Covid-19 example

To show what I mean, from a very recent situation: When China ended its zero-Covid policy in December, there was a spread of Covid-19 cases around China. Other countries – many others – moved immediately to tighten their restrictions on arrivals from China. They required pre-departure tests and so on.

Our approach? Our experts studied the matter. They assessed that though there were many cases, there were no new variants that required us to be concerned. We also saw that not many of the Chinese visitors we had, not many of them, required hospital admission. We were confident that based on the arrival numbers, our healthcare system will be okay, will not be stressed.

So, we didn’t make any change to our entry into Singapore from China. There was some criticism, but we do what we thought was right. Just because other countries moved against China does not mean we follow suit. We do what we think is right.

And so far, the call was correct. The number of imported Covid-19 cases from China is now less than five every week. In fact, we are in a position to increase the number of flights to and from China.

Why did we make this decision? Not because we wanted to please China, but based on medicine and science, and experts.

So sometimes, the steps we take may look like it is more aligned with one country, other times it may look as if we are more aligned with another country, but actually, we are always only aligned to one country – Singapore, ourselves and our principles. The consistent message is: We act, always, based on what is in Singapore’s interests and our principles-based approach.

Globally, our message to others, everyone, must be: Singapore is different, Singapore knows what it needs to do, and more importantly, that we have the courage and will to do the right thing for Singapore.

Our results

And, we are showing the world what good governance, stable politics and a united people can do. We came through Covid-19 quite well. Not something that many countries can say, and it is not an outcome that we should take for granted.

A Pew study last year showed that 75 per cent of Singaporeans say that Singapore is more united now, compared with before Covid-19. The global average: 61 per cent say that their countries are more divided. So you see the contrast: 61 per cent overseas say their countries are more divided, 75 per cent of Singaporeans say they are more united.

MNCs, investors have been eyeing Singapore, despite the protectionism around the world.

Why do I share all this with you?

The Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan has long been a pillar of support to the Singapore Government and Singaporeans.

For 183 years, you have brought the Hokkien community, in fact the Singapore community, together. You have provided valuable social services to meet the needs of those who needed help, and you created an important platform for people to be united in their shared heritage and culture.

As Singapore continues to make its way around the world, groups like the Hokkien Huay Kuan will continue to play an important role in bringing Singapore forward, because we cannot survive unless we inculcate the right values in the next generation. Not only by helping immigrants integrate into Singapore society, but also by nurturing a Singaporean Chinese culture so that our people remain rooted and thereby shaping what it means to be uniquely Singaporean.