We now have the CPTPP. America leaves, the game can still carry on. And in the same way, in the global trading system, America does not want to play by the rules anymore. But the other countries, if we can maintain the system as we trade with each other, I think that is important, and that would be very valuable to countries like Singapore. So we will work with other countries to try and make that happen. That is the first thing we can do.
The second thing we can do is to promote trade arrangements with like-minded partners. For example, we have the ASEAN group. We have an ASEAN Free Trade Agreement. The EU is a major partner, and we can do business with the EU. ASEAN can have an FTA with the EU, negotiate with them, expand the ink blot for free trade. Create more avenues for us to cooperate, win-win with one another. And Singapore is pushing for that. In fact, the ASEAN trade ministers met, and I think they will be working at this and working with other partners too.
The CPTPP, that is valuable too. That can also grow. UK joined the CPTPP. They need to – they had left the EU, they had no partners, no alternative. They came in but we welcomed them. But the EU, looking around for partners, says, 「How about EU and CPTPP, we get together? One in the Asia Pacific, including Canada and Mexico and Peru and Chile, and the other one in Europe. And we can get together for something valuable.」 The CPTPP members are keen, the European Commission President von der Leyen, she is keen. I hope that if we push that, we can get something. This is one of those situations where you want momentum. If you are sitting there doing nothing, something will happen to you. If you are standing up and pushing something, you may make more progress, you may make less progress, but you will make some progress and you will be better off than where you are. And this is an area where we need to make progress and Singapore will help to push.
Thirdly, externally we need to do more with our ASEAN partners within ASEAN. We have an FTA as I said, but you can do a lot more. And I hope that with this additional impetus, we can do more of that. For example, Singapore and Malaysia we are talking about the Johor-Singapore SEZ. In Johor, companies can go there, they can have favourable terms and Singapore companies can prosper. Malaysian business will benefit, Malaysia will benefit, and foreign companies can be there and be in Singapore and therefore they also can benefit. And in the process, Singapore and Malaysia, we work closer together, that is good. When that happened, there were reports in the Indonesian newspapers to say, 「Well, Singapore and Malaysia are doing an SEZ, what is Singapore doing with Indonesia?」 And the answer is, we are doing things with Indonesia but I think there is a certain amount of competition, because they see us as being able to add value. And I hope that with this pressure within ASEAN, we will do more. So internationally, globally, with WTO – try and keep the system intact. Big partners between trading groups can come together and form bigger blocs. Within ASEAN, try to make ASEAN stronger, more relevant. And Singapore, we are small, but our trade is not small. I think we have some contribution to make.
Singapore’s response – Domestic
We have to respond to the new situation domestically. And I will say it in three ways. First in terms of practical support, second in terms of psychological preparation and third, politically. In terms of practical support, we need to help households, we need to help businesses, and we need to keep the economy growing. To help households, I think you know we have a lot of things. On cost of living certainly it is the first big item. Typical households this year would be getting around $4,000 in various forms of assistance. We are helping workers who are displaced, for example with the Jobseeker Support Scheme. We designed this expecting dislocation, expecting people to be displaced and this is what we will need, if in fact the tariffs dislocate supply chains and there are significant disruptions to our industries. Then the workers who are displaced will have the Jobseeker Support Scheme to give them support, to tide over the period when they are out of a job, looking for a new job, or training for a new job. We will have support for re-skilling. I talked about that earlier. Overall, I would say the budget package we have is enough for now, but if the situation gets a lot worse, we will do more and I can assure you, we are able to do more.
We have to help the businesses, too. We have set up the Economic Resilience Taskforce under DPM Gan Kim Yong in order to navigate the uncertainties; and to help businesses transform themselves. So it is not just to deal with immediate problems, it is also to deal with the longer term. Take this opportunity of the immediate challenge, to get ourselves prepared to be more competitive in the long term. NTUC is going to be part of this Taskforce, looking at how best to support workers through this.
