uesday, 18th July 1967, the day when 114 officer cadets, the first graduates of SAFTI were commissioned into our armed forces, was also the day when the British Government announced in London that by the middle-70s they will want to leave their bases in Singapore and Malaysia.
In his speech at the Commissioning Ceremony, our founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew said:
"There are five years to go before 1973, the earliest of the middle-70s, or ten years to go before 1977, the latest part of the middle-70s. The British Government says that the precise time will depend upon the circumstances.
In this time, we have to build all the sinews we can so that we will not just be passengers in any defence alliance.
The more self-reliant and effective we become, the more desirable and reliable a partner we make in any defence arrangement.
What we lack in numbers, we will make up for in quality: in the standards of discipline, training, dedication and leadership.
There is no reason why we should not, by the middle-70s, achieve an equally secure arrangement against external aggression.
For we can safely assume that we need to make provision against the possibility of only a middling, not a big, power attack."
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