PM Lawrence Wong at Singapore Hainan Hwee Kuan 170th Anniversary Gala Dinner

Francis Phua, President of the Hainan Hwee Kuan Association,

My Cabinet and Parliamentary Colleagues, past and present,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good evening. I will just say a few words in English, and then I continue my main remarks in Mandarin later.

First of all, I just want to say I am very happy to be here to join all of you for the Hainan Hwee Kuan 170th anniversary. So let's give the Hwee Kuan a round of applause. We have many friends from overseas joining us today – China, Hainan island itself, but also from Asia and around the world. Let's also give them a warm welcome. Thank you for joining us.

It is always a pleasure to come and join our Hainanese community events, because here you can feel the warmth and the kinship. We may all come from different backgrounds, but we are Sook Ki. We are part of one Hainanese family, and in Singapore, it is extra special because as a community, we are one of the smallest dialect groups in Singapore. And so the bonds are stronger, the ties are even stronger, and that is why the Hainanese community always sticks together. And I am very happy that even in this gathering, I see many young people joining us. I saw some of the scholarship recipients from the Hainan Hwee Kuan and also many students from Yu Ying Secondary School. I think they are here with us as volunteers. We should recognise them. Thank you all for joining us. Hopefully there will be more joining the activities of the Hwee Kuan and continuing the traditions of our community and keep our communities strong and vibrant.

But most importantly, as a community in Singapore, we are not just a Hainanese community, we are a Singaporean Hainanese community. We have something special in Singapore, because we are multi-racial and we are multi-religious. We are in a Singaporean environment, and we learn to live harmoniously with all our different communities, not just different dialect groups amongst the Chinese community, but our Malay friends, our Indian friends, and we uphold our Singaporean identity together. So I hope we will continue to do that as a Hainanese community, keeping ourselves strong and vibrant, but also working closely with other communities to maintain the harmony and the unity that we have in Singapore. And then finally, as we enter the end of the year, I just want to wish all of you good health and happiness and best wishes as we look forward to 2025. Thank you very much.

新加坡海南会馆潘家海会长

各位乡亲

各位来宾

各位女士们、先生们

大家晚上好！

这些年来，我出席了不少由海南社群举办的活动。

每一次参加这些活动都能感受到海南人的浓浓乡情，和彼此之间的浓厚情谊。

今晚也不例外。大家都很热情，很高兴看到很多熟悉的面孔。还有一些乡亲从海南省过来出席今晚的晚宴，欢迎你们来到新加坡。

在这个特别的日子，让我们一起祝贺海南会馆成立170周年快乐！生日快乐！

这个里程碑意义非凡，不仅反映了新加坡海南社群的悠久历史，也记录了海南人在过去100多年来的发展和成就。

当年，我们的祖先大多是身无分文，远渡重洋来到新加坡谋生，寻找更好的生活。尽管生活艰难，他们依然努力维持生计, 互相扶持、共渡难关。

和其他籍贯相比，海南人南来较迟。许多较好的工作和赚钱的生意，早已被其他社群捷足先登，因此我们的前辈只能从事一些比较辛苦的工作。

在这种情况下，很多海南人在餐饮业工作，当厨师的很多。

所以新加坡现在有很多家喻户晓的餐馆，都是由海南人经营的。

海南人也把家乡菜带过来，并注入本地的特色，变成一道道富有新加坡风味的菜肴。 例如，海南咖喱饭、海南猪扒等。就像今晚的菜都是海南菜。

这些道地的海南菜，很多在海南省是找不到的。海南省吃的鸡饭跟新加坡的鸡饭完全不一样。 因为我们的菜反映了新加坡的独特文化 - 中西合并，融汇贯通，吸收了不同文化的精华。这也是新加坡的特色。

对早期南来的海南人来说，海南会馆就好像他们的第二个家，成为避风港。

为了安顿新来的乡亲，会馆帮忙筹款，替乡亲找房子，寻找适合的工作机会。

会馆也非常重视教育，为宗亲子弟提供助学金，鼓励他们努力学习，通过教育改善生活。

海南人还创办了育英学校，也就是今天的育英中学，以及公立培群学校。这两所学校历史悠久，至今继续栽培一批批的学生。很多学生也在场，欢迎他们。

现在，我们在新加坡的生活水准已经提高，许多海南人在新加坡落地生根，并在各个领域做出贡献。而海南会馆继续肩负使命，团结社群，传播传统文化。

例如，每逢农历新年和中秋节，会馆都会举办庆祝活动，让会员聚在一起。

会馆也开办海南方言学习班，举办美食活动，让年轻人通过有趣的方式，接触海南传统文化。

海南会馆不仅关心自己的社群，也为整个华社和社会做出贡献。

海南会馆是新加坡宗乡会馆联合总会的七个发起会馆之一，各会馆携手一起促进不同籍贯的交流，建设一个更和谐、更团结的新加坡。

慈善方面，海南会馆一直不遗余力。比如冠病疫情期间，会馆筹款帮助有需要的国人，协助他们渡过难关。

会馆对教育的重视也始终如一，持续颁发助学金及奖学金，培育下一代。

可见海南会馆的使命没有改变 – 多年来一直照顾乡亲，传播华族传统文化和价值观，帮助有需要的人。

海南会馆取得的成就，是因为在座各位的努力。所以我要感谢多年来为会馆做出贡献的历届领导、会员和合作伙伴。谢谢大家的付出和贡献！

本地海南人的发展历史，反映了先辈发奋图强，自强不息的精神。他们坚韧不拔，克服了重重的困难和挑战，才取得成功。这也给我们一些启示：有时候，我们的意见可能不同，但是凡是要以大局为重，从群体利益出发。因为团结就是力量。 我希望海南社群可以继续团结一致，同心协力，为社会做出贡献。刚才会长也提到，海南会馆将主办更多活动，吸引年轻人加入。我有信心，年轻一代可以为会馆的发展注入新的活力，与有经验的前辈一起携手，推动海南会馆的发展。

我要再次祝贺海南会馆成立170周年快乐，祝福会馆会务昌盛，再创辉煌！而且在2024年即将结束前，我也要祝大家身体健康，在新的一年里，心想事成，万事如意！

谢谢你们！

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