S$100m endowment to deepen regional and international ties

SINGAPORE — In a time when Singapore is “intensely focused” on what is happening domestically, Temasek Holdings has launched the S Rajaratnam Endowment (SRE), which aims to deepen international and regional ties.

Named after the Republic’s first and longest-serving Foreign Minister, the S$100 million endowment will partner civil society organisations, think-tanks and the private sector to support projects that encourage development, peace and stability in the region.

Speaking at the endowment’s launch at the National Library yesterday, Ambassador Chan Heng Chee said Singaporeans have become “intensely focused on ourselves”, echoing a point that has been made by Singapore leaders — including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong — recently.

The establishment of the endowment, said Professor Chan, a founding director of the endowment board and chairman of the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities, is a reminder that Singapore’s well-being and ability to live in dignity and prosperity “are linked to our knowledge of what is going on in the region”.

Starting next April, it will hold an annual flagship event, The Singapore Forum, which will see about 200 policymakers, business leaders and thinkers coming together discuss strategic, geopolitical, economic and governance issues that will impact Asia’s development and stability.

In keeping with the late Mr Rajaratnam’s internationalist spirit, and to foster dialogue among key decision makers in the region, the forum’s advisory board will comprise members from various Asian countries. They include Mr Long Yongtu from China, who is secretary-general of the G20 Research Office and China’s former Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Commerce, and Mr Musa Hitam from Malaysia, who is chairman of the World Islamic Economic Forum and former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Endowment chairman and former Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng said the late Mr Rajaratnam’s concept of Singapore was never “narrowly parochial”, but an inclusive vision of Singapore as a responsible member of the South-east Asian and global community.

He added that while Mr Rajaratnam would have felt proud of the Republic’s achievements, he would also have been concerned about the “vulnerabilities of success that have crept into our society”, such as feelings of entitlement and privilege.

Mr Wong said the launch is timely, as shifts in Asia — specifically the rise of China and India — have put us in a “tumultuous era in world history with profound and momentous shifts of power and ideas under way”.

“The next phase of Asia’s growth will see more complex and greater challenges in geopolitics, changing demographics, income disparities and the competitive use of resources,” he said. In this regard, the SRE aims to deepen international friendships, promote regional cooperation and foster a greater and common understanding of international rules, he added.

The inaugural edition of The Singapore Forum next year will cover, among other things, the next phase of Asia’s development, regional economic architectures and the impact of technology. Apart from the forum, the endowment will also support initiatives in realms that Mr Rajaratnam was known for, including international relations, social development, culture, literary arts and journalism.