"What of the future? The future is what we make of it and we will use to best advantage the factors in our favour," said Mr Lee Kuan Yew in a speech on Feb 6 1969, marking the 150th anniversary of the founding of Singapore.
Anniversaries, he said in his speech, did not mean 'harking back to some idyllic, romanticised past'.
"For us this anniversary is a significant and formal moment, for a brief pause, to study and scrutinise the record of the last 150 years, learn the lessons therefrom, and with confidence renewed surge forward to improve upon the past," Mr Lee Kuan Yew said.
And looking to the future towards Singapore's bicentennial, Mr Lee said:
"Those of us who will be present then can look back on 200 years and say how right it was that we worked and sweated on the assumption that NO ONE OWED US A LIVING, that we strove so hard and nurtured so rugged and robust, so resilient and resourceful a generation.
Without this physical and spiritual ruggedness, all the fruits, the results of our labour even in concrete and steel, could end literally in ruins -- ruins for the delectation of tourists in the year 2019, as they rummage in the rubble and dustbins of Singapore's past. ... But we are not going to let that happen."
In 2019, Singapore will celebrate her bicentennial or 200th anniversary since 1819.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said it will be a good time to reflect on our history, how far we have come, and how far we have yet to go.
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