Speech by Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen, at SMU Commencement Opening Ceremony for the Class of 2020 on 15 December 2021

Mr Lim Chee Onn, Chancellor, SMU,

Mr Eddie Teo, Pro-Chancellor, SMU,

Mr Ho Kwon Ping, Chairman, SMU Board of Trustees,

Professor Lily Kong, President, SMU

Members of the Board of Trustees,

Faculty, staff and students of SMU,

Parents and guests,

Graduands,

Good morning.

I am delighted to be able to join you on the 2020 commencement. I was happy to receive a letter from SMU saying that you are going to have a physical graduation and, truth be told, when I received the invitation from Lily and the Board last year, I was happy to receive it because I had seen the beginnings of SMU. SMU was established in the year 2002 when I went to the Ministry of Education, I would say that there was much attention paid to this fledgling new university. Every new university is a risk, with no certainty of success, and every new university is conceived so that it will be different. I knew the founding members and I must say that over the years we watched with great satisfaction and pride, and now the 17th graduation batch. SMU has established itself as a premier university, not only in Singapore but also in Asia. So well done on all these years. I think credit must go to your board for their belief and their efforts, as well as your President and the Faculty.

After nearly two years of battling the COVID-19 virus, with many knocks and bruises in this journey, I am sure all of us are happy to be able to gather physically, albeit in smaller numbers and with safety measures observed. If we look at every country that has been battling with the COVID-19 pandemic, not one country I can think of, not a single country that planned, executed and was satisfied or not surprised by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a biological warfare. We ought to remember that the COVID-19 virus existed before us, perhaps not in humans but in animals. It was here before us, and written in its DNA is the desire to remain beyond the human race. If the pandemic has taught us nothing else, it is that the simple pleasures that we often take for granted – sharing a meal, a handshake, a hug, a conversation, celebrating together for a wedding, or this graduation – can be snatched from us precipitously. Our human kind purportedly sits on top of the biomass pyramid. But this tiny organism, the COVID-19 RNA virus, even for a virus, is very small – barely 30,000 base pairs and only around 100 nanometers. It has usurped our supremacy. The entire World watches closely, with bated breath, the Omicron variant, hoping that it turns out to be less severe than feared and to prepare as best as we can against it. Que sera sera – for now, I think, let's just enjoy what we have been given today and celebrate your graduation. We are thankful that the number of cases have come down with the cooperation of the public observing safe management measures, and now down to very low levels. In fact for Delta, we expect it to go even lower. But of course, as scientists will tell you in biological warfare that surprises are the norm, so we must be ready and nimble.

But for today, you should celebrate. Universally, graduation ranks high as one of the happiest moments in the cycle of life events. For those of you who are older, you look back in your life, ask yourselves when were the happiest moments in your life. Graduation from the university certainly ranks up there. How high? Well, not as deeply emotional as marriage or the birth of one's child, and from personal experience, nowhere near being a grandparent – that indeed is the "crown of life". But I think certainly more memorable than the first job or promotions. Graduation marks a major milestone, even a transformation – a "commencement" - where doors and opportunities open wide. To quote Shakespeare, the World is now your oyster, with which your sword will easily open. A time to step out onto your own, to claim your stake for what life has to offer, to build and call it your own. So that in time to come, you will be able to look back and say with satisfaction, "This is what my hands have wrought and brought to pass". Certainly not with hubris, but with gratitude that life has provided you opportunities.

