Minister for Community Development and Sports and Minister in Charge of Muslim Affaris, Mr Abdullah Tarmugi,

Malay/Muslim community leaders,

Ladies and gentlemen

I am happy to be here tonight to join you, especially members of the Malay community, in honouring the winner of this year�s Berita Harian Achiever of the Year award.

Technology and globalisation are transforming businesses, economies and societies.

Rapid change brings opportunity, but can cause disorientation to an individual or a society as it struggles to respond. Individuals or societies who can adapt to change will emerge stronger and more resilient.

As a small, open economy, Singapore has survived and thrived by accepting new challenges learning from others, and where necessary, finding our own unique solutions.

The critical factor is, as always, people. We have a population which has values, qualities and competencies which help us to surmount challenges. These are shaped and developed by the family, formal education and life experiences.

Education complements the family and community in preparing our young for the future. In the 21^st century, the defining characteristic will be knowledge - knowledge dissemination, application and creation. Technology and the Internet will hasten the process, and require almost every worker to be a knowledge worker.

We are preparing our people for this challenge. Over the past 40 years, each successive generation of young Singaporeans has been better educated and trained. Today, nearly 9 out of 10 children who enter our school system will have the opportunity to go on to post-secondary education. This means that almost 90% of each Primary 1 cohort will be able to acquire skills and knowledge beyond the 10 years of general education, to stay on the correct side of the knowledge divide.

And we are constantly refining and improving our education system to ensure that we are ready for the future.

Being ready for the future goes beyond providing knowledge and skills for our young people to function as economic agents. Our young people need sound values and attitudes that will help them to navigate through different circumstances while keeping to the true course.

Citizenship education, community involvement, civics and moral education, programmes for leadership, character and life-skills are all part of the total education which schools provide.

But schools can only play a complementary role to that of the home. Parents, through their actions and their words, pass on values to their children.

Schools can help our children expand their social bonding beyond their homes and immediate families. By starting when they are young, we help every young Singaporean build bonds with many others, some similar to themselves, many different in various ways. This web of interlocking bonds, which extends beyond the family, will provide the important glue that holds Singapore society together.

This social glue will help us to withstand storms which blow our way. The recent economic slowdown and the recession in the mid-1980s were both occasions when our resolve to stick together was tested. On both occasions, we triumphed.

As we look towards the future, the forces for progress can also have negative consequences. For example, the Internet can pull together like-minded individuals into virtual communities. But neighbours in adjoining flats might be strangers because each reads a different newspaper, watches a different TV channel and subscribes to different Internet communities.

Education will need to emphasise our common challenges, and our vision to make Singapore our home, so as to educate our children to be productive workers and responsible citizens.

I am encouraged that Malay/Muslim families place importance on the need for holistic development of the young, and support schools in their endeavour to educate our young. Family support goes a long way in encouraging the young to excel. The presence of good role models in the family and community, too will help to inspire others to continue to pursue their passion.

This evening, Berita Harian will be honouring one such role model for his achievements and contributions to the community. I hope that many more will be motivated by his example. Thank you.

______________________