Remarks by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan at the NUS 120 Gala Dinner, Sands Expo & Convention Centre, 3 July 2025

ESM Goh Chok Tong

NUS Pro-Chancellors Mr Po’ad Mattar, Mr Chan Sek Keong and Mrs Theresa Foo

NUS Chairman Mr Hsieh Fu Hua

NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye

NUS family and friends,

My five years in NUS were the best years of my life. If each and every one of you here reflects on your personal journey, your time in university would have made all the difference. It gave us opportunities; for many of us, certainly in my case, we met our spouses in university.

2. Tonight, on NUS’ 120th anniversary, it is a good opportunity to take a zoom lens, zoom it out and ask ourselves: what has been the larger national, and even regional impact of our alma mater? I wanted to leave three metaphors in your mind.

3. The first metaphor is to think of a cradle. The second, think of a citadel with open gates. And the third metaphor is a launchpad. Let's deal with the first metaphor: a cradle. I believe the University of Singapore, with the start in 1905 of the Straits Settlement and the Federated Malay States Government Medical School, was in fact, a cradle for the emergence of a national identity, of laying the seeds for independence, for making locals realise that we had major problems- for instance, a horrendous infant mortality rate that point in time; and it also awakened the consciousness because it was a school that started small, expanded because there was a need, and because there were people who were capable of being educated. There was support from the business sector like Mr Tan Jiak Kim. And when you put these things together, you end up with a group of locals, different races, different languages and religions picking up the skills which they needed in school. I am sure the colonialists didn't do it out of pure altruism; but they awakened in the locals this sense that, given the opportunities, we can be as good as anyone else, anywhere in the world. Despite our differences, we could learn, we could graduate, we could make a difference. And so I'm sure that the establishment of the medical school in 1905, Raffles College in 1928, and the merger in 1949, and then by 1959 the establishment of two campuses, one in Singapore called the University of Malaya, Singapore and another campus in Kuala Lumpur, which in turn became the University of Malaya. So it is worth remembering that, in fact, this august institution has given birth to two national universities.

4. And then, of course, fast forward to 1980, we merged with Nanyang University (Nantah). Despite all the political controversy, the main impact of that was to bring everyone together in a single stream of education. Of course, in the subsequent years, the government has had to expand and build new universities. But the point is, the National University of Singapore has been an integral cradle for the development of national consciousness, national identity, national unity, independence and awakening. That’s the first point.

5. The second metaphor- think of a citadel. A citadel is like a fortress, a strong point defending an area. But it is unusual for a citadel to have open gates. What do I mean by that? When I entered medical school in 1980, about one-fifth of my class were not born in Singapore. I asked my staff recently to check our answers in Parliament for the number of international students in universities. I don't have the figure specific for NUS, but generally the figure runs at about 10%. And the other factoid that I picked up was that about half of our students at NUS get some overseas exposure.

6. Now the point is this, the moment Singapore became an independent city state, it was not viable for us to erect walls, lift up the drawbridges and make Singapore an autocratic, individualised state. We needed to open gates, open to talent, open to ideas, and to make ourselves useful and relevant. So the point that I am trying to make that is that even for the future, NUS needs to have open gates, and we need to have our fair share of access to talent and ideas, while still remembering that this is the citadel based in Singapore, to protect Singapore, dependent on the hard core of Singaporeans, but never with closed minds or closed attitudes.

7. When we were walking up just now, I told Mr Goh Chok Tong that half the current Cabinet are graduates of NUS. This is important not for narrow, parochial reasons, but it is important because it illustrates the university’s role in building a Singapore core whilst we still remain open, and we continue to send some of our best Singaporeans overseas – either at their undergraduate level or post-graduate level where they pick up those ideas, build an effective team and deliver the goals of Singapore.

8. My third metaphor is about being a launchpad. You know the reason why in 1905 we were still a colony I believe, is because Asian societies missed the last industrial revolution. Some parts of Asia had assumed that we had reached the zenith of civilisation, and we didn't pay enough attention to technology, application of technology, new discoveries and did not keep track of intellectual and academic analysis. But whichever civilisation first mastered technology, had the enormous economic, followed by military advantage, and that's why we were colonised. But the point I'm making tonight is that we are in fact, in the early phases of a new set of technological revolutions.

9. Specifically, if you think about digital technologies and especially the advent of large language models, if you think about the advancements in medicine and biotechnology, and if you think  about both the need and the potential for development in renewables, what you have is three interlocking technological revolutions, feeding off and accelerating and catalysing each other. My point is, there is real industrial technological development, and the key is to make sure that this time, we in Singapore and in Asia, don't get left behind. And here is where I wanted to emphasise that NUS and the other universities in Singapore must be the launchpad for these technological developments, for the pursuit of science and its application- it's not just the hard sciences in isolation; the engineering, the economics, the sociology, the politics, the internal plumbing, identity and contest even in the political arena that must go on in these new societies, the development of a new social compact, the appropriate response to a new gilded age, the fears of inequality- these are the pressing challenges and the opportunities for this new era. So my point is that we must make sure our university continues to be a launchpad and keeps us ahead.

10. Let me end by just reflecting some geostrategic points, since I've been a foreign minister now for almost 10 years. The world is actually in a far more dangerous phase than it has been for a long time. Superpower rivalry, hot wars in the Middle East, Ukraine, and tensions in the Pacific. It is a far more tumultuous, volatile and unpredictable world. And all this is also accelerated by the technological changes which I outlined earlier. In the last one month, I have been to both the United States and to China. I have told both sides that we don’t want to be forced to take sides. They both reassure us, “yes, yes, we won't force you to take sides”, although I know in their hearts that they would prefer for us to choose a side. 

11. But, I just want to focus on the academic and scientific impact of this geostrategic fracture. For several centuries, those of us in science have actually worked, refined, and contributed to a single application stack- you made a discovery, applied it, the inventor had a patent, but the point is, every discovery fed into the next round of innovation, improvement and refinement. If globally, there is a fracture between the superpowers, a fracture in the academic and scientific worlds, this must mean first, higher inflation because the world would no longer be organised on efficiency; it would be organised in the name of national security and resilience which in turn, means it would put efficiency at a lower level of priority. The second impact is a world where countries are less inter-dependent, a world where countries are less willing to take risks, a world where big countries are willing to apply might, and say that might is right- a very uncomfortable world for small city-states like us. And the third impact is in science, because instead of us all working, refining and improving a single application stack, we will be in a world where if we break apart, we will slow down progress. It's worth NUS leadership’s thinking- where does that leave Singapore, what are the dangers and what are the opportunities. I wanted to focus on the opportunities: if we can maintain the confidence and the ability to be independent, to be open, to be inclusive, to be scientific, to be rational, and to be able to work with people regardless of where they have come from, regardless of provenance, we can make Singapore and especially NUS, a sanctuary for global talent who actually just want to do research, innovate and apply to make the world a better place.

12. In conclusion, the point is that NUS has been far more than just a personal journey for all of us. It has played an absolutely essential role in the short 60-year history of our nation. It will play an even more critical role given the state of the world, of science, politics and economics in this acute phase that we are in. So I want to end by wishing all the current students, the leadership of NUS, the professors, the best of luck- it's going to require more than luck; it will require a combination of confidence and intellect for the organisation. We are not short of challenges and risks, but it will be an exciting time. I think for many of us, we will look at the students with envy because this is actually a wonderful time to be alive and to watch the world unfold. So I wish you all the very best of health and much happiness in the years to come. A happy 120th anniversary to NUS. Thank you all very much.

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