27 September 2006

Brother Peter Foo, the Visitor in Singapore of the Christian Brothers’ Schools
Brother Michael Broughton, Area Director De La Salle Brothers
Fellow Josephians, friends, ladies and gentlemen

When I was preparing for this event, I was wondering whether I should address you as “SJI old boys”, or “ex-Josephians”. Then I realised that there is no such thing as an ex-Josephian. Once a Josephian, always a Josephian.

It’s good to be back in these hallowed halls. Singaporeans know this place as the Singapore Art Museum. To us Josephians, it will always be SJI. In this very hall, I learnt how to overcome my fears and made my first attempt at public speaking. In these corridors, my classmates and I would play football with a stone during recess time. These classrooms bring back so many fond memories of our teachers and their invaluable lessons: Mr Frank James, who taught us to love books, Mr Eber who tried to teach us to sing, and the Brothers who taught us to fear God, and to serve our fellow men. Across the field, I recall not only the many fierce inter-school football matches, but also the even fiercer fights on the last day of school, when old scores were settled. In a tiny little room behind the library, I remember the many late nights working with a few others to desperately get the CBS News out on time.

I am delighted to see that this special brand of education – a values-centred all-round education -- that so many of us benefited from, that has prepared young people well for the world for the past 154 years, can now be made available to even more young people, not just from Singapore but from around the region.

When Brother Michael Broughton and others on the Governing Board briefed me about their plans to set up SJI International a few months ago, I gave my personal support for the proposal immediately. I felt that this was the right direction for SJI and other established schools to take, in line with the current changes in the Singapore education system.

Schools play a key role in preparing our young people for life – developing them into decent human beings with sound values and upright morals; good citizens who will contribute to the growth of our economy and the well-being of their fellow citizens, and responsible spouses and parents who will love and care for their families. To play this important role effectively, the education they provide must be relevant to the needs of our time and responsive to the many challenges rising to meet us.

There are two major driving forces that will shape the future that our children will face - globalization and technological advancement. Together, they are drastically changing the world that we know, both positively and negatively.

First, in the globalised world, key cities the world over – whether Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Shanghai, Bangalore, or Jakarta, will be much more cosmopolitan and diverse compared to now. Our children will live and work alongside people of many different nationalities, races and religions.

Second, technology will continue to change the way we live, work and play, with significant impact, on the nature of jobs, lifestyles, and how people interact with each other. More importantly, societal norms and values will change with significant implications on the family and community.

Third, while technology and globalization help bring about a closer and smaller world in physical terms, they can also widen gaps and increase tensions among peoples, communities and countries. For example, people with ideas, knowledge, expertise or skills will command a premium in earning power over the others, widening the income gap and heightening social tensions. Our young will need to understand these issues and deal with them in appropriate ways personally and as a community.

How then should SJI and SJI International respond so as to prepare our young for this brave new world?

At a time of fast rapid change and social upheavals, SJI should remain steadfast to its founding mission and build on its existing strengths.

Through its value-centric education, SJI should continue to imbue our young with strong values and principles. The globalised world of tomorrow will be like a vast turbulent ocean. Our young will need self-confidence and a strong moral compass to journey through the rough seas in order to arrive at their destination safe and sound.

An important strength of SJI is its diverse learning environment. SJI students come from different socioeconomic backgrounds and profess different faiths. Some are extraordinarily smart while others are of average ability. With such a varied mix, SJI is able to nurture in its students cross-cultural sensitivity, inter-religious understanding, empathy, and strong social skills. All these are important attributes and mindsets, which can form the “glue” that hold communities and societies in a globalised world together as they move forward.

I am told that 20% of SJI students are from countries in the region, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, India, the Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. I expect that SJI International’s student population will be even more diverse - it plans to enroll 25% of its students from the region and another 25% from expatriate families based in Singapore. Over time, both SJI and SJI International will have many alumni throughout the region. This will be one of its most significant contributions to strengthen people-to-people ties in the region, in tandem with growing regional cooperation.

What must also not change is the spirit to experiment. I recall SJI was one of the first schools to go independent nearly 20 years ago when MOE gave some established schools more autonomy. More recently, SJI has introduced the Josephian Programme in collaboration with St Michael’s School, soon to be renamed SJI Junior.

As a private school, SJI International will have full flexibility to introduce programmes and curricula that are different from mainstream schools. Preparing students for the International Baccalaureate diploma instead of the A level examinations is one example.

SJI and SJI International should collaborate closely and there should be cross-fertilisation of good ideas and sharing of experiences. This way, SJI and SJI International will complement each other and contribute to the improvement of the education system in Singapore.

One concern about private schools is whether students from less well-to-do families can afford its fees. I am glad to note that in keeping with the Lasallian mission, SJI International will adopt a needs-blind enrolment policy. For a start, good students who require financial assistance can apply for scholarships to attend SJI International.

Two months ago, it was announced that there would be 50 scholarships for graduating SJI students to pursue the IB Diploma at SJI International. This only provides a link and a flow of students from SJI to SJI International. More importantly it provides opportunities to SJI boys who otherwise would not be able to pursue the IB Diploma or attend an International School.

Tonight, I am pleased to announce that SJI International will be offering up to $3 million worth of open scholarships over the next 2 years for bright students from Singapore and the region. These scholarships are tenable from the academic year 2007. The school will release further details next week.

These scholarships have been made possible through generous sponsorships by individuals and organizations in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. Many of them are represented here today. I would now like to name them and acknowledge their significant contribution.

Mr Anthoni Salim, an SJI old boy, has pledged $1 million to provide scholarships for Indonesian and Singaporean students who wish to do Bahasa Indonesia as part of their studies in SJI International. SJI International will set up the Salim-SJI International Centre for Indonesian Language and Culture and build it up as a centre of excellence.

A*STAR will sponsor up to 5 regional students a year under its Young Researchers’ Programme to study in SJI International. These students will enroll in SJI International from Grade 9 (Sec 3) to Grade 12 (Pre-U 2) and will receive special mentoring in science research as part of their scholarship programme.

The other scholarship sponsors are G-Steel Co Ltd, Keppel Corporation, United Overseas Bank, PT Bimantara Citra Tbk, Lippo Group, PT Saratoga Investama Sedaya, Java Energy Resources Pte Ltd, PT Renaissance Capital Asia, Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Company Ltd and Natural Park Public Co Ltd.

In addition, Dr Somsak from Thailand and Mr Lawrence da Silva, Chairman of SJI International Board of Governors, have agreed to jointly sponsor the chapel in the SJI International campus.

I thank all of them for their generosity and welcome them as our partners in developing this unique international education institution dedicated to developing the young in the region. I also want to acknowledge the untiring effort of old boys Philip Yeo, Michael Sng and Tan Chong Lee in making a relentless “sales pitch” on behalf of SJI International, and convinced all these sponsors to come forward. They tell me that the support SJI International has received so far has encouraged them to approach other corporations, in Singapore and overseas, to sponsor more students especially those from less well-to-do backgrounds. SJI International aims to provide scholarships and financial assistance to at least 20% of its student population eventually.

Ladies and gentlemen, these are exciting times ahead as we all work together to build SJI International. I am excited at the opportunities our students will have, and the good that SJI International can do in nurturing a new generation of young people in our region who can thrive and succeed in the our global world, and who can build bridges of friendship and understanding so that love, peace and hope will be the dominant language, rather than hate, war and despair.

I wish the good people working on and supporting this wonderful enterprise all the best.

ORA ET LABORA

Thank you.

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