“Whether we have been extravagant in investing in an airport of this size and level of sophistication is a question worthy of a rhetorical rejoinder. Can Singapore ever afford not to have such an airport?”
— the late Howe Yoon Chong, then Minister of Defence on the official opening of Changi Airport on 29.12.1981
Letter from PM to Mrs Howe: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/obituary/howeyoonchong/pm.pdf