Bicentennial a time to reflect on how Singapore came into being: PM Lee

Singapore

THE year 1819 was an important turning point in the country's history and the catalyst for the beginning of the "modern, outward-looking and multicultural" nation that Singapore is today.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made this point on Monday at the official launch of the Singapore Bicentennial, which marks the 200th anniversary of Sir Stamford Raffles' arrival in Singapore.

"Without 1819, we may never have launched on the path to nationhood as we know it today," he said in a speech at the Asian Civilisations Museum.

"Without 1819, we would not have had 1965 (when Singapore became independent), and we would certainly not have celebrated the success of SG50 (in 2015 when the nation celebrated its golden jubilee). 1819 made these possible," he told guests at the event.

Mr Lee stressed that this is the reason why the Singapore Bicentennial is worth commemorating. As things stand, more than 200 groups and organisations are planning to hold various commemorative events throughout the year.

"We are tracing and reflecting upon our longer history, one that stretches back way before 1965," said the prime minister.

"We are acknowledging and appreciating the broader context which shaped and created today's Singapore. This was our journey, from Singapore to Singaporean."

Mr Lee also said Sir Stamford Raffles did not "discover" Singapore, any more than Christopher Columbus "discovered" America. He added that Singapore already had hundreds of years of history before 1819.

He recalled how, back in the 14th century, the mouth of the Singapore River was a thriving seaport called Temasek. It was around this period when Sang Nila Utama founded a kingdom here and named it Singapura.

When the Europeans came to Southeast Asia in the 16th and 17th centuries, they already knew about the island named Singapore.

A Flemish gem trader, Jacques de Coutre, knew the region well and around the year 1630, he proposed to the King of Spain to build a fortress in Singapore because of its "strategic location", said Mr Lee.

"Had the King accepted de Coutre's proposal, Singapore might have become a Spanish colony instead of a British one," he said.

It was nearly two centuries later before Raffles landed here and persuaded the Sultan of Johor to allow the British East India Company to establish a trading post in Singapore.

Mr Lee described this as a "crucial turning point" in Singapore's history, and set the country on a trajectory leading to where it is today.

He recalled how Raffles made Singapore a free port. The new colony prospered and the population grew rapidly, with immigrants coming from Southeast Asia, China, India and beyond.

Singapore evolved into a "multicultural and open society", with trade as its lifeblood that helped to link the country to the regional archipelago and the world beyond.

The impact of important historical events such as the Singapore and Malaysia merger in 1963 and eventual separation in 1965 was also influenced by the British arrival in 1819, said Mr Lee.

"Throughout the colonial period, Singapore was never governed as part of Malaya. ... Over the next 150 years, our political values, inter-communal relations, and world views had diverged from the society on the other side of the Causeway," he said.

"At the same time, this history since 1819 explains why after separation, Singapore not only survived but thrived," he added.

Singapore developed "close economic and family ties with our neighbours in the region", and especially the Malay peninsula.

Mr Lee hoped that the many activities that will be organised this year will ignite Singaporeans' interest to discover more about themselves and the country's past.

"In this Bicentennial year, as we reflect on how this nation came into being, let us also think of how we can move forward together, for we are never done building Singapore," he said.

"It is every generation's duty to keep on building, for our children, and for our future. So that in another 50 or 100 years, Singaporeans not yet born will have a richer and greater Singapore Story to tell, one that we will have helped to write together."

Manpower Minister Josephine Teo and Social and Family Development Minister Desmond Lee are both overseeing the activities for the Bicentennial, with Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on board as an adviser.

The Singapore Bicentennial Office, which is part of the Prime Minister's Office, is supported by a 16-member advisory panel that includes Ho Bee Land chairman and CEO Chua Thian Poh, Yayasan Mendaki CEO Rahayu Buang, and film director Kelvin Tong.