Mrs Wee Cho Yaw
Mr Wong Kan Seng
Ee Cheong, Wei Ling and members of the Wee Family
Swee Chen, Teck and the NTU Family
A very good afternoon to all of you.
1. Today, we are gathered here to celebrate the legacy of Dr Wee Cho Yaw. I did not have the privilege of working directly with Dr Wee Cho Yaw, but I will share some observations and a few stories of how he has inspired all of us.
2. Dr Wee Cho Yaw was a very successful businessman, not just in Singapore, but also in the region. For many of us in the education fraternity, we remember Dr Wee not just as a successful businessman, but also as someone who is kind-hearted and walks the talk. We have heard from Ee Cheong, Wei Ling and Teck about this philosophy of 饮水思源. Many people may talk and teach the younger generation about this but Dr Wee is not a man of many words. He did not just talk about this. He did it, and he showed the younger generation the way. That is how he inspired the younger generation, in the business community in 中华中商会, NTU, and across many other schools that he has contributed to.
3. Today, I will share one story of how his contribution goes beyond just monetary contributions. I shall not name the school, but this was a story told to me by one of the principals. The principal went up to Dr Wee many years ago and asked for a contribution of a certain sum of money to build something for the school. Now, the easy thing for Dr Wee to do amidst his busy schedule was perhaps to write a cheque and hand it to the school. But Dr Wee invited him to make a presentation on why he needed that sum of money for that particular project. Having listened to the needs of the school, Dr Wee sat down with the principal and discussed with him how he could achieve the same result with half the resources.
4. Now, you might think that Dr Wee was just trying to save some money. This was not the case. Instead, he was giving more than just money to the school. He was helping the school and the leadership of the school understand in today's terms, what we call "impactful giving". It is not just about giving - but making an impact and making the best use of the resources that one can have. He wanted to make sure that everyone who received the resources will make the best use of it, to impact the most people in the most significant way possible. To me, that beats just writing a cheque and having the school or letting the school do whatever they deem fit. It is that commitment of time and talent - beyond the contribution of treasures that makes Dr Wee special. I think there are different of such examples from the community who have benefitted from his contributions. So, we thank Dr Wee not just because of his monetary contribution, but we thank him for his contribution of his time and talent to enable the rest to do better.
5. Hence, this is where we thank UOB and the Wee family for making this significant contribution to NTU. I hope that NTU will use it for three purposes.
6. First, while I am quite sure the gift will benefit a few hundred students who are from less privileged backgrounds, I hope that the gift will inspire generations of NTU students to give back to society. It is one thing for a few hundred students to benefit from the scholarships and the opportunities, but it is another thing for hundreds of NTU students each year to understand the spirit behind this gift - to understand that for each and every one of us who have been successful and privileged enough to go to NTU, it is also our responsibility to pay it forward. The success of NTU is not so much how many students it has helped in this generation. The success of NTU has to go further. It is how NTU students will work hard to make sure that the next generation will have fewer people who need the help. This is what I learnt during my time in MSF, the Ministry of Social and Family Development. Our success is not how many people we help here and now, but our success is how many people we do not need to help in the next generation, as they are able to stand for themselves - and in turn, they become contributors of society.
7. The second wish that I have for NTU with this gift from UOB and the Wee Foundation is this. NTU is in a unique position, with its programmes like the NTU Masters' Programme and Mayors' Programme. I hope that NTU will continue to aspire to groom generations of leaders across the region to be friends of Singapore whether in China, Indonesia, Vietnam, India and so forth.
8. On this note, I would like to thank Ee Cheong and UOB because recently, UOB started a scholarship to look for bright, promising leaders in the region where UOB has a business presence, for them to also benefit from the Singapore education system. In time to come, we will widen our network of friends for Singapore. The success of this will go beyond just success for NTU, as it is also the success of Singapore in time to come.
9. Third, I know many of us in this room are concerned about the market turbulence. While some jokingly say that, well, with market turbulence also comes opportunity. Indeed, it is true that there are also opportunities amidst the current challenges, and this is where NTU can also play a role to position Singapore as a thought leader in how we can bring the world together, even as the world threatens to fragment. Examples of such work done in NTU includes the NTU Business School, the Rajaratnam School of International Studies, and even the scientific academia establishment in NTU.
10. In a world that threatens to fragment and de-globalise, in Singapore, we firmly believe that there are companies, people, and countries who still look for a safe harbour where people respect the rule of law and come together to mobilise capital, aggregate talent and protect intellectual property. These are the advantages of Singapore, where we can double down and distinguish ourselves, even amidst challenging times like this. Our universities, including NTU, can play a role. Even before this period, I will argue that NTU and our other academic institutions have quietly played this role, and it has become more important than even before.
11. Whenever we see parties in conflict, whenever we see contestation of ideas, we ask and challenge ourselves: Are we, as fellow Singaporeans, able to help bridge those divides, transcend those divides and create new value propositions? If you study the life and works of Dr Wee Cho Yaw, you can draw inspiration from how he contributed not just to the local community, but also to Singapore's standing in the region, and how with his business acumen, he was able to help people bridge divides and create new winning value propositions for Singapore and the rest of the world.
12. On this note, once again, I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to UOB, the Wee Foundation and the Wee family for your generous contribution, and most importantly, for exemplifying what a successful businessman can do to impact our community, uplift all Singaporeans and fly our flag high in the international community. Thank you very much.