Multi-racial and multi-religious society

Speech by Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong at the Tamils Representative Council's 75th Anniversary on 19 September 2026.

Mr V Pandiyan, President of Tamils Representative CouncilDistinguished guests, my Cabinet and Parliamentary colleaguesLadies and gentlemen, good evening and Maalai Vanakkam.

I was very honoured to join the TRC 70th anniversary and tonight, I am happy to return for your 75th anniversary. Congratulations!

The TRC’s story is an inspiring one. It began with an idea – to bring together the many Tamil organisations in Singapore under one roof, under a single umbrella.

In 1951, there were many Tamil organisations but they were largely organised around religious lines.

TRC’s pioneers saw that by coming together, the organisations could achieve more – more for the Tamil community in Singapore, more for Tamil language and culture.

Coming together did not mean that you had to give up what made each organisation distinctive, because each continued to serve its own members and fulfil its own roles, but it was about working together for the good of the wider community.

And over the years, the TRC has grown from an idea into an institution. Today, you represent 42 affiliate organisations, representing more than 30,000 people. The TRC has become a trusted and steadfast pillar of support for the Tamil community in Singapore.

Through your activities and outreach, you have uplifted families, deepened appreciation of Tamil language and culture, and nurtured new generations of community leaders.

None of this would have been possible without the many generations of leaders, volunteers and supporters who have contributed their energy and time to the TRC. So tonight on this 75th anniversary, I would like to say to all leaders and members of the TRC, past and present, thank you for all your contributions.

One important part of TRC’s work has been your strong emphasis on education – as a pathway to opportunity, and as a means to uplift families and strengthen the community.

Since 2000, TRC has awarded bursaries to over 5,000 primary school students from lower-income families, ensuring that financial circumstances do not limit opportunities.

This has helped ensure that a child’s circumstances do not determine how far he or she can go.

And I am glad as you heard just now, that the TRC now plans to do more. It is looking to expand support from the Kandasamy Education Trust Fund to students pursuing higher education. It hopes to support young people in areas like career planning, internships and leadership development.

All this reflects our broader approach in Singapore – to provide strong foundations for every child, to give our young people agency and confidence and to give everyone in Singapore the opportunity to realise their potential and be the best versions of themselves.

So the TRC’s goal is very much aligned with our national objectives – to give every Singaporean a chance to realise their potential and build a better future for themselves and their families.

But our aim is not simply to help every person run as fast or as far as they can.

We want every Singaporean to progress while staying rooted in their community and in their identity.

There is a Tamil saying,thani maram thoppaagaathu, “a single tree does not make a grove”.

We are stronger when we grow together; when we stay connected to one another and  we give back to the community that helped us along.

Strong roots matter too. When we understand our heritage, when we know the values we stand for, and have a clear sense of who we are, we have greater confidence to engage the world around us.

And this is where organisations like the TRC play an important role – to help new generations of Tamil Singaporeans understand their heritage, stay connected to their community, and take pride in both their Tamil and Singaporean identities.

The TRC’s Youth Wing has been active too and has helped young people take on leadership roles, develop new initiatives, and build partnerships with organisations such as SINDA, Narpani and the National Youth Council.

So these are all progress that we shall continue to work on and the Government will also do our part to support community organisations in developing more of these partnerships.

One key effort is the Indian Engagement and Development Initiative (INEI), chaired by Minister of State Dinesh Vasu Dash. This is INEI. The name itself in Tamil, INEI, conveys the idea of coming together and connecting. And that is what INEI seeks to do – to bring together different Indian community and religious groups, while building stronger links between them.

In some ways, INEI is taking a leaf from what TRC did 75 years ago.

TRC showed that different organisations can retain their own identities and strengths, while coming together to achieve more.

And now, through INEI, we seek to do the same across the wider Indian community – to forge deeper connections, strengthen partnerships, and achieve greater impact together.

So I hope that the TRC will play an active role in INEI and help shape the next chapter of our Singaporean Indian community.

For 75 years, the TRC was guided by a simple belief: that we can achieve more when we come together.

The TRC’s pioneers looked beyond their differences and focussed on what they shared – a commitment to the Tamil community and a determination to build a brighter future together.

They understood that a strong community helps individuals flourish. And when individuals do well, they in turn strengthen the community around them.

And this is the virtuous circle that the TRC has helped to create over the last 75 years.

As you now begin your next chapter, I hope a new generation of TRC members and leaders will carry your good work forward. We saw in the video just now, that you are looking to the next phase, TRC 100. That is 25 years from now, it will happen in year 2051. I do not know what the future will look like in 2051 but one thing we know for sure: that working together, we can be confident that the Tamil community in Singapore will continue to flourish. And that working together, we can continue to build a stronger and more united Singapore.

So once again on that note, thank you and congratulations once again on your 75thanniversary!