National Day dinner is an important tradition for most Member of Parliaments to connect with their residents in their constituencies.

For instance, the late Lee Kuan Yew was known to have an "unbroken record of attending every single national day dinner in his Tanjong Pagar constituency".

Former Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob also used her National Dinner at Marsiling as the platform to announce her bid for the Presidency.

Goh's speech at the National Day Dinner

This is one of the reasons why it is interesting to listen to the speech by our straight-talking Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong at his National Day dinner in his Marine Parade ward on Aug. 19, 2017.

In a short three-page speech, our former Prime Minister highlighted three determinants that will affect how Singapore fares in the future.

They are:

(i) the robustness of our leadership pipeline;

(ii) the resilience of our politics; and

(iii) the cohesiveness of our multi-racialism and social equity.

Unfortunately, one would have a rather different impression of his speech, if one was reading only the Mediacorp publications (Channel NewsAsia, Today) or the Singapore Press Holdings publications (Lianhe Zaobao, The Straits Times).

CNA: "ESM Goh calls for 'stronger, more inclusive' leadership team"

CNA's headline is the most straightforward of all, and it focused on Goh's first and most provocative point on Singapore's leadership renewal.

CNA opened with Goh's reminder to the 4G leaders that they would have to "build a stronger and more inclusive millennial generation team".

Today: "A ‘stronger and more inclusive’ leadership team needed for S’pore: ESM Goh"

Today's headline is largely similar to CNA and it also focused on Goh's first point about the robustness of the Singapore political leadership pipeline.

Today however put the onus on "highly competent" Singaporeans outside the government to step up and serve to tackle future challenges.

Lianhe Zaobao: "Goh Chok Tong: Focus on preschool education, so that every Singaporean can have a fair chance in life"

Zaobao's framing and angling is very different because it preferred to focus on ESM Goh's Mandarin speech.

Goh's speech was focused on the government investing in its people so as to meet the future structural challenges by the Singapore economy.

ST: "Reserved presidential elections another stabiliser in Singapore's political system: ESM Goh Chok Tong"

ST does not have the same excuse as Zaobao though.

Rather than focusing on the most obvious point by Goh about leadership renewal, ST opted for a more creative approach -- like choosing the last paragraph in point two about the Elected Presidency instead.

Yup, ST led with ESM Goh talking about the change to the constitution to set aside reserved presidential elections for minorities, and about how the government has introduced "Singapore-style innovations" to the Westminster parliamentary system over the years to stabilise "a free-wheeling democratic process".

It is strange that ST journalists think that these were the most important and newsworthy remarks by Goh.

Erm, didn't PM Lee say roughly the same thing in last November's parliamentary debate on the changes to the constitution (and Elected Presidency)?

"Today, let me focus on two fundamental points. The Elected President as an important stabiliser in our system and the need for the Presidency to be multi-racial." Lee Hsien Loong, Parliamentary Debate on the Constitution (Amendment) Bill

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Why is this speech important?

As a former Prime Minister, Goh is now dishing out sagely advice like the late Lee Kuan Yew.

First, Goh highlighted the uncertainty surrounding the question on who will be the fourth PM of Singapore.

"PM has said that he would step down by 70. The fourth generation or 4G leaders will have to quickly establish themselves as a cohesive team, and identify the captain amongst them." (Emphasis ours)

After all, Goh identified his successor early. PM Lee Hsien Loong was his Deputy Prime Minister when Goh became PM in 1990.

Second, Goh reminded the 4G leaders about the importance of leadership diversity and the dangers of group-think.

"They will have to build a stronger and more inclusive millennial generation team. They must try their utmost to bring in potential office-holders from outside the SAF and public sector to avoid group-think. Highly competent Singaporeans outside the government must also be prepared to step up and serve." (Emphasis ours)

Currently, the six core 4G leaders have roughly similar backgrounds -- three (Chan Chun Sing, Tan Chuan-Jin, and Ng Chee Meng) were from the former generals in the Singapore Armed Forces, while three (Heng Swee Keat, Ong Ye Kung, and Lawrence Wong) were former Principal Private Secretaries in the civil service.

He also urged the 4G leaders to communicate their vision for Singapore well.

"But beyond technical competence, it is values that will hold our society together. Singaporeans will want to know what they (4G leaders) stand for, what kind of Singapore they want to build and what they will pass on to the fifth generation later".

In fact, Goh said that the 4G leaders "will have to build their own social compact with the people".

Third, Goh said that Singapore "must guard against social inequity as the new fault line in our society", with meritocracy a key pillar of our society.

However, he noted that while "the first round of meritocracy has produced the desired results" for a new country, "meritocracy entrenches the successful, widens the income gap and creates a sense of social inequity" in subsequent rounds.

Hence, Goh urged the 4G leaders to "find their own robust language, political values and programmes to lift the lives of lower-income Singaporeans".

In fact, Goh concluded that "the fourth generation leaders must be able to grow the economy, create jobs, resolve everyday livelihood issues, check divisive trends in society, give hope and improve the lives of all Singaporeans."

In other words, this appears to be Goh's "love letter" to the 4G leaders to advise them on how to govern and lead Singapore better.

It is scary how some of the mainstream media can misinterpret his message so wrongly.

Here are some equally interesting but totally unrelated stories:

10 investment terms to know so you can finally read annual reports in peace

5 so-called crazy things people could do if they were given $100,000 to save the environment

How to not ruin your holiday when signing up for tour packages

Who looks after our ailing seniors outside of general hospitals?

Top photo from CNA Facebook page