Amid global storms, Singapore must ‘double down’ on staying open: PM Lee
Tessa Oh
EVEN with globalisation in decline, Singapore must still make its living “as a global city and an international hub”, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Parliament on Wednesday (Apr 19).
Singapore’s survival depends on it being able to do business with the world, he said: “So our strategy must be to double down on staying open and connected.”
He gave this sobering reality check on the third day of the debate on the President’s address, during which Members of Parliament (MPs) flagged other concerns such as rising business costs, and advocated on behalf of groups such as seniors, youth and singles.
The decline of globalisation is one of three “storms” in an unprecedentedly grave global situation, said PM Lee. To survive, Singapore must stay united and self-reliant, as well as uphold its strong reputation, he stressed.
He laid out the external challenges. The Republic’s relations with its immediate neighbours, Indonesia and Malaysia, are “stable and encouraging”, but further afield, the situation is grim.
“Singaporeans need to realise the gravity of the external situation,” he warned. “We are facing not just one storm, but several.”
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Besides the erosion of the multilateral trading system, two other major storms are Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, and hostility between the United States and China, where Taiwan remains a “dangerous flashpoint”.
“These three simultaneous crises will set in train a whole series of changes and shocks that will severely disrupt the world, our region, and surely, Singapore,” he said.
Economic worries were similarly raised by some MPs on Wednesday. Workers’ Party MP Louis Chua worried that high living costs, whether real or perceived, will hurt Singapore’s competitiveness and attractiveness as a liveable city.
He cited a Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce survey, in which almost half of the German employers polled had noticed psychological distress and poorer work performance among staff due to rising rents here.
People’s Action Party MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol Sharael Taha named rising costs – including for labour – as one of several business challenges, alongside a tight labour market.
The upcoming carbon tax hikes and implementation of the second pillar of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting 2.0 initiative will also make it more expensive for businesses to operate here, he noted.
In this troubled economic and strategic environment, there are several things Singapore must do to survive and thrive, said PM Lee. First, the country must stay united, despite new strains and stresses that may arise from these crises.
High inflation driven by the Ukraine war will cause difficulties for many households, especially those of lower- and middle-incomes. Tense US-China relations will “expose our population to emotional pulls, commercial pressures, and influence campaigns”. And a fractured global trading system will mean slower, more uncertain growth and greater disruption to industries, jobs, businesses and workers.
But Singapore must not let these pressures create fault lines in society – be it “haves” versus “have nots”, “liberals” versus “conservatives”, or “locals” versus “foreigners”. Said PM Lee: “In this new troubled world, it is all the more important for us to close ranks.”
That is why the government launched the Forward Singapore exercise, to chart a “collective roadmap” forward, he added.
Secondly, Singaporeans must continue to have a “go-getting spirit of self-reliance and enterprise”, said PM Lee: “Even with wars, tensions and protectionism in the world, countries still need to trade, there will still be opportunities, and therefore we can still make a living.”
As staying connected means being exposed to competition, Singapore must do things more competently and efficiently to maintain its edge, he added. This means continually upgrading existing capabilities and building new ones.
The country must transform and restructure its economy to stay abreast of new technologies and industries, and bring in foreign professionals with the expertise to help it in this journey.
While all this is challenging, Singapore has the advantage of standing out from the competition, said PM Lee. “Businesses, investors and talented individuals in the region and beyond are showing great interest in Singapore. They want to come here, to bring in their talent, capital and investments.”
Lastly, to stay ahead, Singapore must uphold its good global reputation, which is what attracts investors.
Singapore is known as a place where the system works, and professionals are competent, honest and trustworthy, he said. The country is seen to honour its commitments and make useful contributions to global issues.
“Because of all these and more, confidence and trust in the Singapore brand has grown. This is a precious asset in an uncertain world.”
To keep Singapore’s system going, good leadership is also necessary, added PM Lee.
“During the pandemic, Singaporeans experienced first-hand the importance of strong political leadership,” he said. The country’s Covid-19 response and results would have been “very different” without political leaders who “set the direction, make the tough calls, and rally people together”.
He appealed to Singaporeans to give the fourth generation leadership their support “for now, as members of my team, but in due course, when they take over the reins as the next leadership for Singapore”.
With Singapore’s new social compact being a major theme of both the President’s Address and this week’s debate, Wednesday saw several MPs asking for policies to be made more inclusive for vulnerable groups.
Sembawang MP Poh Li San proposed making it mandatory for employees to be given parental or caregiving leave. In particular, she added, lower-income singles face more challenges juggling work and caregiving responsibilities for their ailing parents, as they are less likely to be able to afford external help.
Sharael noted that seniors still face an “uphill task in finding meaningful employment”, but the next generation of older workers will be more digitally capable and must be prepared for future re-employment. He asked: “How do we redesign jobs and leverage remote working so that our future senior workers will have more opportunities?”
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