Installation address delivered by the Chancellor, Dato Dr. Lee Kong Chian. S.P.M.J., S.J.M.K., J.P., LL.D.

The great honour of being appointed Chancellor of the University of Singapore is an honour and a privilege beyond my dreams and merits.

The previous Chancellor of the University of Malaya, from which this institution derives its new existence, the Right Honourable Malcolm MacDonald, is an eminent scholar and a statesman of great distinction and therefore he was singularly well equipped for the post and his contributions to a young and developing university were both considerable and far-reaching.

That the University Council and the Senate should now consider it worthwhile to entrust the responsibility of the Chancellorship to a person who is neither a scholar nor a statesman is, I believe, a reflection of the times in which we now live.  It seems to me that the choice of a common citizen to head the University is an indication of the need to forge closer links and attain more harmonious affinity with the people in the context of present day developments in South East Asia. In this task I deem myself very fortunate in being able to rely upon the invaluable assistance and guidance of an able and energetic Council and Court, a distinguished and experienced Senate, and a conscientious and dedicated group of academic and administrative staff. Upon the Vice-Chancellor and the administrative and academic staff fall the great task and responsibility of educating, instructing and guiding the very energetic and promising members of the student body, as well as of inspiring in them the thirst for knowledge and the desire to widen one’s mental horizons.

We have inherited from our predecessor, the University of Malaya in Singapore, an institution of very sound structure and great vitality, the high standards of which have been maintained with the invaluable help of external examiners. There is every reason to believe that we can and will improve on the foundations already so well laid and that we will be able to do our part to meet the great need for educational institutions in South East Asia today.

Our young people possess the virtues of zeal, intelligence and ability. Many of them belong to the pick of the rising generation in a city which has a historic past, a significant present, and an even more promising future. In our own life times some of us have watched Singapore grow from its own adolescence to maturity. I, for example, first came to Singapore as a youth in 1903, and during almost 60 years of residence here, I have been able to observe its dynamic and unceasing growth from a small trading settlement to a major centre of influence in South East Asia, not only in the commercial and financial fields, but also in the educational and cultural spheres. In this State of Singapore, education at the elementary and secondary levels is well developed and possibly second to none in South East Asia. It should be our hope that the University of Singapore will be an institution worthy of its place in our society, that it will be in tune with the needs and aspirations of the people, and that it will serve the peoples of this country and the surrounding areas well.

In the task of bringing together the populations of many racial origins in this region there can be no better bond than progressive and well rounded education and enlightened thinking. They are the best means of influencing the various racial groups to think less of their separate racial distinctions and more their common heritage. A university is not just an object of pride and prestige, nor only an instrument for acquiring knowledge and skills but also a home in which the human spirit can find freedom and fraw inspiration. Our responsibility is to guide the students along the ever higher levels of learning, to broaden and clarify their vision to grasp the ever grander vistas of knowledge, wisdom, truth and beauty.

Nations and peoples are often divided against each other by mutual suspicions, fears and hatreds. The recent tremendous advances in human knowledge, science and technology seem to me to present a solution to previously insurmountable obstacles and barriers, if those advances are utilized and developed with sufficient imagination, vision and goodwill. We must try to build a better world in which mental and physical barriers which cause conflict and hatred are slowly and steadily reduced and finally overcome.

In closing my address, I would now venture to say to my distinguished audience that it is up to all of us, members of the public of Singapore, of the University Court, the Council, the Senate, the Academic and Administrative staff as well as members of the Guild of Graduates and the Student Body, to try to the best of our ability to see that the newly established University of Singapore will be truly a centre of learning and a constant and positive influence for progress and betterment in this region of the world. To quote Cicero, the famous Roman orator: "What greater or better gift can we offer the state than to teach and instruct our youth!" I promise the youth of Singapore that all of us in the University are today dedicating ourselves to their service, in a spirit of partnership and friendship as fellow-citizens of Singapore. As the great Chinese teacher Mencius said: "It gives real delight to be able to gather from around us the most talented individuals, so as to teach and nourish them." I shall end my speech by quoting a wise Malay saying: "Barang Siapa yang ingin memetek padi yang bagus, hendak-lah menaborkan beneh yang bagus pula." i.e. to say: "Who ever wants to harvest good padi, must also plant good seeds."

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