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Graduands, SMU class of 2006,
Dr Richard Hu, Chancellor, SMU
Mr Ho Kwon Ping, Chairman, SMU Board of Trustees
Professor Howard Hunter, President, SMU
Friends
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen:

50 years ago, one late October day in 1955¹ , a baby boy was born in a small city in America. Seattle was not a big city – it had slightly less than half a million people.

Two years later² , Russia launched the world’s first satellite into the early October skies. The Sputnik I was an awe-inspiring feat. The world gasped. America was shaken, and resolved not to be left behind. They beefed up their science and technology education, and promised to put a man on the moon. Before the end of the following decade, in 1969, America put the first man on the moon³ .

The ferment and drive of education and innovation laid the foundation for America to lead the world in science, technology and imagination. By 1986, the Seattle baby boy burst forth on the cover of the Fortune magazine as a young multimillionaire at the age of 30. Today, at the age of 50, the story of Bill Gates continues to unfold.

Half way across the world in 1955, in another small city, no more than one and a half million people, a 40 year old immigrant⁴ in the prime of his life was taking on the mighty British colonial masters in Singapore. With nothing more than idealism, and a trusty mechanical typewriter, he joined a band of pioneers and idealists to fight for independence. It was a heady time in Asia. Colonies fought for independence, and new regimes replaced old ones. Powerful ideas jostled with raw emotions.

A decade later, as he turned 50, this man of courage encapsulated his early idealism in the pledge he wrote for the newly independent republic of Singapore. He put to paper his hopes for his new nation to unite in purpose to build a democratic society based on justice and equality “regardless of race, language or religion”. Mr S Rajaratnam was to become the first foreign minister of Singapore, and later its senior minister.

A baby boy and a 40 year old man in 1955, Bill Gates and S Rajaratnam, born in different generations, and grew up in the opposite ends of the world. Each saw tremendous changes in the world during the prime of their lives.

Both were pioneers. As pioneers, they made choices, and lived with their choices. Each in their own way also made a difference, and helped to change the lives of their fellow men for the better during the last half century.

Today, 50 years later, I am reminded of them because like the 2 men, the graduands in this hall are also pioneers. You made a bold choice to join a start-up called the Singapore Management University. Your choice reflects your hopes, faith and ideals. It also hinted at courage and a certain daring-do. As pioneers, you have played a part to build the reputation and traditions of a budding institution.

Like Bill Gates and S Rajaratnam, the graduating class of 2006 will shape and be shaped by a rapidly changing and maybe turbulent world. But it will be also an exciting world, full of opportunities and possibilities right here in Asia.

Up till about 200 years ago, Asia produced more than half (50%-60%)⁵ of the world GDP. By 1955, Asia’s GDP share fell to less than one fifth. Today, it has recovered to about one third (35%). Outside Asia, USA and Europe contribute about a quarter each to the world GDP. An OECD study projected that Asia’s share of world GDP will grow once again to more than half (55%-60%) in less than 20 years.

In other words, Asia’s share of global GDP will catch up with its share of world population in another 20 years. It also means that you, the SMU graduates of today, will be living the prime of your life in a vibrant and prosperous Asia.

This is not an impossible dream. Yes, there will be ups and downs along the way. There may even be a couple of big bumps within the next 3 to 5 years. But over the longer term, Asia has the advantage of large numbers as well as the power of one on her side.

The Advantage of Many

As many of you know, we sometimes need critical mass before a capability can be developed or a service can be viable. Take a simple example of the modern MRI⁶ medical scanning machine. With a population of half a million, there may not be enough patients to justify the expensive machine. With a population of 10 or 20 million however, there are many more patients. And so a service becomes viable and cost effective with a larger population base.

Likewise, a top end hair stylist or a low cost volume driven hyper-mart - both need a sizeable population to support their business. And Asia has large numbers - she has half the world’s population.

