PM Lee Hsien Loong delivered his National Day Rally 2015 speech on 23 August 2015 at the Institute of Technical Education College Central. He spoke in Malay and Mandarin, followed by English.
For the video with sign language interpretation, please scroll down to the bottom of the page.
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Rapat Umum Hari Kebangsaan 2015
Good evening everybody and welcome to this year’s Rally. This year’s Rally is special. It is not just a National Day Rally, it is also an SG50 Rally. We are looking back on 50 years of nation building and also forward to many more years of progress. I won’t be singing this year but someone else who sings much better will be singing. Let me begin in our National Language. Biar saya mulakan dalam Bahasa Kebangsaan kita.
Saudara saudari setanah air,
Selamat Hari Kebangsaan! 50 tahun lalu, Singapura berpisah daripada Malaysia dan menjadi sebuah negara Merdeka yang berdaulat. Di sidang akhbar pada 9 Ogos tahun 1965, Encik Lee Kuan Yew berjanji kepada semua warga Singapura, kita ada peluang sama rata untuk maju. Beliau berkata: “Kita akan menjadi sebuah negara berbilang bangsa di Singapura. Kita akan menjadi contoh. Ini bukan negara orang Melayu; bukan negara orang Cina; bukan negara orang India. Setiap orang akan mempunyai tempat di sini, sama rata dari segi bahasa, budaya, agama.”
Dua hari kemudian, Encik Lee mengadakan satu sidang akhbar dengan wartawan Melayu dalam bahasa Melayu. Sebelum bertanyakan soalan yang pertama, seorang wartawan menggelar Encik Lee, “Tuan Perdana Menteri”. Encik Lee segera menjawab, “Janganlah panggil saya “Tuan Perdana Menteri”. Macam biasa juga, “Saudara Lee”. Tak payah. Saya bukan Syed, seperti Syed Jaafar Albar. Saya rakyat jelata, orang kecil.”
Ternyata, kata-kata Encik Lee itu telah mencorak masyarakat kita di Singapura – bahawa kita adil dan saksama serta berganding bahu membina negara bersama-sama. Demikianlah bermulanya perjalanan kita.
50 tahun kemudian, hasil kerja rapat rakyat Singapura dengan pemerintah, kita menjadi sebuah negara berbilang kaum yang harmoni, adil dan saksama serta makmur. Itulah sebabnya, tahun ini, kita boleh sama-sama meraikan SG50 dengan begitu meriahnya.
Sejak kita Merdeka, masyarakat Melayu mencatatkan kemajuan yang sangat besar dan amat memberangsangkan. Hari ini, orang Melayu diwakili dalam setiap lapisan masyarakat.
Kini, apabila rakan-rakan saya cuba mengenal pasti karyawan Melayu yang berjaya sebagai calon pilihan raya, kami ada banyak pilihan dari pelbagai sektor – peguam, pegawai bank, pendidik, jurutera dan pegawai SAF.
Baru-baru ini, saya berjumpa dengan dua juruterbang muda RSAF di Perjumpaan Hari Raya anjuran Dr Yaacob. Yang pertama di sebelah kiri, ialah Kapten Muhammad Azlan Abdul Latiff. Dia seorang juruterbang helikopter Super Puma. Kapten Azlan memberitahu saya rupa-rupanya, dua tahun lalu, beliau telah menerbangkan rombongan saya semasa kami di Brunei. Saya tidak sedarpun kerana seperti juruterbang lain, beliau segak berpakaian seragam, siap dengan helmetnya ketika itu.
Kedua, ialah Kapten Muhammad Iskandar Dzulfadhli Abdul Rahman, juruterbang jet pejuang F5. Kapten Iskandar pula memberitahu saya beliau akan mengambil bahagian dalam Perbarisan Hari Kebangsaan. Semasa perbarisan, saya sempat memetik gambar persembahan udara. Saya dapat tahu kemudian, jet Kapten Iskandar ada dalam gambar ini. Tak nampak dia tapi kapal terbangnya. Itu dia!
