d. the future of smart living and working – how technology can transform the way we liveand work, and free us to develop the human spirit.
i hope the exhibition will launch us into the next chapter of our singapore story. we – thegovernment and the people – have to write this chapter together. we will debate and argueover what this chapter should contain, how the story should develop. we will do that onlineand offline, in civil society and in parliament. that is normal, and healthy. but at the end we areall co-authors of the chapter. we all have to work together, and we all want the story to have ahappy outcome.
in the last term, we held the "our singapore conversation". 50,000 singaporeans from all walksof life shared their hopes and dreams for themselves and for singapore. the exercise helped usunderstand what we share in common, and brought us closer together.
now we will take this one step further, to explore how we will build our future together – howwe will learn, work as one people, and celebrate life together. we will organise focusseddiscussions around the themes of "the future of us" exhibition.
i invite all singaporeans to participate actively in these programmes. we welcome all viewsand will engage widely because every voice counts. i also urge singaporeans to go beyondmaking suggestions or discussing ideas or critiquing policies. commit to what you believe in,roll up your sleeves, get involved, and come together to make things happen.
one important area needing reviewing is our economy. we must create opportunities even in a weaker global economy, and move faster towards higher skills, innovation and productivity. these are urgent tasks, because both global economic conditions and also because of domestic demographic trends. both will pose us severe challenges. we have to create more good jobs and pathways for our workers. we have to help enterprises, especially smes, adapt to a lean workforce, and build links with the region and the world. minister heng swee keat will chair a committee on "the future economy" to study this.
the singapore story belongs to all of us. if we have faith that singapore will endure and thrive, and put our heart and soul into building singapore, then we will prevail, and secure our place in history. as mr lee kuan yew once said, "we intend to see that [singapore] will be here a thousand years from now. and that is your duty and mine."
we can achieve so much when we work together.
two weeks ago, i attended an sg50 musical. it was called "our lives, our story". the show was a grassroots effort, put together by residents from ang mo kio and sengkang west. they were all volunteers who invested energies and time to celebrate singapore in song and dance. the musical traced singapore's journey from independence, decade by decade, and explored our way forward to sg100.
this amateur production embodied the essence of what makes singapore special. people of all ages and races shared wholeheartedly in a national celebration, and gave something of themselves. we found a wide range of talents from among ourselves – the producer, the creative director, the volunteers and children who sang and danced, the backstage crew, the props and the costume designers. they came together to rehearse and present an original musical, in the beautiful theatre at ite college central, to a full house.
during the performance, each one played their part, and everything fell into place. the audience too participated actively, clapping, cheering and singing along. it was a joy experiencing this moving rendition of our nation's story, and being part of it, part of the story and part of the performance. and this could only have happen in singapore.
that is what singapore is and will always be about: each of us giving of our best, united by our shared ideals, our faith in this nation, and our belief that here we can build something special together.
we are not done building singapore, and we will never be done. in this general election, singaporeans have reposed their trust in me and my team. my team and i take this trust and our responsibility seriously, and will continue to earn, honour and to grow this trust. together, as one united people, regardless of race, language and religion, we will achieve happiness, prosperity, and progress for our nation. good night.
