Good afternoon. Thank you for showing up.
Thank you for believing in us, and thank you for making all this happen! And our team have been working incredibly hard to put together what you see today — so join me in giving a big round of applause for the team!
When PM first asked me to chair Young PAP, I asked myself one simple question:
What can I do?
So the first thing I did was to meet as many of you as possible. I called you, met for coffee, and listened. We met in small groups and large groups. And you shared your priorities, your anxieties, your hopes and your aspirations — for the Young PAP, for our society and our nation.
And you then lobbed the same question back to me, asking me: Alvin, what can I do? You wanted to know how you can take action and contribute to our cause.
So we reconfigured the team and put together a new structure that complemented our strengths. And we decided that in this new season of Young PAP, we would focus on one core mission: leadership.
Why leadershipBecause leadership is key. Leaders inspire belief and action, and focus on a cause larger than themselves. And for us at Young PAP, leadership has never been about empty words — but about action. Action defined by hard policy work, active programs, and service on the ground.
And we’ve accomplished much together. On sustainability, our “Singapore: A Green Hub” position paper led directly to the $50M SG Eco Fund and green grants for local companies. On women’s issues, we worked with the PAP Women’s Wing to advocate for major policy changes — including lifting the ban on social egg freezing and pushing for stronger workplace fairness laws. On Artificial Intelligence and tech, we partnered the Association of Small & Medium Enterprises to help SMEs better adopt AI, by executing recommendations from our AI policy paper. We also championed mental well-being, spoke up for animal welfare, and organized career clinics to help young people navigate jobs and careers.
I’ve barely scratched the surface. But behind every policy we recommend, and every ground project that helps an individual, a family or a small business, there is an important layer undergirding it. That layer is leadership — the leadership required to listen to people, build a consensus, manage a complex project, and turn ideas into reality.
A Straits Times reporter covering YP40 asked me on Wednesday if my focus on leadership for YP was mainly to find the next PAP candidate. Yes, we want to groom leaders for the Young PAP and for our party. But our vision is much wider than that. We want to groom leaders who can make an impact at work, in society and at home. We want to grow leaders for our nation.
We are not looking for perfect leaders, but authentic ones.
Leaders who are comfortable with their imperfections, but who strive to be — as PM always says — better versions of themselves: for their families, their workplaces, their communities, and their nation.
The milestoneThis brings me to our milestone today, as we celebrate YP40 and Youth Day weekend. YP40 is a proud moment. But let me confess. When I assumed the YP Chair role last year, I was searching for a platform to bring and rally our youths together. When I learned that 2026 marked 40 years of the Young PAP, it dawned on me that this could be an opportunity to rally our youths and do something special as a team — to bring leaders together, and to welcome youths from all over Singapore to come, see, taste and be part of what we do as a youth movement.
It was a crazy idea that our incredible team managed to pull off today! But YP40 was never about the showcase. It is about the journey and process of putting something together. For our youths team to get our hands dirty, to deal with the messiness of managing a project, people and timelines. And of crafting a vision and turning that vision into reality. And making mistakes along the way. And working together as a team.
Leadership is not learned in the classroom. But forged in the messiness of real-world action.
And our focus on authentic leadership is important because we live in a world that is increasingly shaped by the artificial. Artificial intelligence. Artificial images. Artificial videos. Artificial information. Artificial leadership.
And you’ve shared how this increasingly artificial world makes you anxious. And it is okay to be anxious. It is human, and it is authentic. It is okay to worry if AI will replace us. It is okay to wonder if what your leaders tell you is genuine.
But while AI can draft a perfect message, it cannot stand by you when you are facing a crisis. An algorithm can predict human behavior, but it cannot earn human trust. It cannot organize YP40!
We need authentic leadership in every sphere of our lives. At work, we need leaders who do not just manage tasks, but who build real trust and care for their teams. At home, we need authentic parents, spouses, and children who lead their families with presence, integrity, humility and compassion. In our communities, we need leaders who show up, listen, and solve real problems. And in our nation and our party, we need leaders who are anchored by values, not by popularity.
Four panels. Four questions.
Does politics need you?
There is anxiety about AI in the workplace. But there is also great opportunity. In the past, junior employees had to wait years or decades to climb the corporate ladder, gaining access to tools and senior management only after a long time. Today, AI gives you a powerful assistant from day one.
The Wall Street Journal wrote about a 23-year-old assistant who used AI to audit her company’s multimillion-dollar media plan. She found a massive overcharge and saved her company more than her entire annual salary — all within her first six months on the job. She did not have to wait to sit in the boardroom to make a real difference.
That is what agency means. You don’t have to wait for the future to happen to you. You have the curiosity, the drive, and the tools to shape it. And that same authentic agency is exactly what we need in our politics today.
Is this the party for everyone?
Not a party where everyone thinks exactly the same way. But one with individuals with different perspectives, life experiences and ideas. Diverse voices who share one common conviction: to build a better Singapore.
Is it enough to mean well?
Authentic leadership requires real action on the ground. Later, Harun and Hazlina will share about new initiatives we have put together to equip you with leadership skills — to take on responsibilities on the ground.
What will you stand for?
The PAP has always stood for a quiet, serious approach to politics. We reject playing to the gallery. We choose to do the hard, quiet work of building long-term trust.
In modern politics, there is a constant temptation to prioritize the narrative over the truth — that as long as the optics look good, the truth can be managed. That is the politics of appearance. But authentic leadership is not about appearance. Authentic leadership means choosing the harder right over the easier wrong. That is the PAP ethos. That is what we must always stand for.
My friends, as we look to the next forty years, let this be our mission — for our YP, for our Party, for our families, our communities, our society and our nation.
So let’s come back to our original question: What can I do? There’s plenty to do. Join us. Join our cause. Join our movement — to turn:
And I believe you can. Because you are…
A generation that wants to take meaningful action. And when you do take that action, you can all be proud of the journey you’ve embarked on together.
From Joo Chiat to Jurong.
From Toa Payoh to Tampines.
From Limbang to Lentor.
From West Coast to East Coast.
And you can be proud to tell everyone that you stand with Young PAP — for our families, our communities, and for Singapore.