Let me ask all of you a question. Who wants to be a millionaire? I am sure many of us here wish we were a millionaire. But how about asking it in more specific terms, a millionaire in which country?
Some of you have travelled to Vietnam, and you know that you can became an instant millionaires in Vietnam, 1 million dong is only about S$121!
Travelling further, if we go up to Turkey, a million Turkey liras is less than S$1.50, we easily become billionaires in Turkey!
Singaporeans are frequent travellers and we travel to many different places. But ultimately, the preference is still here our home in Singapore because we feel that we are in a safe place. And not only us, many foreigners also perceive that Singapore is a clean and safe place to be.
But that perception was somewhat shaken with the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. We became aware that some places that we thought to be safe were not so completely safe after all. And Singaporeans were even more shocked with news of the arrests of the Jemaah Islamiah members for terrorist-related activities here in Singapore.
So, are we questioning whether Singapore is a safe place? My answer is Yes, our home is still a safe place for us.
Let me assure you that the thirteen arrested last month under the Internal Security Act belonged to the minority. The majority of the Malay Muslims community in Singapore are peace loving people and they are very much ordinary Singaporeans just like one of us.
This group of thirteen terrorists had planned to attack targets with American interests. However, the plan was never carried out. Perhaps their master realised that Singaporeans are one united people and hence, kept postponing the plan.
However, we must not be complacent and take for granted the multi-racial harmony we have. I urge all of you to play a part in not only maintaining the harmony but also to make efforts to get to know our neighbours better.
It is indeed timely that the Prime Minister is setting up Inter-racial Confidence Circles in the constituencies. The different communities must interact and communicate to understand each other well. We have had many activities among the various ethnic groups to foster racial harmony. From now on, we will refocus our activities to establish mutual trust among the various ethnic groups. We have known one another. We must strive to trust one another.
Taxi operators too play a very important role in the happenings around us. You are on the roads so often and meet many different people. All along, many of our taxi operators are very alert and should they any one behaving suspiciously, they promptly report to the police. I believe they will be more active now that we are facing the threat of terrorism.
Today we are giving out 86 education grants worth $10,400 to help your children with their education expenses. We hope that your children will not be affected by the economic downturn. Only when we have a safe environment that they can focus on their studies and you can focus on driving safely. Thus it is the responsibility of each one of us to make sure that Singapore is a safe place to live in. Thank you.
