NDP CELEBRATION . AFTERGLOW . THE VILLAGE

fri was cool. the celebration. hahaz.. e community singing com was cool. and 4/5 rawked the house manz!!! they were superb!! and tehre were like all guys? tt klas is lucky to haf so many sporting guys. it was a brilliant performance. we shld do smth similiar nxt yr.. =) aft tt we had e afterglow. it was kinda ok.. but i din realli enjoy myself. i dunno why. it seems tt e glow wasnt there alreadi. shld haf had 2 afterglow much earlier. when we were stil "glowing" very brightly. does this make sense?? nvm.. =p i understand enuff le ^.-

aft tt we went to watch e village. we went princess cinema. hahaz.. budget worz.. onli 5 buckz. and i think itz a gd bargain yea.. cuz we can watch 2 movies wit 10 buckz.. but if we go gv onli can watch one? hahaz.. so ppl wanna save money can try out that place. perfect setting for a horror movie anywae =p but i tell u.. the village suked to e core. dun watch manz,.. itz an absolute waste of gd cash. if i were to rate it upon 5 stars.. itz onli gonna get 1.. cuz nobody gives 0 right? 0.o anywae... half mark was for e erm.. symapthy pt? =x and another half pt for gaving such a ncie and deceiving trailer. mayb i shldnt haf watched e movie.. den judging on e trailer i would gif it a like 3/4 pt? lolx.. it had a realli messy plot. and the story line is so unclear. took like half an hr for e story 2 develop. pathetic. =p

COLOUR MY WORLD

sat morning had 2 wake up real earli for choir. wah.. my eyes realli cannot open manz.. choir was pathetic. and we gonna haf a performance this fri. gonna sing ermz.. wings, let's celebrate life, dandansoy and stand by me. e first 3 are kinda ok lar.. but stand by mi.. i think itz gonna suk. dunno why it ain scraped off. but anywae.. itz for e cherz 2 decide. i think i wnana pon e performance. but i may go aft all. kidna bad 2 leave e rest there yea..

aft tt we went for colour my world. it rawks manz~! kidna easy work for 6 cip hrs. i enjoyed painting ppl faces. hahaz.. fun wad =p sry 2 all my victims. i cant name emz.. cant rmb so many. and thnx a e ppl who helped mi paint my face. i also got some paint spots on my shirt, so i juz play play lor.. got e handprint.. hahaz.. on my shirt. one in front and one pbehind.. kinda nice =p

e selling... ^.^ i realli got fed up in e beginning.. hahaz.. some realli rude ppl dun care tt u're trying 2 sell em pins wit our best efforts. they juz walk awae like some moron. saw lotsa army guys. but most of em had wallets in their bags... which was like huge!! but at least they apologise lar.. so nt so bad. sum parents.. waliew.. their small kids wanna donate to charity!! and they push em awae.. piang>.< think ="x" 2 =")">

aft tt we went to hang out at tm.. den sianz.. so we go jovin house. wah.. his room v neat worz.. dunno y all my cousin room not liddat one.. his room abit like too neat.. LOLX.. even my room also messier.. =p den aft tt we went to play bb at e court. so long no play tehre le.. miss e daes when we used to spend our afternoons there. n i deproved alot. haiz.. from a lousy player.. im now hopeless =( haizx.. but aft tt we went to eat desert at 85!! my fave. mi ate ice jelly.. nice manz.. especially aft baking in e sun for so long. =p den ttz bout all lor.. but at night i kinda fever, dunnoz y. muz be s sun and e air con. now quite ok le.. but still feeling abit uneasy. pls dun let mi fal lsick again. it sukz..

NATIONAL DAY MESSAGE 2004

"Flying Singapore Higher"

