These are the highlights from PM Lee's National Day Rally 2014.
See also: HIGHLIGHTS FROM PM LEE'S NATIONAL DAY RALLY 2014 ENGLISH SPEECH
Malay Speech:
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong kicks off the Malay portion of his Rally speech by wishing the audience a Happy National Day and Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Congregants of Masjid Kampong Holland were sad to leave their mosque, but were warmly received by the Mujahidin Mosque in Queenstown, which has been recently upgraded. This is in the same spirit of partnership and sacrifice that Singapore's Pioneer Generation displayed. Pioneer Malays had a choice at Independence, and you cast your lot with Singapore. Your choice enabled Singapore to grow into a multi-racial, multi-religious society. Thank you for having faith in Singapore, and working with other communities.
To honour the contributions of the first President, we will be naming a new Mosque in Woodlands after him: the Yusof Ishak Mosque. The Institute of South East Asian Studies (ISIS) will also be named the Yusof Ishak Institute. Finally a new scholarship, the Yusof Ishak scholarship for social studies at NUS.
PM Lee highlighted how more Malay students are completing post secondary education and achieving better results.
While there have been improvements, some Malays are suffering from obesity, hypertension and other health issues, perhaps because of all their unhealthy but delicious food. He urged the Malay community to exercise more and look after their health.
I have set up ASPIRE to encourage more Singaporeans to reach for higher education.
PM Lee also said that our Pioneers showed we can do anything, provided we set our minds to it. We must build on their legacy, giving every Singaporean the confidence to shoot for the stars. Education is an important part of this, and this year, I will focus on ITE and polytechnic students.
Mandarin Speech:
Speaking in Mandarin, PM Lee spoke about Singapore's history and how difficult it was for Singapore when we first separated from Malaysia.
He said many of our Pioneers raised large families with small incomes and while they may have struggled they all worked together for a common goal.
PM Lee shared the story of Mdm Wong, a Samsui woman of 44 years who came to Singapore when she was just 21. It is people like her that helped to bring Singapore to what it is today.
With the Pioneer Generation Card, elderly Singaporeans will receive higher subsidies at healthcare institutions. However, we hope you will stay healthy and wont have to use it too often.
On top of the Pioneer Generation Package, Medishield Life will also help elderly with their healthcare costs.
PM Lee insisted that the CPF has many benefits and together with home ownership, it will ensure that Singaporeans can retire.
Addressing the concerns about some Singaporeans wanting to withdraw their CPF at 55, PM Lee explained that this would mean too many people would use up their savings too early.
PM Lee highlighted that the government has to protect citizens from running out of money. He said that part of this is done by ensuring that Singaporeans save money in their CPF.
Your houses are considerable assets that can generate income and wealth for elderly Singaporeans. Seniors can either rent out their rooms, or downgrade and take advantage of the Silver Housing Bonus,
We want to keep your options open through education by providing many opportunities to uprgrade yourselves. Our educational institutions are of a high standard and there is low youth unemployment here.
However, a university degree is not the only way to land a "good" job. PM Lee highlighted that many skills are learned on the job and it can't be learned in a classroom.
In the area of employment, it is possible to continue studying while working and constantly improving yourself. It is important to continue developing your talent to the fullest.
We should stop judging people based on their educational status. We will also be improving the opportunities for Polytechnic and ITE graduates so that they can earn more and have good jobs.
We want to keep your options open through education by providing many opportunities to uprgrade yourselves. Our educational institutions are of a high standard and there is low youth unemployment here.
However, a university degree is not the only way to land a "good" job. PM Lee highlighted that many skills are learned on the job and it can't be learned in a classroom.
In the area of employment, it is possible to continue studying while working and constantly improving yourself. It is important to continue developing your talent to the fullest.
We should stop judging people based on their educational status. We will also be improving the opportunities for Polytechnic and ITE graduates so that they can earn more and have good jobs.
The most important thing is to continue growing our economy. We must develop both domestically and internationally in order to continue creating new jobs.
There are many opportunities in China and Singaporean businessmen should try to take up more of these opportunities. We are also improving our cooperation with China to facilitate better business ties.
We want to allow all Singaporeans to be able to realize their dreams. We have worked together very hard over the past 49 years to make Singapore successful and it is important that we continue to realize our "limitless opportunities".
Concluding his Mandarin speech, PM Lee said that we must continue to work together to keep Singapore moving forward.
Related:
HIGHLIGHTS FROM PM LEE'S NATIONAL DAY RALLY 2014 ENGLISH SPEECH