Speech by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the President’s Scholarship Award Ceremony 2025

Mr Chan Chun Sing, Coordinating Minister for Public Services and Minister-in-charge of the Public Service,
British High Commissioner, Mr Nikesh Mehta,
Chairman and Members of the Public Service Commission,
Distinguished Guests

1. My heartiest congratulations to this year’s President’s Scholarship recipients. My compliments to your parents, school leaders and teachers too, who are here to share this occasion with you.

2. Each year, the public sector awards many scholarships to promising young Singaporeans who are committing themselves to serving the nation through a career in the public service. Among these, the President’s Scholarship is awarded to those whom the PSC assesses to have the most outstanding package of traits, including all-round excellence and leadership potential.

3. We live in a world that is fundamentally less stable, and more profoundly uncertain, than seen in decades.

4. We know that Singapore is especially exposed to these shifts, as a small island state, with no energy or natural resources of its own. But we know too that our future rests not on what we have, but on who we are: our people, our collective aspirations, our drive, and our ability to collaborate both at home in Singapore and with our partners abroad.

5. The public service, in particular, will have to keep evolving, and responding to both these external challenges and the changing needs of Singaporeans themselves.

6. The service will require greater depth of expertise than before, while keeping an openness of mind: drawing on diverse views and being prepared to adapt or retire policies that no longer serve us well.

7. Yet underpinning the practicalities of policies, must remain the overarching moral purpose that has guided Singapore from the time of self-governance to today: the conviction a better society is possible. Where every individual and community is equally worthy of respect. And where, in the deepest sense, we uplift ourselves by uplifting others with us.

8. This year, I am pleased to award the President’s Scholarship to Ms Hilary Chee Xin Yi, Mr Kaleb Teo Tze Hsiang and Miss Nguyen Ngo Khiet Duyen Clarissa.

9. We will shortly hear the citations for each of them. Each of them has demonstrated not only broad-based excellence but a conviction to uplift others in the community – from supporting youths who start off with greater disadvantage, to helping migrant workers with their needs.

10. To Hilary, Kaleb, and Clarissa, your time in university is an opportunity to step beyond your comfort zones. Go beyond a focus on your studies. Immerse yourself in the local community and get to know people from diverse backgrounds and places. These experiences are formative. They can give you a new perspective on society, or help you develop the understanding and empathy for those who live in very different circumstances from what you are used to.

11. To receive the President’s Scholarship is a privilege. But don’t let it get to your head, or mistake excellence for superiority. The scholarship does not set you for life. What it does is to place on you an added commitment: to put every ability that you have to serving the people of Singapore.

12. It also gives you the responsibility to keep developing yourself in the course of your public service careers. Keep abreast of new ideas, and think deeply about alternative options. Develop relationships with a wide range of people, including relationships you may never have experienced before. And always look for ways to collaborate with others and build team strengths, both within the public service and with groups in civic society.

13. Finally, I want to commend your families, principals, teachers and friends for supporting you thus far. I wish you this year’s President’s Scholars the very best in your journeys ahead.