When I was sworn in as Prime Minister on 28 November 1990, I pledged:
"to ensure that Singapore thrives and grows after Mr Lee Kuan Yew; to find a new group of men and women to help me carry on where he and his colleagues left off; and to build a nation of character and grace where people live lives of dignity and fulfilment, and care for one another."
It has been 14 years since I made that pledge. Though this National Day Message is my last, I address you with a happy heart.
Our economy has grown significantly. Our society is more compassionate, open and gracious. We have inducted a capable group of younger leaders. As a people, our bonds have deepened. As a nation, we are maturing. We are now more confident of who we are, and what we stand for.
The first seven years produced bountiful harvests. We distributed the fruits, and helped lower-income Singaporeans.
The next seven became lean years. First, Southeast Asia was struck by the Asian Financial crisis. Then followed September 11, terrorism, SARS and economic recession.
But we did not throw up our hands in despair. We rallied and fought back. We worked and grew our economy again.
And together we defeated SARS. It was a frightening time. A good number of our loved ones died. This was my saddest moment in government.
But our collective response to SARS and other crises strengthened my confidence in Singapore's future.
We went through fire together; the steel in us strengthened.
This is what I am proudest of, my fellow Singaporeans, this fighting spirit, the character of our people, our strong bond and social cohesion.
Many of you have thanked me for taking care of Singapore. Tonight, I want to thank you. I have had the privilege of leading Singapore. I could not have shouldered the responsibility alone. I am deeply grateful to you, my fellow Singaporeans, for your support. And the support of my Cabinet colleagues, Members of Parliament and my Party.
The responsibility of taking our nation further will now rest on the shoulders of the next generation of leaders. How do we fly Singapore higher and further? I want to share with you key lessons which I have learnt over the past 14 years.
First, Singapore's future depends on the commitment of its people to the country.
Building a nation is not like building a block of flats. It is not just a matter of laying bricks and pouring concrete. Material wealth alone is not enough to root Singaporeans to Singapore. More important are the emotions and intangibles that bond us to our country - our shared values and memories, our families and friends, our progress as one people and our common commitment to a society where each of us can achieve his or her full potential. I believe that Singaporeans will love their country more when they feel valued and have the opportunity to shape its future.
The second critical factor to keep Singapore going is trust - the trust between the different communities and the trust between the people and the Government. The discovery of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) network after 9/11 shocked our people. I was worried that it could break the trust between our Muslim and other communities.
I remember our first dialogue session at Kallang Theatre with community and religious leaders. The anxiety was palpable. We explained why the Government had made the JI arrests and that they were not targeted at Muslims. We urged non-Muslims to reach out to the Muslims. We also urged the Muslim community to integrate more with the other communities.
I was relieved when speaker after speaker - Muslim and non-Muslim alike - rose to support the Government's actions. They condemned the terrorist plot as the work of misguided individuals. They emphasized that the plot had nothing to do with our Muslim community.
We could deal with race and religion so openly because of the mutual trust we had built over the years. We have deepened this trust with the way we handled the JI episode.
The third critical factor for Singapore's future success is the quality of national leadership.
Singaporeans are not naturally drawn to politics. So we have to systematically seek out good and able people and persuade them to become MPs and Ministers. And amongst them, there must be at least one who can eventually take over the controls.
Politics was not in my blood. I was asked to stand for elections in 1976 by the late Mr Hon Sui Sen, who was then Finance Minister. I accepted. It was my duty and privilege to serve the country. I had benefited from how Singapore was run. Like many of my generation, my family could not afford to send me to university. I went through university on a government bursary. I advanced in my career because Singapore was not run on the basis of race, family connections or money, but on equal opportunities and merit. By the time Mr Hon's invitation came, I was the managing director of Neptune Orient Lines, leading a comfortable life away from public glare.
I never dreamt that one day I would become your Prime Minister. When I took over from Mr Lee Kuan Yew, many people, including my grassroots leaders, worried for me. At my first National Day Rally, my friends feared that I might fall flat on "live" television. After I finished my speech, I could hear the collective sigh of relief. The audience clapped! And I saw Senior Minister Lee beaming away. He looked immensely relieved. He wanted the younger team to succeed. Had I failed, I would have jeopardised the process of political self-renewal.
Like Mr Lee, I have paid much attention to leadership self-renewal. Planned, orderly transition is what distinguishes Singapore. In other countries, the politicians exploit the divisive forces in society to get elected and, in the process, pull their countries apart. I call this the "politics of dissension and divergence". In Singapore, the political leaders do not fight for personal power or gain. Instead, they mobilise the society's energies for the nation's collective interest. This "politics of consensus and convergence" is the best way forward for us.
I have piloted Singapore for nearly 14 years. Everything is in good working order. The economy is growing strongly. Growth in the first half was 10%. For the whole year, we can expect growth to be between 8 and 9%. Now is a good time for me to hand over the controls to a new captain and his crew.
Hsien Loong and his team will face different and tougher challenges ahead. The world has become more uncertain. The global economic environment will be more competitive. We must expect lower-skilled jobs to migrate to lower-cost countries. Older, less-educated workers will have to be retrained.
Hsien Loong will also have to deal with fundamental changes in Singapore society. There are fewer babies and more old people. He will have to manage the rising expectations of the younger generation. Many more Singaporeans will live and work overseas. He must make sure that their hearts continue to be Singaporean.
I am confident about Hsien Loong and his team. They are ready to take our nation to a new level. But they cannot do this on their own. They will need your full support and active participation to fly Singapore to greater heights.
I am very happy that I can leave the office of Prime Minister at a time of my own choosing. I do so with full confidence about Singapore's future. We may meet the occasional storm but we will pull through.
I will be there with you too. Hsien Loong has asked me to stay on in the Cabinet. I have agreed to do so.
Tomorrow, when we celebrate our National Day, my heart will fill with pride for Singapore.
My fellow Singaporeans, serving you has been the highest honour of my life.
I wish you a very happy National Day!

tis e national dae msg for 2004. the last msg frm pm goh? nva realli paid attention 2 it b4, but this yr, i felt tt his words held very impt meaning. it held alot of truth, tt we singaporean had stayed united as one through all the crisis.. be it sars.. terrorist attacks.. and the economic downturn which we faced. i am proud to declare tt im a singaporean. it is very different as compared to being a citizen of another country, i realised. living together with the many races and religion, we are adapting. fights or riots do not break out as and when ppl disagree. we are living peacefully, happily. this is what makes us different. this is what makes singaporean special. =)
tml's national day. it has been 2 yrs. i stil rmb 2 yrs ago, it was our performance. our pride. the stadium was our stage! it was our finale. it was e result of the hard work we put in since feb t aug. and time realli flies. now.. we can onli look back at how glamour and happy we were, performing our best tt night. and tml night, there would be another batch of ppl. putting up a performance for our country's 39th birthday. it would be another batch of fireworks. different from the ones we had ooh and aah at 2 yrs ago. there would be different faces, and act 3 wouldnt be the act comprising of 750 temasekians dressed up in pink and green, with the gurls holding on o ballons and the guys[wit sum gurls in guys outfit.. hehez ;)] with shield and lightstckz. everything would be different. if onli we could perform again. if onli the 750 of us, can get tgt.. wit out shield and lightsticks stuff.. wit the army instructors and mr chong and mr peter gan and the teachers wit all their make up and kfc being our food provider... would it ever be possible for thigns to repeat again? can there be an encore of act 3 of 2002 ndp parade? if onli everything is possible.. if onli.. it would be cool right? for us to come together and perform again =) but anywae.. i hope it wun rain tml. and tt everything would go smoothly. ndp'04.. all the best~!

okie.. this has realli been a long entry.. n i gtg. cya ppl~! take care. enjoy e long weekend. smile`!

"We went through fire together; the steel in us strengthened."