Kedua-dua anak muda ini tenang, berdaya saing dan penuh yakin diri. Mereka berjaya dan juga hensem!
Satu lagi contoh kejayaan Singapura ialah Pak Iskandar Jalil, pakar tembikar tersohor kita, yang disegani dunia. Pak Iskandar kini giat menurunkan kemahirannya kepada generasi seterusnya, tidak kira kaum atau agama. Tahun ini, Pak Iskandar menerima Pingat Jasa Gemilang, antara anugerah tertinggi Hari Kebangsaan. Sungguhpun Pak Iskandar tidak dapat bersama kita malam ini, tahniah Pak Iskandar!
Saudara saudari, masyarakat Melayu/Islam gigih memupuk budaya berdikari tetapi mengekalkan semangat gotong-royong anda. Ini dapat dilihat dalam usaha anda membina institusi bantu diri yang penting seperti Yayasan Mendaki dan AMP.
Pemerintah menyokong kuat kemajuan masyarakat Melayu/Islam dengan menyediakan sumber-sumber, nasihat serta kepimpinan oleh para menteri dan Anggota Parlimen Melayu pemerintah. Orang Melayu juga telah mendapat faedah daripada dasar untuk semua kaum secara sama rata seperti perumahan, pendidikan dan penjagaan kesihatan.
Dalam sebuah masyarakat berbilang agama, Pemerintah mesti bersifat sekular dan berkecuali. Tetapi kita faham peranan penting Islam dalam masyarakat Melayu/Islam kita. Jadi kami terus menyokong anda misalnya menerusi pembentukan MUIS, dana MBMF dan Program Peningkatan Masjid. Dalam masa 40 tahun, anda berjaya membina 24 masjid moden untuk memenuhi keperluan umat Islam. Saya telah berkunjung ke beberapa masjid ini, termasuk Al Muttaqin di Ang Mo Kio, Mujahidin di Queenstown, An Nur di Woodlands dan Al Ansar di Bedok. Semuanya memang cantik dengan ciri istimewa dan keindahan yang tersendiri.
Masyarakat Melayu/Islam memerlukan para pemimpin agama yang membesar di Singapura dan memahami masyarakat majmuk kita. Mereka juga kenal sejarah Singapura dan faham konteks masyarakat berbilang agama kita. Mereka sedar betapa pentingnya sikap toleransi dan bertolak ansur dengan kumpulan lain. Ini akan membantu kita mencapai Identiti Muslim Singapura.
Kehadiran golongan pemimpin agama seperti inilah yang telah berjaya melindungi Singapura daripada ancaman pengganasan ekstremis. Kumpulan Pemulihan Agama (RRG) khususnya memainkan peranan utama dalam menyangkal tafsiran salah mengenai Islam dan membimbing mereka yang terpesong.
Saya ucapkan terima kasih kepada RRG atas usaha baik mereka. Saya juga berterima kasih kepada masyarakat Melayu/Islam kerana berpendirian tegas menentang pengganasan ekstremis. Pemerintah akan terus bekerjasama dan menyokong kuat masyarakat Melayu/Islam dalam usaha ini. Semua masyarakat juga harus menyokong mereka.
Madrasah sepenuh masa di Singapura memainkan peranan penting dalam melahirkan asatizah dan ulama kita. Saya gembira dengan tahap kemajuan madrasah lebih-lebih lagi bagi Sistem Madrasah Bersama (JMS). Pemerintah mahu meningkatkan mutu pencapaian madrasah ke tahap yang lebih tinggi lagi. Tentu sekali, dalam soal pendidikan agama, kita serahkan kepada MUIS dan masyarakat. Tetapi, Pemerintah boleh membantu dalam subjek-subjek sekular seperti Matematik dan Sains. Asas yang kuat dalam subjek-subjek bukan-agama ini, penting bagi mempersiapkan asatizah dan ulama untuk membimbing masyarakat dalam kehidupan serba moden dan berteknologi tinggi.
