During his maiden National Day Rally (NDR) speech on Aug. 22, 2004, 10 days after he was sworn in, Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong said:

"In Singapore, this is not just a change of the PMs. It's a generational change to the post-independence generation.

It's a different generation ... a new generation [of Singaporeans] and it's got to take Singapore another step forward, another level higher."

Spoke about governing with a "fresh and bold approach"

The newly-minted PM Lee was clear-eyed about the evolving electorate and what needed to be done, going into the job 20 years ago:

"To do that, we need a fresh and bold approach ... we can't stand still because the world is changing, our people are changing and so must Singapore and so must the way we govern Singapore."

2004: Introduced five-day work week

And he meant it, overturning the Singapore civil service's work week from five and a half days to a five-day one, essentially removing the half-working day on Saturday, right there and then.

PM Lee also introduced other reforms for working Singaporeans at his first NDR, including extending paid maternity leave by four weeks, from eight weeks to 12 weeks.

He also extended medical benefits for dependants in the civil service to include female civil servants.

Allowing Integrated Resorts

In the same year, PM Lee made another controversial decision — approving casinos to be built in Singapore.

"Let me give a controversial example. It's quite a controversial one. Some people told me, 'Don't raise it, it’s your first rally speech, very dangerous', but I'm going to do it anyway. It's to do with the casino."

The government, including PM Lee, had long opposed the idea of a casino in Singapore up until then. Casino gambling was even banned.

However, he was concerned that Singapore would lose economic competitiveness in areas such as tourism to other cosmopolitan cities.

Now, Singapore has two integrated resorts, Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa. Both are economic successes for Singapore — beyond their casinos — with their spillover effect on other industries.

2010 and 2016: Increasing minimum number of opposition from 6 to 9 (2010) then 12 (2016). NCMP accorded equal voting rights as MPs.

With a new generation of voters coming of age, PM Lee was cognisant that the electorate was evolving.

While there were ups and downs, he managed to lead the People's Action Party (PAP) to clear victories during the 2006, 2011, 2015 and 2020 Singapore General Elections.

In 2010, the minimum number of opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) required for Parliament increased from six to nine, with their seats to be filled by Non-constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs), allowing for more alternative voices in Singapore's parliament.

PM Lee said that the government acknowledged both Singaporeans' desire for alternative voices and the need for opposition to represent the diverse views in society and, as a result, expanded the NCMP scheme.

The NCMP scheme was further enhanced on Jan. 27, 2016.

Not only did the number of minimum opposition MPs increase, but NCMPs were also accorded equal voting rights as elected MPs.

"But regardless of election outcomes, the NCMP scheme ensures a stronger opposition presence in Parliament, so that if the Government wins overwhelming, nationwide support, it will still have to argue for and defend its policies robustly.

But I believe that in this phase of our political development this is good for the government and good for Singapore."

Other political system changes that were introduced by PM Lee in 2016 included instructing the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee to reduce the average size of GRCs further, and to create more SMCs, and refining the Elected Presidency by reserving the elected presidency for minority candidates from time to time.

2020: Created the office of the Leader of the Opposition

Following the General Election 2020, PM Lee announced on July 11, 2020, that Pritam Singh would be formally designated the Leader of the Opposition (LO) in the 14th Parliament of Singapore.

Singh would be provided with staff support and resources to perform his duties and given an office and additional allowance.

As the LO, Singh was accorded appropriate privileges and duties, including taking the seat directly opposite the PM in parliament.

2021: Muslim nurses can wear tudung

PM Lee's government will also be well remembered for its social policy changes over the years.

During NDR 2021, PM Lee announced that starting Nov. 1, 2021, Muslim nurses are allowed to wear tudung as part of their uniform.

Before then, Muslim nurses were not allowed to wear tudungs due to supposed racial and religious sensitivities.

Months before the announcement, in April 2021, PM Lee explained that the changes were being considered due to society's changing attitudes.

"I told them that I had concluded that we should prepare to make such a move for nurses because people's attitudes have changed, because in social and work settings, the tudung is now more common ... And on its own, we can see the merits of allowing ... Muslim nurses to wear the tudung with their uniform if they wish."

On 377A

The year after, PM Lee addressed an even more controversial issue — Section 377A of the Penal Code.

The almost century-old section enacted in 1938 criminalised sex between men.

Social activists had asked for the section to be repealed for years despite the government repeatedly explaining that the law was not actively enforced.

In 2007, the Ministry of Home Affairs reviewed the Penal Code, repealing section 377, which criminalised those who voluntarily had carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal — but 377A was retained.

PM Lee explained why the status quo was kept in Parliament on Oct. 23, 2007.

He acknowledged 377A's "legal untidiness and ambiguity" but said Singapore was "basically a conservative society" then, elaborating that the majority wanted to keep to a heterosexual family and only a minority were "very seized" with repealing 377A.

"So we should strive to maintain a balance: to uphold a stable society with traditional heterosexual family values, but with space for homosexuals to live their lives and to contribute to the society.

We've gradually been making progress towards achieving a closer approximation to this balance over the years. I don't think we will ever get the perfect balance, but I think that we have a better arrangement now than was the case 10 or 20 years ago."

2022: 377A repeal

That time would come 15 years later at the 2022 NDR.

PM Lee not only announced that 377A would be repealed but added that the government would also amend the Constitution to enshrine the definition of marriage as "a union between a man and a woman" into law, for those who wanted to preserve the traditional definition of marriage.

"This will help us to repeal section 377A in a controlled and carefully considered way.

It will limit this change to what I believe most Singaporeans will accept, which is to decriminalise sexual relations between consenting men in private.

But it will also keep what I believe most Singaporeans still want, and that is to retain the basic family structure of marriage between a man and a woman, within which we have and raise our children.

I hope the new balance will enable Singapore to remain a tolerant and inclusive society for many years to come."

Top image photos via pinkdotsg/Instagram and Changi General Hospital/LinkedIn and Lee Hsien Loong/Facebook