PM Lawrence Wong at the Hao Ren Hao Shi Charity Dinner 2025

Mr Anson Ng, Founding Chairman of Hao Ren Hao Shi,

Board Members,

Distinguished Guests,

Donors and Volunteers,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I'm very happy to join you this evening for Hao Ren Hao Shi's inaugural fundraising dinner.

I first met Anson Ng at the Silent Heroes award. This was back in 2021. It was right in the middle of Covid. We had Covid rules then. You may have forgotten - we were all masked up, no intermingling between tables. You remember those rules. All a bad dream. He struck me then as a true "silent hero" - someone who devotes himself to serving others without fanfare, without seeking recognition or fame. A year later, even though he did not seek recognition, he became famous because ST named him Singaporean of the Year. By then, of course, he had all the publicity. But I continued to see him from time to time and I felt that his focus never wavered. His heart remains firmly on the ground - in serving people in need. And all that has happened so far with Hao Ren Hao Shi, I think a lot of credit goes to his hard work and all his efforts in putting this together. So a big round of applause to Mr Anson Ng.

That spirit of giving has helped Hao Ren Hao Shi build up to where it is now since its founding in 2018. From distributing groceries to needy families at Redhill Close, today, as you heard just now, Hao Ren Hao Shi has attained IPC status. It serves more than 30,000 beneficiaries across Singapore - delivering essential provisions and providing care to families in need. And all of you contributed to this effort - the board, management, and staff; the donors and sponsors; and the many volunteers. Thank you everyone for all your contributions. I particularly want to highlight the student volunteers. I was very heartened to see some of them just now from Lianhua Primary and other schools. The ones from Lianhua Primary struck me because I asked them, "How old are you?" They said, "Primary Six." I asked, "This is PSLE season, right?" They said, "Yes, PSLE exam tomorrow." But they are here tonight, because they feel this is more meaningful, and they want to be here. And I think that is good that we are instilling the right attitude and the right mindset in our young people, from a very early age, instilling in them the spirit of giving.

Hao Ren Hao Shi continues to innovate to meet real needs on the ground, beyond distributing groceries. They have now Mobile Groceries, working with the Community Development Councils to deliver groceries to families in need. And they had a "Happy Mart", which operates just like a regular mini-mart, but families in need can shop for daily essentials free-of-charge using credits provided by the organisation.

In April this year, I visited the Happy Mart @ Fernvale. It far exceeded my expectations, because it was a place well-stocked with many essential items, and not just a place to distribute or for residents to pick up free groceries. But it is also a community hub. I met many passionate volunteers there, very dedicated, coming regularly, including students. And they were committed. They were happy to serve, and they forged close bonds with one another and also built strong ties with the residents there.

And having seen that operation, I asked him, "How are you funding all this? This is wonderful." He told he had to do fundraising, and the challenges he faced. So I said I will help you. I can only help you do my part to encourage more fundraising. And so he invited me for this charity dinner, and I am here fulfilling my promise to him, and lending my support to this effort.

I think these sorts of ground-up actions truly embody the "We-First" spirit that I spoke about at my National Day Rally recently. We want Singapore to be a "We-First" society. Putting "we" first does not mean that we suppress the "me" or the individual. Obviously, we have to take care of ourselves, but we must recognize that the "me" can only thrive when the "we" is strong, and that means we have to look out for one another, especially the vulnerable amongst us, ensure that every Singaporean progresses together as one people.

The government, of course, will do more to uplift vulnerable Singaporeans. But we all recognise that we cannot rely on government actions alone. All of us have a part to play to support our communities, to support our fellow Singaporeans and truly make Singapore a better home.

That's how we build a virtuous cycle - where those who succeed help others succeed too, and then graciousness, kindness, care can spread throughout our society. So later tonight, I think you heard just now from our emcee there is a fundraising target, right? $1.5 million, I hear. You have already contributed funds coming to the dinner with the tables, I am sure. But there is more to come. There is a silent auction, maybe even an open auction. So please continue to contribute generously. We are recognizing some of our donors later, and also some of our outstanding volunteers later on, but please be generous so that we can continue to support Mr Anson Ng and the good work that he is doing and Hao Ren Hao Shi can continue to help many, many more Singaporeans.

Let me just close by saying this. Around the world today, you see so much division and discord. Every day when you read the news, you see news of people in places everywhere, turning against one another. Protests erupt, sometimes turning violent. Institutions lose their legitimacy, and then trust between communities start to erode very quickly. And you see this every day, and you worry, "What the world is coming to?" I do not know what the world is coming to. I can tell you it is going to be more unpredictable. Messier, more chaotic. I am not responsible for the world. I am only responsible for Singaporeans and Singapore. And so even if the world becomes more disorderly and chaotic, we want Singapore to remain calm, peaceful and stable. And we have been very fortunate and very blessed in Singapore to enjoy such a such a stable environment. But let us be very clear, this did not happen by chance. It is not magic. It did not just fall from the sky. We are subject to the same pressures that you see in places everywhere around the world, but we have been able to avoid many of the problems that you see elsewhere, and it is because of the solidarity that we have built painstakingly year after year, decade after decade, and the trust that we share amongst fellow Singaporeans in our Little Red Dot. This building of trust takes effort. It does not happen on its own, and so we must keep sowing the seeds, and we must keep nurturing them, year after year, generation after generation. So all our contributions help towards building this trust and keeping Singapore strong and united.

And if we all do our part together, we can nurture a more caring and inclusive society here in Singapore- one where every generation feels the support and warmth of the community, and where every Singaporean has a reason to believe in a brighter tomorrow. So as Hao Ren Hao Shi would say, let us all do good together.