Oleh itu, pemerintah akan bekerjasama dengan MUIS untuk memperkukuh pendidikan subjek sekular di madrasah. Kami akan memberi bantuan kewangan bagi mempertingkat kemahiran guru dan bagi skim anugerah untuk murid-murid cemerlang dalam subjek sekular.
Saudara saudari, satu lagi perkara yang perlu diberi perhatian ialah isu-isu sosial yang mencabar masyarakat Melayu/Islam. Program pemilikan rumah HDB telah berjaya membantu lebih 90 peratus penghuni HDB memiliki flat sendiri. Tetapi segolongan kecil masih tinggal di flat sewa. Dan sebahagian besar di antara mereka ini adalah keluarga Melayu. Ramai merupakan keluarga muda dengan masalah rumahtangga dan kewangan. Mereka mungkin pernah membeli flat sebelum ini. Selepas bercerai, mereka terpaksa menjual flat dan tinggal di flat sewa.
Saya sangat bimbang tentang masa depan keluarga-keluarga ini khususnya anak-anak mereka. Kemungkinan besar mereka akan terus terjerat dalam kemiskinan sepanjang hayat.
Kita harus membantu mereka memulakan hidup baru, jika mereka bersungguh-sungguh mahu memperbaiki kehidupan mereka dengan menstabilkan keluarga, mendapatkan pekerjaan tetap dan memastikan anak-anak kekal di sekolah. Kita mesti membantu mereka memiliki flat sendiri sekali lagi supaya mereka dapat menyediakan sekitaran yang lebih mantap bagi anak-anak mereka. Saya akan jelaskan butirannya dalam ucapan Bahasa Inggeris sebentar lagi.
Apa yang jelas, sungguhpun masih ada cabaran yang perlu dihuraikan, pada keseluruhannya, kita boleh berbangga dengan pencapaian dan sumbangan masyarakat Melayu/Islam kepada negara kita yang berbilang kaum.
Misalnya, semasa upacara persemadian Encik Lee Kuan Yew, Haji Sidek Saniff telah menyampaikan ucapan yang begitu menyentuh hati dan menggambarkan betapa eratnya persahabatan mereka. Ia suatu yang menakjubkan kerana kita tahu bahawa sejak awal lagi, kedua-duanya berbeza pendapat dengan Sidek tegas menentang beberapa dasar pemerintah. Tetapi akhirnya, Sidek menyifatkan Encik Lee sebagai temannya dan melahirkan rasa hormat yang mendalam kepada Encik Lee. Beliau menghargai nasihat dan bimbingan Encik Lee. Sidek, saya besar hati anda sudi terima permintaan saya untuk kongsi kisah anda dengan Papa. Terima kasih Sidek!
Di upacara itu, beberapa sahabat Encik Lee dari kaum lain juga melahirkan perasaan serupa. Ini mencerminkan kejayaan Encik Lee membina sebuah masyarakat yang inklusif dan berbilang bangsa, seperti yang beliau janjikan pada hari kita Merdeka.
Lima dekad kemudian, saya terharu dan bangga melihat ramai orang Melayu khususnya anak-anak muda kita secara ikhlas dan terbuka, melahirkan rasa cinta kepada negara sebagai anak watan Singapura. Mereka menghargai dasar berbilang kaum kita.
Ini termasuk wartawan muda Berita Harian, Nur Dhuha Esoof. Selepas membuat liputan NDP beliau menulis, “… apa yang terngiang-ngiang di telinga saya bukanlah deruman 50 pesawat yang membelah langit atau 179 aset kebanggaan negara yang berarak di Padang. Sebaliknya, kata-kata Perdana Menteri Pengasas Lee Kuan Yew selepas perpisahan Singapura dari Malaysia yang paling menyentuh perasaan. “Mari kita, warga Singapura, bersatu, tanpa mengira bangsa, bahasa, agama, budaya.” …. 50 tahun telah berlalu... Semangat perpaduan yang mendiang Lee bayangkan pada tahun 1965 kini tersulam indah dalam kisah Singapura.”
Terima kasih Dhuha dan terima kasih masyarakat Melayu/Islam.
