[SINGAPORE] Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Sunday (Aug 17) delivered his second National Day Rally since taking office last year.
In the most important political address of the year, he said that all Singaporeans had to work together to carry forward what has been inherited from older generations, and write the next chapter of the Singapore story as one.
Here are eight key points from the rally:
1. “Little comfort” from baseline tariffThe US has maintained its 10 per cent tariff rate on Singapore, which is the lowest that any country can get.
Still, this “gives us little comfort”, said PM Wong, because no one knows if or when the US might raise the baseline, or set higher tariffs on specific industries such as pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
“What we do know is that there will be more trade barriers in the world. That means small and open economies like us will feel the squeeze,” he said.
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2. Overarching priority of innovation and technologyThe government will maintain a strong focus on innovation and technology because this is the way to sustainably raise productivity and improve the lives of citizens, said PM Wong.
The government invested heavily in research and development (R&D) over the last two decades, including in biomedical sciences, he noted. It is now applying the same long-term approach to other frontier technologies such as quantum computing.
Besides cutting-edge R&D, what is of equal, if not greater, importance is how quickly new technologies are adopted across the entire economy.
He assured citizens that even as Singapore embraces artificial intelligence and technology, they will remain at the centre of everything the government does.
3. New job-matching initiative at the town levelWith Singapore’s top economic priority being jobs, the government will launch a new job-matching initiative led by the Community Development Councils. The mayors will share more details soon.
Separately, the SkillsFuture Level Up programme will see two enhancements. First, a portion of training allowances can be claimed for part-time courses; and second, the course offerings will be expanded.
4. Tougher penalties for vapingThe government will treat vaping as a drug issue and impose much stiffer penalties, said PM Wong. This means jail sentences and more severe punishments for those who sell vapes with harmful substances.
There will be supervision and rehabilitation provided to help people quit. A major public education drive is being planned, to be led by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Health.
5. New government-funded traineeshipsThe government will fund a new traineeship programme for fresh graduates from the Institute of Technical Education, polytechnics and universities.
PM Wong said the programme will be scaled up if the economy worsens, and that the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce will share more details soon.
6. Roll-out of “Age Well Neighbourhoods” for seniorsSingapore can expand on existing care arrangements for seniors to build “Age Well Neighbourhoods” that support them where they are.
The first such neighbourhoods will be in Toa Payoh and “one or two other areas with a high concentration of seniors”, said PM Wong.
Older estates can be made more senior-friendly by increasing their spaces and facilities; expanding home-based services; and bringing healthcare services closer to them.
7. Bringing vibrancy to towns in the northPM Wong devoted a sizeable chunk of his speech to highlight plans for three towns in the northern part of Singapore: Woodlands, Kranji and Sembawang.
He shared about upcoming projects such as an expanded Woodlands Checkpoint; the upcoming Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link; a new public housing estate in Kranji; and redevelopment of the Sembawang Shipyard area.
8. A “Singapore Spirit” that binds the nation togetherPM Wong spoke of the importance of the collective will of Singaporeans, as he described a “Singapore Spirit” that will bind the nation together and propel it forward.
“We must believe in one another. We must have the conviction that our best days lie ahead,” he said.
He noted how the Covid-19 pandemic was the crisis of this current generation, and how Singaporeans stood together at that moment of need.
“We got through the pandemic not only because of government measures, but because of our Singapore Spirit,” he said.
“The spirit we summoned then must not fade. It shouldn’t be something that emerges only during a crisis. We must keep this spirit alive, through good times and bad, and make it part of how we live and relate to one another every day.”