One of a Kind (2nd Edition)

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Today 114 officer cadets, the first graduates of SAFTI, have been commissioned into our

armed forces. It takes place at a time when we have just received formal notice of the changes

that will be necessary in the structure of the security and defence of our part of the world.

Today in London, the British Government has stated that by the middle-70s they will want

to leave their bases in Singapore and Malaysia. So, we must build, together with such friends

and allies as have an interest in the security and future of the Singapore-Malaysia area,

sufficient forces for our security. And, the defence assistance we can expect in the long run

from Britain may be in the nature of mobile forces, both aircraft and naval vessels.

There are five years to go before 1973, the earliest of the middle-70s, or ten years to go

before 1977, the latest part of the middle-70s. The British Government says that the precise

time will depend upon the circumstances. In this time, we have to build all the sinews we

can so that we will not just be passengers in any defence alliance. The more self-reliant

and effective we become, the more desirable and reliable a partner we make in any defence

arrangement.

What we lack in numbers, we will make up for in quality: in the standards of discipline,

training, dedication and leadership. There is no reason why we should not, by the middle-70s,

achieve an equally secure arrangement against external aggression. For we can safely assume

that we need to make provision against the possibility of only a middling, not a big, power

attack.

Those of you who were in Singapore in 1942 when the Japanese Imperial Army swept into

Singapore will know that there were vast differences between the capacity and quality of the

different soldiers we saw. The Japanese Imperial Guards were accompanied by Koreans and

Formosans. The British had Australians, Indians and Gurkhas on their side.

Everybody knew that one Japanese soldier was worth more than one of the others in tenacity

and doggedness. Everybody also knew that some of the British contingents were made of

sterner stuff and they were not related to the physical size of the soldiers of the various

Commonwealth contingents.

SPEECH BY MR. LEE KUAN YEW,

PRIME MINISTER, REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE,

AT THE COMMISSIONING CEREMONY

ON TUESDAY, 18

JULY, 1967

SPEECH BY PRIME MINISTER MR. LEE KUAN YEW