I began writing these memoirs in 1995 or 1996, before the outbreak of the regional crisis. At that time, I felt that young Singaporeans took the current situation [in Singapore] for granted.
我開始寫這部回憶錄是在一九九五、一九九六年間，那時還沒有發生區域危機，當時我以為年輕一代新加坡人總是把現有的一切看成是理所當然的。