Quotes About Singapore

Every time we look back on this moment when we signed this agreement which severed Singapore from Malaysia, it will be a moment of anguish. For me it is a moment of anguish because all my life … you see, the whole of my adult life … I have believed in Malaysia, merger and the unity of these two territories. You know, it's a people, connected by geography, economics and ties of kinship … Would you mind if we stop for a while?

My uncles and my father were all in the Royal Navy. One of my uncles, as a matter of fact, was drowned in the Sea of Singapore, having been fighting for the Royal Navy behind enemy lines, Japanese lines, in the hinterland of Singapore.

The most important thing for Singapore is stability.

I grew up in Singapore, and I went to Australia for law school, and after law school, I started doing stand-up comedy.

But at the end of the day, any president must try to unify Singapore... that must be in the heart of the man who wants to be the president.

If you crave a bit of adventure and the unknown, Singapore is not for you.

Having stayed in Singapore for a period of time, I've seen how parents here have high expectations of their children because they want their kids to do well.

Perhaps, like bureaucracies everywhere, government officials in Singapore are uncomfortable with groups who appeal successfully to the public's sense of idealism, and whose work cannot be easily quantified in economic terms. Officials can handle individuals and organisations who are in it for the money, but seem not to know how to deal with people who seek and promote more intangible and selfless rewards.

Under Goh, the government continued to be suspicious of prevailing popular opinion and special interests, and focused instead on what it saw as Singapore's long-term needs

Of all the attempts to propel Singapore faster along the path of political liberalisation, few have backfired as badly as the West's push for democracy and human rights

The Singapore School of Thought, as some began to call it, emphasised the lack of universality of many Western political norms...Singapore's own view emphasised economic and social rights which tended to be downplayed by some advocates of political ad civil liberties.

Singaporeans wanted the benefits of PAP government nationally, but locally, they were prepared to elect opposition candidate to check on the ruling party in parliamnet

But the habit of framing issues in terms of Asian and Western values did distort Singapore's view of its own challenges. Policy-makers looking through the filters of the Asian values debate tend to be unsympathetic to appeals for state welfare from down-and-out Singaporeans - since Asians are supposed to believe in self-reliance - rather than viewing them as the inevitable victims of capitalist industrialization and urbanization.

I was also troubled by the apparent over-confidence of a generation that has only known stability, growth and prosperity. I thought our people should understand how vulnerable Singapore was and is, the dangers that beset us, and how we nearly did not make it. Most of all, I hope that they will know that honest and effective government, public order and personal security, economic and social progress did not come about as the natural course of events.

If Mr Mah is unable to defend himself, he deserves to lose. No country in the world has given its citizens an asset as valuable as what we've given every family here. And if you say that policy is at fault, you must be daft." - when asked about a Straits Times report that cited keen opposition interest in contesting Tampines GRC, which National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan helms, so that they can raise the affordability of public housing as an election issue

I was born in Singapore, and I lived there until I was 12. I had a very fortunate upbringing.

I'm completely taken and impressed by the planning authority of Singapore and its Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). It's the most cutting-edge agency in the world. They have very effective guidelines for development, and they review design as it evolves.

Singapore was the very first South-east Asian nation to join the global coalition against ISIL (ISIS) coalition, and we'll work to sustain our momentum in destroying that terrorist organisation.

When it comes to Singapore's sovereignty, there can be no doubt where the WP has stood and will continue to stand. We stand with Singapore.

In political, strategic as well as economic and commercial areas, Singapore has become a fulcrum for India's policies east of India.

I wasn't talking about the weather, said Abe. Although it's the hottest, most humid, most miserable goddamn hellhole I've ever been in. Worse than Burma in '43. Worse than Singapore in typhoon weather. Jesus, it's worse than Washington in August.

Singapore has no natural resources, no great army, no special political sway. Its secret lies in its people—and the government has intentionally cultivated these human resources as the driver of its economy. Schools are the incubator for Singapore's outstanding workforce.

Because he had a good agent, he had a good contract. Because he had a good contract, he was in Singapore an hour after the explosion. Most of him, anyway.

The watch is very old, purchased from a specialist dealer in a fortified arcade in Singapore. It is military ordnance. It speaks to the man of battles fought in another day. It reminds him that every battle will one day be as obscure, and that only the moment matters, matters absolutely. The enlightened warrior rides into battle as if to a loved one's funeral, and how could it be otherwise?