S’pore has not yet curbed fuel and energy use in managing impact of Middle East conflict: Shanmugam
The government will outline its approach to the crisis in parliament in the following week
Add BT as a preferred source
DeeperDive is a beta AI feature. Refer to full articles for the facts.
[SINGAPORE] Singapore has not yet taken measures adopted by other countries to curb fuel and energy consumption to mitigate the impact of the conflict in the Middle East, Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam said on Saturday (Apr 4).
He added that the government will outline its approach to the crisis in areas including supply chain disruptions, rising prices and diplomatic and security issues, in Parliament in the following week.
Speaking at a community event in Yishun where he is an MP, Shanmugam said that the conflict in the Middle East has affected a significant part of the world’s oil and gas supply, and that supply disruptions will persist even if the war ends soon.
This has also driven up prices of food, fuel and fertiliser.
Said Shanmugam: “It’s a serious situation all around the world. You’ve seen in many parts of the world, many countries have taken measures to cut back on the use of electricity, use of fuel.”
“We haven’t taken those measures yet, and we will explain how we approach it.”
Shanmugam, who chairs the Homefront Crisis Ministerial Committee (HCMC), said it has been convened for a few weeks and has held meetings.
The Homefront Crisis Executive Group (HCEG), made up of senior civil servants from various ministries and agencies, has been at work for some time, he said. The group ensures decisions by the HCMC are implemented and that ministries are aligned in their response to a crisis.
The HCMC, convened by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to coordinate Singapore’s national response to the crisis, is the political leadership charged with setting the direction and providing strategic guidance for the overall government response to major crises.
Announcing the formation of the committee on Apr 2, PM Wong also said that some support measures announced at Budget 2026 will be brought forward to provide earlier relief and cushion the Middle East conflict’s impact on Singapore households and businesses.
When asked why the HCMC has been set up now, Shanmugam said that managing the fallout from the Middle East conflict requires coordination across different ministries.
The impact on the ground requires planning to maintain the supply of fuel and electricity, he said, citing rising costs faced by delivery riders as an example.
“The Government is there to deal with these issues,” he said. THE STRAITS TIMES
Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
