New citizens co-authors of Singapore story: PM Lee

New citizens are now co-authors of the next chapter of Singapore's story and they are expected to sink their roots more deeply into the country, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said today.
"The Singapore that we have inherited is not defined by the accolades we receive, but by our constant striving to always do better, whatever the circumstances," Lee said while speaking at a ceremony where nearly 200 people received citizenship.
Lee said he hoped the new citizens would continue to get to know Singapore better and build a better future for all like the early pioneers who came from different lands and later came together as one united people.

New citizens are now co-authors of the next chapter of the Singapore story and are expected to sink their roots more deeply into the country, Lee was quoted as saying by The Straits Times.
Indian-origin Vardharj Sunder Moorthy and his wife, for example, are both active grassroots leaders in the Prime Minister's constituency, it said.
Lee saidd that many new citizens decided to make Singapore their home not just because "this is a comfortable or a safe and secure place to bring up your family, but because you believe in Singapore and identify with what we stand for as a people."

These values are a multi-racial society, a nation of opportunity, a fair and just society and a place where tomorrow would always be better than today, he said.
"That belief in Singapore is what we have been celebrating this SG50 (this year being Singapore's 50 years of independence)," Lee said.
Singapore's 5.5 million multi-racial population is made up of Chinese, Malays and Indians along with people from around the world.