Saudara saudari sekalian, masyarakat Melayu/Islam membentuk bahagian penting masyarakat Singapura dan telah memberi sumbangan besar kepada keharmonian dan kemakmuran negara. Pemerintah menghargai sumbangan dan sokongan padu yang anda berikan selama ini. Marilah kita teruskan kerjasama erat yang lama terjalin ini. Marilah kita terus memperindah Kisah Singapura dengan memperkukuh masyarakat berbilang bangsa kita yang harmoni. Marilah kita membawa Singapura menjangkau lebih dari SG50 dan menjadikan tanah air kita yang tercinta ini lebih baik untuk kita semua dan anak-anak kita. Terima kasih.
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English Translation of National Day Rally 2015 Malay Speech
Good evening everybody and welcome to this year’s Rally. This year’s Rally is special. It is not just a National Day Rally, it is also an SG50 Rally. We are looking back on 50 years of nation building and also forward to many more years of progress. I won’t be singing this year but someone else who sings much better will be singing. Let me begin in our National Language.
My fellow Singaporeans,
Happy National Day! 50 years ago, Singapore separated from Malaysia. We became an independent sovereign nation.
At the press conference on 9 August 1965, Mr Lee Kuan Yew promised all Singaporeans that we will have equal chance to progress. "We are going to be a multi-racial nation in Singapore. We will set an example. This is not a Malay nation; this is not a Chinese nation; this is not an Indian nation. Everyone will have his place, equal: language, culture, religion."
Two days later, Mr Lee held a press conference with Malay journalists in Malay. Before asking his first question, a journalist addressed Mr Lee as “Tuan Perdana Menteri”. Mr Lee immediately replied, “Please do not address me as ‘Tuan Perdana Menteri’, but just as usual, ‘Saudara Lee’. It is not necessary. I am not a Syed like Syed Jaafar Albar. I am a common man, a small man”.
Mr Lee’s remark set the tone for our society in Singapore, that we will be equal and egalitarian. We will work side by side and will build Singapore together. That is how our journey began.
50 years on the people worked closely with the Government, we are now a harmonious, multiracial society, egalitarian and successful. This is why we are celebrating SG50 together with gusto.
Since independence, the Malay community has made enormous progress. Today, Malays are represented in every part of Singapore society.
Nowadays when we look for promising professionals to field as candidates, we find many successful Malays in different fields - lawyers, bankers, educators, engineers and SAF officers.
Recently, I met two young ones at Min Yaacob’s Hari Raya Get-together. First, CPT Muhammad Azlan Abdul Latiff, a Super Puma pilot. CPT Azlan told me that he had transported my delegation when I visited Brunei 2 years ago. I did not recognise him because he was in his spiffy uniform with helmet just like the other pilots.
Second, CPT Muhammad Iskandar Dzul Fadhli Abdul Rahman, F5 fighter jet pilot. CPT Iskandar told me he was participating in the SG50 NDP. At NDP, I took a picture of the aerial display and I was told later that CPT Iskandar’s jet is in the picture. You can’t see him but there he is!
Both of them are poised, competitive and confident of holding their own. They are successful and handsome too!
Another example of Singapore’s success is Pak Iskandar Jalil, who is internationally renowned. He is a master potter who is actively passing on his skills to the next generation. His disciples come from all cultures and races. This year, we congratulate Pak Iskandar on being conferred one of the highest NDP awards, the Meritorious Service Medal. Although Pak Iskandar is not here tonight, congratulations!
Ladies and gentlemen, the Malay/Muslim community has successfully built a culture of self-reliance, but maintained the spirit of “gotong-royong”. This can be seen in your effort to set up self-help institutions such as Mendaki and AMP.
The Government strongly supported the progress of the community by providing resources, advice and also through the leadership by Malay/Muslim ministers and MPs. The community has also benefitted equally from national policies such as housing, education and healthcare.