As I was crafting this speech, I tried to recall what my class, it was the Class of '77 Medicine, did and how we felt on graduating – it is now 40 years ago. I remember we were just as elated and relieved. Elation, you can understand but why relief? Well, for the Medicine finals, chance can play a significant role. Because the theory papers are standardised, multiple-choice questions. We had essay questions so if you studied the facts, and Medicine is hard to study for everything, do some spotting and those questions come out, you are fine. If they do not, you just hope that you get a pass mark for your theory. But for Medicine, there is also a clinical component. You are tested on your clinical skills and you get a real-life patient. And obviously not everybody can get the same patient so there is a pool of patients and examinees get different patients to be tested with. So, if you are on an off day – you miss the signs, you miss some jaundice, you miss slight yellowing of the sclera, as we call it, or you miss the signs in the fingers, you miss the diagnosis, you have a misdiagnosis – your chances to pass is not that high for the clinical. You can pass the theory but fail the clinical and you have to have a re-exam. So, serendipity or good luck can certainly help. I have heard of those whose good fortune smiled, and the patient they were tested on was an educated patient who said to the examinee, because you clerk the patient without supervision, I mean you are given a time and you sit down with the patient and you ask, you know what is this? And I think maybe they tell the patient to not tell the examinee what their diagnosis is, but some patients are very kind. So I have heard of situations where the patient tells the examinee, "Oh, I have this liver condition", and knows the precise diagnosis and even their clinical abnormalities to be detected. He tells the examinee the condition, the signs, in Hokkien they say "bao jiak". I am sure that is not the only reason why the examinee passed, but it certainly helps.

Cohort after cohort, these feelings of elation and relief upon graduation are reprised. Some of you have had more arduous journey than others. You keep it to yourselves, even from your close friends, the tensions and conflicts you face at home. I say this with greater certainty after having launched our own Community Scholarship Scheme. As your Chairman said, my Group Representation Constituency (GRC) is Bishan-Toa Payoh, and we launched a scholarship scheme. It is not a government scheme; it is just for the GRC, and the scheme revealed hardships that the families were going through, unknown to peers around them.

Let me just tell you a bit about this scholarship scheme for residents. It is only open to residents in the GRC. Each University student receives enough to cover his tuition fees – around twenty thousand dollars for his University education. Over the past decade, we have given out about three million dollars to 630 Institute of Technical Education, Polytechnic and University students. In fact, I asked them to check – 34 SMU students have received this scholarship. Because it is not a Government scheme, we need to raise our own funds. My predecessor, Mr Wong Kan Seng, approached some benefactors, and my colleagues and I carried it on with new funds raised from more generous benefactors.

Because there are more applicants than there are scholarships, we set up a committee to interview applicants, and it was in that process that we found out difficulties that they and their families face. Let me share some of their stories. We have one recipient, a current SMU student with financial difficulties. Her situation worsened when her mother was retrenched during the pandemic, so the financial aid from the scholarship was a big relief. We ask all recipients to give back to the community when they can, which is exactly what she did. This SMU recipient decided to start a tuition programme for the less fortunate in the estate, especially to assist during the pandemic.

Another recipient comes from a single-parent family. His mother had to take on two jobs to raise him and his siblings. Despite this, he stays positive, studies hard and volunteers actively within the community. Even when times are hard, he remains as a strong pillar of support for his siblings.

Each year, we meet these recipients to talk with them. When it was pre-COVID-19, we would share a meal with them. Interacting with them, it is hard to tell – they do not reveal the inner turmoil in their lives. They bear them with stoicism and resilience. But as a community and society, we ought to be doing more, not less, even as Singapore has become more affluent.

Whether you have these difficult situations or you are in a more pleasant state, here we are at your graduation. At this point for the commencement speech, I could go on and tell you about jobs and the economy, and about the path forward with this COVID-19 pandemic. These are important, but I am sure other speakers will touch on these themes.

Instead, I thought it would be better for me to focus on you and your personal aspirations after graduation. Let's try to get a better sense of what you as a SMU graduate can expect.

First, can you get a job? Definitely yes - SMU graduates are highly employable. Even before graduation, nearly 60% of the Class of 2020 secured full-time employment. 94% were offered full-time employment within six months. Even with the pandemic, employment prospects will remain good. In fact, the resident employment rate rose 2% above pre-COVID levels and more jobs are available now – the ratio of the job vacancies to unemployed persons increased from 0.9 in 2019 to 1.6 in 2021. There continues to be strong demand in growth sectors like Information and Communications, Financial and Insurance Services, as well as Health and Social Services.

