The Annotated National Day Rally 2012: Part I A Home With Hope and Heart Friends and fellow

Singaporeans We have travelled from Third World to First. You know the Singapore story to date well. Our question is what is the next chapter of this story? Where do we want Singapore to be 20 years from now?
Comment [A4]: He has the answer. This is a bad rhetorical question. Comment [A1]: He could have just entitled it Elsewhere. Comment [A2]: Who are these friends who are not captured under fellow Singaporeans? Comment [A3]: The old grand narrative is imposed on the nation from the start.

The next 20 years will see many changes in the world. The first big question will be: will there be peace or instability in the world, and in Asia? If it is not peaceful, if there are tensions, then we must brace ourselves for a rough ride. But if there is peace and prosperity worldwide, which looks likely, then it is going to be an exciting era of rapid progress and dramatic change.

Comment [A5]: Stating the obvious.

Comment [A6]: Perhaps the semiretired forecaster told him so?

We are both a country and a city. So when we look forward into our future, we have to see our future against what other countries are doing and also against what other cities are doing in the world. In Asia, I expect many countries will continue to rise and especially the biggest ones China and India. And they will compete against us in many business areas manufacturing, services, R&D and in some areas they will surpass us and some parts of China and India will certainly surpass us. But at the same time, these big giants will offer many opportunities for Singaporeans. Their cities: Shanghai, Beijing, Mumbai, Bangalore will become even more vibrant and exciting places to live and work. They already are, not quite so comfortable, not quite so clean environmentally but they will improve and for their people, it will be exciting. For Singaporeans, it will be very pleasant too. In the developed countries in the West, the change may not be so dramatic and their problems will also not be so easy to solve, like the problems which the Europeans are going through now. But their leading cities, like New York, Los Angeles, London, these I believe will continue to thrive because they are not only connected to their own countries and the problems in those countries, they are connected to the whole world. Talent flows in, resources flow in, ideas come in, new projects, new companies start up, new changes which influence the world. And we have to see ourselves against those cities and ask us where do [sic] we want to be.
Comment [A9]: In other words, we have to decide whether we want to let talent flow in too. Everyone, say Yes. Comment [A8]: He has not bothered to provide us with any evidence. Comment [A7]: One could start by looking at Myanmar and how it has put an end to press censorship.

One of the big changes in the world which will change the world will be technology. It will completely transform our lives. Already it is a huge part of how we live, work and play. We do not always realise it but it is. If I ask who in this room does not own a handphone, please put your hand up. (No one does.) You know what I mean. But think 20 years ago how it was in 1992, not a lifetime ago, just 20 years. It was not like that. People used coin phones, card phones. When recruits were called in camp, confinement, queue up to phone home, like that (points to picture of recruits queuing for public phone on screen). Today when you are called up or when your sons are called up BMTC Pulau Tekong, the first night the instructors tell them please use your handphone, call home. Call your mother first, then call your girlfriend.
Comment [A10]: They even care about whom recruits call first? This is totalitarianism at its worst.

In 1992, the Internet had not yet come to Singapore and nowhere in the world did anybody imagine Facebook or Youtube, or how these gizmos and new fangled things would impact societies, impact our lives. And today Singapore is one of the most wired countries in the world. So just think back those 20 years and ask yourself how you can imagine what 20 years from now will be like. Not just the technology but what the technology will do to our lives. I just give you a few examples of things which we can see now, which I think will be big in the next 20 years. A lot of it to do with IT, with computers, with robots. The first one is this mysterious thing (points to picture of UAV on screen). This unidentified flying object was seen at a BMT passing out parade on the (Marina Bay) floating platform recently. It created buzz on the Internet. People asked is this a secret spy project belonging to MINDEF. So I asked MINDEF, is this a secret spy project? MINDEF told me, after investigating the matter carefully, they said no, it has nothing to do with me. This is a UAV, an unmanned aerial vehicle. No pilot but it flies, it is smart. And whom does it belong to? Jack Neo filming his latest movie, Ah Boys to Men! It is just one of many users which UAVs will have in the future. Militaries use them reconnaissance targeting, communications; civilians use them. You can use them for crowd control, you can use them for civil defence purposes, you can use them to manage crops, to keep track of what is happening on broad areas. So many countries are interested in this.
Comment [A15]: So? What has it got to do with us? Comment [A14]: Yikes! The title already sounds repulsive. Comment [A13]: Of course not! The secret projects are those that no one will see. Duh. Comment [A11]: He has yet to get to the point after rambling on for one paragraph. Comment [A12]: Easy. 20 years back: PAP hegemony. Now: PAP hegemony. 20 years later: PAP hegemony.

The US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) ran a competition recently

on the Internet for people to design UAVs, using crowd sourcing. There was an NTU team which participated in this competition. The competition was called uavforge.net and the NTU team submitted a UAV, participated in this and that entry was called Extractor X. There were 140 teams which competed in this competition from all over the world. Extractor X from Singapore got into the final 10 and eventually ranked six out of this 140. And I should tell you that amongst the people whom they came ahead of, one was from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the other one was from the Japanese Ministry of Defence. So I think that we did well.
Comment [A16]: Who cares??

One day when you fly SIA, you may fly a UAV. It will take some time but it is technically possible. What I am not so sure is possible is that you can have something replace a Singapore Girl and that I think the human touch will be there for some time to come. But UAVs are examples of robot technology, computers and artificial intelligence which are going to be pervasive. In healthcare too, we are going to see changes. A*STAR is doing research on brainwaves. Reading brainwaves, using your brain. Just by thinking you control a robot and here (referring to picture on screen) this person is using his brain, you see all the electrodes attached to his head, he is controlling the computer, the computer is controlling this arm (mechanical) which is moving his left arm. So if you can imagine if he is a stroke victim, this is something which can help him exercise, regain his strength or move for him, become like a bionic person.
Comment [A17]: This bodes well for the future of euthanasia. He does have some good news to share after all.

How will these technological advances affect us? It is not just a gee whiz factor, cute to talk about. But it is going to cause the whole economy to change, entire industries to alter. Retailers are under pressure from online shops whether they are selling books, Amazon, whether they are selling videos. It is not even video delivered by mail but video comes down your broadband. Even groceries you can order, it will be delivered. No need for the shop, no need for the expensive rental space. Some jobs will disappear; others will have to be redesigned. Workers will have to be retrained, learn to use technology, how to raise productivity. You may be cleaning but you cannot just be sweeping the floor. You have to use a machine to do it better. You may be a personal secretary but your phone with Siri in a few years will be as smart as a personal secretary. The personal secretary will have to
Comment [A19]: Maybe hes thinking about a vacuum cleaner? Thats not exactly cutting-edge. Comment [A18]: Maybe no need warehouse too.

become an office manager to do other things which a phone cannot do. Our social norms will change, how we communicate with one another, how we interact with one another. It is going to transform Singapore in many ways which we cant tell.

Comment [A20]: Hopefully the phone is unable to sleep with the boss.

Comment [A21]: That means all the talk about technology is much ado about nothing. Great! He has survived more than 10% of his speech saying everything that amounts to nothing. Thats the best strategy to avoid getting flamed.