In a multi-religious society, our government must be secular and neutral. But we understand the vital role of Islam in the community so we have been supportive. For example, we have set up MUIS, the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund (MBMF), and the Mosque Upgrading Programme. In 40 years you have successfully built a total of 24 mosques to fulfil the needs of the Malay/Muslim community. I have visited quite a few of them – e.g. Al Muttaqin (in Ang Mo Kio), Mujahidin (in Queenstown), An Nur (in Woodlands) and Al Ansar (in Bedok). All of them were beautiful mosques, each with their own character and charm.
The Malay/Muslim community needs religious leaders who have grown up in Singapore and understand our society. They are familiar with our history and multi-religious context and appreciate the importance of tolerance and give-and-take with other groups. This will help us to achieve the Singapore Muslim Identity.
Because we have had such religious leaders in Singapore, we have protected ourselves from the threat of violent extremism. In particular, the RRG has played a vital role in refuting wrong interpretations of Islam and guiding back those who have been led astray. I would like to thank the RRG for their good work and also thank the community for taking a firm united stand against violent extremism. The government will continue to work with and support the Malay/Muslim community in these efforts and all communities should support them too.
Singapore madrasahs play an important role nurturing religious scholars and teachers. I am happy to see that madrasah standards have gone up, especially through the Joint Madrasah System (JMS). The Government would like to help madrasahs to improve further. We will leave religious education to MUIS and the community but the Government can help in secular subjects like mathematics and science. It is important for our religious scholars and leaders to have a good grounding in non-religious subjects. It prepares them to guide Singapore Muslims to live in a modern, technological society.
We will work with MUIS to strengthen the teaching of secular subjects in madrasahs by providing them with financial support to upgrade teachers of secular subjects and well as fund awards for students who do well in secular subjects.
Ladies and gentlemen, we also have to tackle social issues such as our HDB programme that has enabled more than 90 percent of HDB dwellers own their flats. A small group still live in rental flats and within this group, Malays are over represented. Many are young Malay families with marital and financial problems. They may have bought a flat before, divorced and now they live in rental flats. I am concerned about their future, especially that of their children. They may be trapped in poverty and their children will be affected too. We should help these families start afresh, if they are determined to put their lives in order by stabilising their families, holding a regular job, and keeping their children in school. We should help them own flats once again so that they are able to provide their children with a more stable environment. I will speak more about this in English speech later.
On the whole, Malay/Muslim community can be proud of its achievements, especially its contributions towards building a cohesive multiracial society.
For example, at Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s funeral service, Haji Sidek Saniff spoke movingly and shared personal stories of Mr Lee. It showed depth of their friendship. It was amazing because Sidek actually started off opposing a few Government policies but in the end, Sidek called Mr Lee a friend. He shared how he was touched by Mr Lee’s personal gestures. Sidek, I am glad I asked you to share your thoughts on Papa. Thank you!
Other speakers from different backgrounds, and races spoke too. They too regarded Mr Lee as their friend and shared how Mr Lee touched their lives. This showed how Mr Lee succeeded in building an inclusive, multi-racial society, as he promised from the beginning.
50 years on, I am touched and proud to see many Malays, especially the young, expressing heartfelt love for Singapore openly. They appreciate and uphold our multiracial society. This included a young BH reporter, Ms Nur Dhuha Esoof. After covering the SG50 NDP, she wrote,
“…what struck me at the end of the parade was not the breathtaking aerial display or the impressive mobile column but the poignant words of our founding PM Lee Kuan Yew, speaking after we separated from Malaysia. Mr Lee said, ‘Let us Singaporeans unite as one united people regardless of race, language, religion, culture.’ 50 years have passed….The unity that Mr Lee envisioned in 1965 is now woven in a beautiful tapestry that is our Singapore Story.”
Thank you Dhuha and thank you to our Malay/Muslim community.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Malay/Muslim community is an integral part of Singapore. You have contributed significantly to our nation’s harmony and progress. The Government appreciates the community’s contributions and strong support. Let us continue the strong cooperation we have established over the years. Let us continue to write the Singapore Story by strengthening our harmonious, multi-racial community. Let us take our beloved Singapore beyond SG50 and make Singapore better for ourselves and our children!
Thank you!
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National Day Rally 2015 (Malay Speech with English dub + Sign language)