Today, these millions and billions in Asia, from Central Asia to China, have joined the global market. The economic reforms started 10 or 20 years ago as a necessity in post cold war Asia – today, many policy makers and business leaders drive for free market and socio-political reforms out of conviction. As one leading Indian industrialist said recently, “We are … Midnight’s Children, and … (we are) outrageously ambitious.” He was referring to the post independence generation of India⁷ , but his words resonate with the millions elsewhere in modern Asia.

Yes, there have been traumatic adjustments and problems. Low skill wages are pulled down further, and jobs are relocated and redistributed from the traditional centres. Imagine the structural shock for the half a billion people in Asean. They were suddenly joined by two and a half billion smart, hungry and hard driving workers in India and China. Millions were laid off in China too. This shock rippled out to Europe, USA as well as the African and Latin American economies. Manufacturing or outsourcing jobs were lost while commodity prices rose.

But the rise of India and China also brought new opportunities. We have already seen the rapid growth of intra-Asia trade. Trade with China is growing at more than 30% a year for many Asian economies. Trade with India has blossomed into healthy double digits. Intra-Asia tourism is also growing as spending power rises. Millions of Asians are traveling for leisure, and not just for business.

The advantage of large numbers will be magnified further, as Asian governments invest in education for their people, and the growing middle class continues to invest in their children’s future.

The Power of One

Hidden among the Asia advantage of billions is also the power of one.

You may have heard the conventional wisdom that a large population base is needed to produce a genius, world class performer or top athlete. This is sometimes described as the law of large numbers. But look at Bill Gates – he was born in a city of less than half a million, in a household of less than 10. Or, like you, he is born in a world of billions. The statistics of large numbers hides the fact that each success story eventually boils down to the single individual creating the idea, taking the risk, making the decision, and toiling against the odds to make things happen whether for himself or for others.

Each of us belongs to a larger family, whether it is a family of 6, a country of millions, or a region of billions. But each of us also carries with us the power of one – the power to decide, to make a choice, and to make a difference.

Indeed, Asia has re-energised itself not just because of market liberalization and reforms. Asia progressed dramatically because there were many who used the power of one in the interest of the larger good. One example is the CEO of Singapore Airlines who said,

“The SIA team strives to be humble, ordinary people from a small country working hard and smart towards extraordinary achievements. The important thing to me is to make this sustainable, and help the organization anticipate and be prepared for what can go wrong.”

Other examples include the promising young engineer who chose to stay in China post the TianAnMen crisis, the young design chief who created a super efficient new generation motorbike in India, and the CEO who gave up her privacy to join the political hurly-burly in Singapore.

Together with the giants of our time, they each exercised their power of one with courage and commitment. Collectively, they helped to rejuvenate and revitalize the economic and social infrastructure of their countries in their different ways. They have helped to open up new pathways for those who come after them.

Conclusion

Today, I congratulate the graduating students of the SMU class of 2006. You are here today because others before you have built many paths of opportunity. You have exercised the power of one when you chose this one new path, and came to the SMU. You too have widened the path with your footsteps, and added more byways, nooks and crannies in your sojourn in SMU.

As graduates, you have received the precious gift of an education. As leaders in future, you will be making many more choices and decisions. Each choice will add or subtract from the larger family that you belong to, whether it is your own family, your society, your business or your country. In another 50 years, you too will know whether you have in your time, created paths of opportunity for others and for humanity. I especially congratulate SMU trailblazers like Darren Lim with his pledge to remember others in his own success.

As you all rise to the challenge of a beckoning Asia, may I conclude with a favourite Irish blessing:

May the Road rise to meet you
May the Wind always be at your back
May the Sun shine warm upon your face
And may the rains fall soft upon your fields.

[But above all, may you always exercise your power of one amidst the advantage of many, with care, with humanity and with wisdom.]

¹ 28 October 1955
² 4 October 1957
³ 20 July 1969
⁴ Born 25 February 1915 in present day Sri Lanka
⁵ OECD 1998 Study
⁶ Magnetic Resonance Imaging
⁷ Independence of India was at midnight of 15 august 1947.