For subscribers
The way we tell the Singapore Story needs a refresh
The country’s journey was woven into the personal lives of older Singaporeans. Younger citizens can’t relate to that.
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With each successive National Day, Singapore’s early years will become more distant and memories of the past will fade.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Addressing the nation in front of the 19th century Sri Temasek building at the Istana, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong opened his National Day message by recounting how, in 1965, founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew had spent the night of Aug 8 there, just before formal separation from Malaysia, “consumed with worry over how to build a nation from scratch”. He added that the then Prime Minister and the founding leaders went on to overcome “enormous odds and laid the foundations” for the modern nation-state of Singapore.
The reference to history is a constant refrain at every National Day commemoration, when Singaporeans are reminded of the country’s journey from a small and vulnerable former colony to a thriving, successful nation-state.
