We worked hard to achieve racial and religious harmony. It is not a given.

We worked hard to achieve racial and religious harmony. It is not a given. We didn't have it in the beginning.

We achieve this pleasant state of affairs through provisions, interventions and regulations - the ethnic quota for HDB flats, the GRC system, laws against hate speech and a rotation of the head of state to reflect our multiracial composition and to signal to the world that we are a multiracial society.

This is a state of affairs not to be taken for granted, but to be maintained through constant efforts.