January 18, 2012, Wednesday – Former Singapore Foreign Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. George Yong-boon Yeo, paid a visit to De La Salle University as part of his trip to the country. DLSU President Br. Narciso Erguiza FSC toured Yeo’s party around the University, with a brief visit to the University museum and collection. The former minister and company then proceeded to the North Conservatory, where Yeo delivered a brief address on his experience in the country and expounded on a manner of topics in history, economic development, conflict resolution and foreign policy.
Yeo, a Roman Catholic who was trained under De La Salle brothers for his education and is a patron for Singapore’s Lasalle School for the Arts, related to the audience by sharing his own relation with the Lasallian institution, the changing means of education and the importance of values in the midst of a rapidly developing world. He called for openness in accepting new ways. “The hierarchical transfer of
knowledge no longer works… it does not follow that the young do not know more than their parents,” he said, speaking on how queries can be easily answered and researched by young people over the internet and Google. During the open forum, emcee Dr. Renato de Castro of the International Studies Department and Lasallian students stimulated further discussion with former minister Yeo on foreign relations concerns, such as treatment of China, regional security, the Spratlys islands and Philippine-Singapore relations. Yeo was particularly struck by the last topic, sharing how the Filipino worker was underappreciated in the Philippines. “At home, the Filipino loses value. He has to leave the Philippines to gain value.”
Cocktails followed after the forum, where the former minister entertained questions and discoursed further with administrators, faculty and students. Yeo was in the Philippines to receive from President Aquino the Order of Sikatuna with the Rank of Datu (Grand Cross) Gold Distinction for the former’s exemplary efforts to improve the relationship of the Philippines and Singapore, with particular regard to the welfare of Filipinos in Yeo’s country.
