Minister Chee Hong Tat at the Teochew Chamber of Commerce Inauguration Ceremony & 4th Anniversary Gala Dinner

Mr Richard Siaw, President of Teochew Chamber of Commerce
Distinguished Guest
Ladies and Gentlemen

Good evening everyone. I am pleased to join you at tonight’s inauguration ceremony which also celebrates the Chamber’s 4^th Anniversary.

The Teochew Chamber of Commerce was founded in August 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a period filled with uncertainties, for individuals, organisations and businesses. A group of Teochew business leaders led by Mr Chia Chor Meng came together with a shared purpose — to provide a strong platform for Teochew businesses to connect, collaborate and grow. I understand from Mr Siaw that you do not need to be a Teochew to join the Chamber, in fact, you even have a non-Chinese member.

During my recent interaction with Mr Chia, he shared that the Chamber handed the leadership to a younger team this year. I believe that the energy of the new team, coupled with guidance from more experienced Teochew business leaders, will enable the Chamber to scale to greater heights.

The average age of the current executive committee is 38 years old.  The Chamber is also actively engaging youths to take part in programmes and to take up leadership roles in different areas.

I am also glad to see the Chamber promoting philanthropy, which is a hallmark of our Teochew pioneers. Their generosity and community spirit helped to shape modern Singapore, by uplifting others and nurturing the next generation through education, amongst many philanthropic acts. 

Our Chinese pioneers and the Chinese community that has grown and developed over the years have contributed significantly to shaping the shared Singaporean identity we know today.

Singapore is a multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural society. As Mr Lee Kuan Yew said shortly after our independence in 1965, 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.

After 60 years of nation building as one united people, Singaporeans have a clear sense of our national identity. We are first and foremost Singaporeans, no matter where our ancestors may have come from. 

This is also true for our new immigrants who come from China, who in the words of former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, are 华人 whose loyalties are to Singapore, and not 华侨, as they are no longer citizens of China.

At the same time, we also have our unique ethnic identities. Each community has preserved its own culture, heritage and traditions, while integrating some of the customs and traditions of other communities.

For Chinese Singaporeans, our culture is similar to those of Chinese elsewhere, and yet different in many ways. This is because Singapore’s Chinese culture has integrated traditional Chinese cultural elements with regional cultures and Western influences.

For example, in terms of language, the Singaporean Mandarin we speak has terms which are influenced by English, dialects, Malay and Tamil, such as 巴士 for bus and 巴刹 (pasar in Malay) for market.

In terms of food, we have many delicacies enjoyed by the Chinese community which are influenced by peranakan food, e.g. Nonya rice dumplings, Pandan flavoured mooncakes.

The shacha sauce or sa-teh, which is widely consumed in Chaoshan and Fujian, originated from Southeast Asia’s satay sauce. Teochew migrants adapted satay sauce and introduced it to their families and friends in China. This example shows that exchanges go both ways. Just as Chinese culture can be exported overseas, the culture of local Chinese communities can be imported into China.

Singapore is a business and trading hub and many of you here have interactions with people from all over the world.

While this is something we encourage in order to promote stronger trade and economic links, we also urge our people to be aware that we live in an increasingly complex environment deeply influenced by geopolitical factors.

It is important that we remain vigilant and guard against elements that may affect the peace and harmony that we have painstakingly built up over the years.

The Government takes a very serious view when our society’s social fabric is under threat. We had an extended debate in Parliament recently on race and religion because we saw that some have been trying to use race and religion to divide our communities and score political points. There was also the issue of foreign interference from a certain political party. 

These elements cannot be allowed in Singapore.  We must not encourage identity politics as it can divide our society and affect our cohesion, which we have painstakingly built up over the decades. 

And we must not allow foreign interference in our domestic politics, as the direction of our politics and our way of life must be for Singaporeans to decide. 

This is why we have legislation such as the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (FICA) and the designation of Politically Significant Person under FICA.

Let me now say a few words in Mandarin.

大家晚上好。很高兴出席潮州商会新一届执行委员会就职典礼及成立4周年晚宴。

潮州商会在2021年，新冠疫情期间成立。当时，谢楚明先生带领，团结潮商的力量帮助大家面对疫情所带来的挑战。

我也很高兴潮州商会吸引了一批年轻的企业家加入。新的执行委员会的平均年龄大概38岁。在华社组织当中，算是最年轻的领导班子之一。

各位潮州商会的同仁都继承了潮州先贤慷慨济世的精神。我们的先贤为国家，为华社做出了许多贡献。他们的付出成就了今日的新加坡。

今时今日的新加坡，是一个商业金融中心，也是一个多元种族、多元宗教、多元文化的国家。

我们的华商与世界接轨，包括了和中国的密切来往，但同时，我也希望大家切记，我们生活在一个容易受到国际局势和外来干预的大环境里。我们绝对不允许外来势力破坏我们多年努力建立起的社会和谐与安定。新加坡的政治和国家重要的政策与发展方向，应该由我们新加坡人民自己决定。

政府会竭尽所能采取坚决的行动维护我们的社会和谐。我们最近在国会里进行了详细的讨论，针对某些政党和投机份子为了政治利益，不惜把国家的和谐和前途当成赌注，他们企图利用身份政治分化我们的社会。

我希望每一位新加坡人继续捍卫我们的社会和谐，拒绝身份政治和外来干预的影响，把我们国家的利益永远放在最高位置。

最后，让我衷心祝愿潮州商会，会务蒸蒸日上，会员企业生意兴隆，在座的各位身体健康，  也祝愿新加坡国泰民安，风调雨顺。谢谢大家！