尊敬的校长、老师、亲爱的海星学子们：
- 大家早上好！今天我们齐聚一堂，共同庆祝海星中学66周年的创校纪念日。今年的主题是“铭记过去，放眼未来”。这个主题意义重大，让我们在回顾历史的同时，也展望未来。
- 了解过去，让我们更有身份认同感。海星中学成立于1958年，比1959年新加坡从殖民政府手中取得自治权早了一年，比1965年新加坡成为独立国家早了七年。1965年的新加坡非常贫困，住房严重短缺，失业率高，许多家庭为了一日三餐而忧心忡忡。当时新加坡的人均GDP仅为500美元（只有今天的0.56%），与墨西哥和南非水平相当。作为60年代出生的一代人，我们深知贫困和饥饿的滋味。
- 然而，生活的严酷现实，迫使我们这一代人迅速成长。即使在八、九岁的年纪，我就下定决心要努力学习，避免成为我这个六口之家中的负担。父亲总是教导我：“你要努力读书，长大后做个有用的人。”我问父亲：“什么是有用的人？”他的回答是：“取之社会，用之社会。”父亲的理念伴随了我一生，回馈社会，既是一种责任，也是有价值的人生目标。
- 在我小学三、四年级的时候，我非常幸运地遇到了一位班主任，她让我思考人生的意义和“幸福之道”。在她的语文课上，她给我们讲了很多课本之外的中国古典故事，如岳飞、文天祥、范仲淹和屈原的故事。这些英雄有一个共同点：他们都追求超越自我的更大的人生意义，即“大我”与“小我”的概念。
- 后来，这位老师还教导我们，在帮助他人之前，必须首先在自己所做的事情上做到出色。因此，有修身，齐家，治国，平天下的理念。许多年以后，回想起老师，我意识到她对学生充满了信心，相信他们终有一天会成就大事，能为社会和国家做出贡献。
- 回到2024年的今天，我是在和新一代，生活在完全不同环境和经历中的你们交流。你们大多数出生在2010年前后，那一年苹果公司推出了iPad，Instagram在发布的第一天就注册了25000名用户。你们这一代，在飞速发展的科技创新和丰富的物质条件中成长。你们要在截然不同的背景下，寻找人生的意义。
- 尽管我们的成长经历存在显著差异，但我们的过去和现在有着重要的联系。这是因为人类和社会的本质在历史上基本不变。我们需要安全、保障、爱和归属感。最重要的是，新加坡人命运在同一艘船上，同命相连。我们都必须尽自己的一份力，让这个国家和社会运转起来，共享未来。
- 在最近一篇题为《西方可以从新加坡学到什么》的文章中，哈佛大学教授Graham Allison引用了一些关键领域的数据，显示新加坡的治理比美国和英国更优秀。在文章的结尾，他提出了一个激进而不切实际的建议：美国和英国可以考虑在选举新总统和首相时，将他们的治理外包给新加坡四年。Allison教授说：“这是一个激进且不切实际的提议。但思考这个问题，可以帮助我们更清楚地知道，提高政府的治理水平，需要在哪些方面努力。”显然，Allison教授对新加坡这个不可思议的国家评价很高。
- 然而，当新加坡在1965年独立时，起步并不顺利。很少有人预料到新加坡会一直存在，更不用说繁荣了。我们的建国之父李光耀曾警告说，很难说，50年后新加坡是否仍然存在。对小国来说，前景并不乐观。而新加坡不仅小，甚至可以说是微不足道。
- 当我在你们这个年纪的时候，我理解了新加坡的这种窘迫。因此，我从小学五六年级开始就关注李光耀的演讲。我认为，了解地缘政治以及世界如何影响我们的生计和未来，永远不嫌早。认识更广阔的世界，可以为我们的学习和目标提供了良好的经验。这有助于我们在人生中做出更好的选择。正因为如此，我从未玩过电脑游戏，而是花时间阅读时事。
- 1974年，我进入海星中学接受教育。我努力学习，成绩优异。闲暇时间，我也尽情玩乐，热爱运动：羽毛球、篮球、田径和游泳。我还参加了全国少年军团，并担任学生会主席。在中四，我在O水准考试中名列前茅，然后进入了华侨中学。
- 据我所知，今天的礼堂里有270名小六学生和320名中四学生。每一个毕业班的学生都充满希望。就像你们的老师，以及我的小学班主任一样，我对你们现在和未来的成就充满信心。因为你们在海星中学学习过，你们将为这个社会和国家做出杰出的贡献。你们中的许多人，将成长为领导者、发明家、教师、运动员、医生和各领域的专家。我们的校友中有许多杰出的前辈，我们不缺乏现实生活中的榜样。
- Where do we start? First thing first. Set a goal. In my case, my life goal was “Become a useful person”.You may set a different goal. Goal-setting is like your north star, constantly illuminating your paths and showing you the direction when your paths get obscure. A good goal in turn creates a strong motivation in you. And a strong motivation makes you love what you do. When you love what you do, you will become very good at it.
- If I may, I would also like to suggest setting a goal larger and beyond yourself. A goal that benefits many people instead of just yourself. In a strange but sure way, focusing on others makes you less conscious of your limitations. It is less stressful, more fun. It is empowering. It is liberating. It is also a pathway to happiness.
- Secondly, be diligent. Pursuing a goal requires hard work and disciplined. It requires focus and concentration.
- Recently, I saw a documentary explaining how South Korea won more medals in Olympic archery events than any other countries (25 gold medals,9 silver and 7 bronze since 1984). A Korean national coach explained: by the time his archers finished the archery training in secondary school, they have shot more arrows than archers from other countries in their lifetime. To excel at the peak level, you have to put in the necessary efforts. It is hard work. There is no short cut.
- So if you have decided to excel in a field that you like, you have to work on it with passion and relentlessly. Some of you might have heard of the 10,000 hours rule to excellence popularised by Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers: The story of Success. He argues that the key to success is not just talent, but a substantial amount of practice.
- Thirdly, share your success with others. In my experience, success begets success. Have you ever tried explaining a complex concept to your classmates, or teach them what you have learnt? Because you need to explain and share, you actually force yourself to be more knowledgeable about a subject matter. Because you need to explain, you actually learn to communicate more effectively. You can only help others if you know more or deeper of a subject. You will be motivated to learn more when you want to help.
- In leadership development, I believe a leader’s job is to help his team members succeed, by value-adding, empowering and finding them resources. No leaders succeed alone. When every member of the team excels, the leader’s own achievements will naturally become evident.
- Many of you, having received the education and teachings in Maris Stella, will go on to excel in your studies in many fields. In time to come, you will take on leadership roles making impacts on your team, your organisation and society at large. The story of amazing Singapore will continue with you.
- I also earnestly hope you will stay in touch with your class even after leaving Maris Stella. I am very proud to tell you that my class of 78 still keeps close touch with each other till today. Once a Marist, always a Marist.
- Thank you all for your patience and indulgence. My heartfelt appreciation to all the teachers for your dedication and love for our students. You shape lives so that they in turn shape the destiny of this country. God bless Maris Stella!