What about your salary? You can expect to earn a starting salary of about four thousand dollars as SMU graduates. With this salary, you and your prospective life partner, even if you have no savings now, will be able to save enough to put the down payment and purchase your first HDB home using your CPF savings in less than two years. In prime areas, it will be more expensive, but still affordable to SMU graduates.

COVID-19 has extended the wait for BTO flats – HDB expects it to be about 4.4 years, on average. So some young Singaporeans are looking to resale, even private apartments. This obviously will be more expensive, so instead of two years, the down payment will amount to about three to eight years of earnings.

One bright spark in our economy has been the steady rise in median individual and household incomes. Over the last decade, it has gone up for Singapore, by 44% and 38% respectively. This is impressive for those of you who look at the figures. It has been more than other developed countries. Let me just use the United Kingdom as comparison, which has only increased by 23% and 7%, so for individual income, it is half of what our increase has been over the last decade, and for household income, a fifth compared to Singapore.

Certain sectors offer more lucrative prospects, based on current projections. Healthcare-related R&D and digital transformation functions are projected to have the highest salary increments at about 15% in 2021, and this trend is likely to continue next year.

I make no apologies in focusing on these bread and butter issues, and common aspirations of the average graduate or couple in this commencement speech. Government's role is not to decide who ends up more successful, earning more or less – that would be over-reach and unrealistic. But good Government must create opportunities for all in society to achieve their life goals, and for those that need it more, a helping hand or a leg up. For the individual, whatever the background, Carpe Diem.

Are there new opportunities for your generation to seize? Again – definitively, yes. New industries and their start-ups are here in Singapore and the region. Let me give you some examples:

Atomionics is a local start-up founded by Dr. Ravi Kumar and his friend in 2018. His start-up builds quantum sensors that allow aircraft and submarines to navigate without GPS, and has secured funding from SGInnovate and DSTA's investment arm.

In FinTech, Miss Nirali Zaveri. She is a 2017 Economics graduate from SMU, who co-founded Friz. Her company helps people who do not have monthly payslips or own assets to obtain credit, purchase insurance, and make savings and investments. Typical workers are those that work in the gig economy or delivery. This year, Friz has raised a six-figure funding in seed funding which it will use to expand into Thailand and the Philippines.

Another local start-up – this one is called FlyORO, and also by a SMU alumna, Miss Genevieve Toh, one of the three co-founders and currently Chief Marketing Officer provides on-demand biofuel blending and distribution, directly or near airports. This company is betting on a growing green economy and positioning itself early.

Another company, again by a SMU graduate, Miss Kuah Chew Shian, who started it with her friend, and also based on the sustainability theme, but different. They started a restaurant called Kausmo restaurant. This is the idea. It uses over-ripe, oddly shaped or sized ingredients to reduce food shortage. It is a great idea for sustainability for when you eat it, Miss Kuah believes that her restaurant can convince diners that food prepared using these ingredients, which would have otherwise gone to waste, is just as aesthetically pleasing and tasty. It is a bold idea – I am not sure many of us will have the gumption to start one like that. For her guts in starting this theme restaurant, Miss Kuah was one of the honourees in Forbes' 30 Under 30 Asia last year. It is a list which features 300 young entrepreneurs and trailblazers in various fields under the age of 30.

These living examples are people just like you, including many from SMU. Graduation provides the same valuable passport to seize opportunities. What you want to, can or will achieve is entirely in your hands – that is the artistry of and in your life. The same materials, pigments, canvas give rise to diverse renditions of the same landscape, with different hands.

Here it would be remiss of me, not to pitch for that venerable institution called marriage and procreation. Please make that one of your life goals too. For both men and women, it is possible to have a successful career and family. I must declare my vested interest, because the Singapore Armed Forces will need your sons for the next generation of soldiers, and if you have daughters, the generation after that. We can wait.

I hope for all of you, that extra element, which will give spark to your living. Contentment comes from within, but family, friends and basic physical comforts add to the richness of life's offerings. And if you, through the creation of your hands, improve the lives of others around you, enrich, entertain, or illuminate, or even our World saved, then you are blessed indeed.

Congratulations to all of you and here is to very success on your commencement. Thank you.