Secondly, I think we need to be psychologically prepared. We need to be prepared for a more troubled world. You must know that bad weather is coming. But at the same time, we can take comfort knowing that other countries are also facing similar challenges, and Singapore is readier than most of them to deal with this challenge. Readier because we have the plans, we have the resolve, we have the experience, we have the resources, we have the unity. We are ready to do this, and we can do this together.
One of the important things which we must do if we are going to go through this together, is to look at fault lines, and stresses and strains which will build up in our society. Because if you want to go in and say, 「Let’s be united,」 it is not just wearing the same t-shirt. It is making sure we look after one another, take care of one another. Making sure that when fault lines come up, people who are having greater difficulties, people who may be left behind, people who are dislocated – they do not feel left out, they do not feel alone. They know that others care for them, Singapore cares for them. We will help you – you help yourself, we work at it together. We are in this together. I think that is a very important mindset which we must have during a crisis, going into a crisis, which we are able to do.
It is a problem which in America has led to the pressures and the grievances and dissatisfaction, which have led the government to pursue all these very drastic policies. Because they have certain parts of America which have been left behind, industries all doing badly. They call it the Rust Belt. These are places where the industries have all done badly and the workers have no jobs, and populations are left out. The blue-collar workers in America, their jobs across the country have not done well, their incomes have not done well. Their lives have been blighted by drugs, by unemployment, by crime. Left behind, they voted for a drastic change and they want to break the system, they want a different world.
We must never allow our population or some parts of our population to feel like that. We are going to have stresses and strains too, because there will be retrenchments if there is a recession elsewhere, there will be dislocation if supply lines are interrupted. There is going to be dislocation also if technology comes and we are not prepared for it. If AI comes, if robotics come on a big scale and your jobs are taken away or transformed and you cannot do the new job, you are out of a job, it is no comfort to say that GDP has gone up, but my life is not better. So far, we have prevented that from happening in Singapore. I think in this situation, we must do double to make sure it does not happen.
If you can do all that – look after the households, look after the physical needs, make sure we psychologically prepared – then we can also address the political issue, which is to unite as one Singapore team, working closely with the government. And you need to have a good government, an effective government, a strong government, in order to take care of Singapore. And it has to be strong domestically, in order to be strong internationally.
Let me explain this. I think when you say on foreign policy, Singapore must speak with one voice, I think everybody will agree. Even the opposition agrees. And when you go overseas in a parliamentary delegation, people from different parties, we join the same parliamentary delegation, and we go representing Singapore. But the opposition goes one further. They say, well, overseas, we stand together. Domestically, let’s challenge. Now, that is a problem. Why is that a problem? I tell you, I have been attending international conferences for 20-something years – in fact, for 30, 40, years, but last 20 years at PM. Now, fortunately, PM Wong is doing it. But let me tell you my experience from these conferences. We meet each other regularly, because the conferences happen every year, every other year. This time I see you, maybe next time I see your successor. And in some countries, every time I go to a conference, I see a new PM. Sometimes, I see the PM, I look at his delegation, I see some of the faces there, I read the newspapers, I know that some of those people are hoping to be the next PM. And sometimes it turns out so. So when you meet each other, I assess you, you assess me. I will ask myself, 「I am talking to you now. Your Excellency, Prime Minister, yes, sir.」 Will you still be here in five years』 time? Will your policy still be here in five years』 time? Can I do business with you, commit and we do something, make a plan? To build a factory may take two, three years. To breakeven on the factory may take 10, 20 years. If you are not going to be here, can I make a deal? So I assess them. Do you think they assess me? Of course! They will see what is happening. They will have their embassies here writing reports. And if you have different views in Singapore, embassies say, well, this PM makes very good speeches, but actually he has a lot of political problems at home. When you meet them, you will be received with the courtesies, but I think they are not carrying the same weight, and you will not be able to defend and advance Singapore's interests in this state.
On the other hand, if they know you are on top of your situation at home, if they know you have strong support, good support, they know you are in touch with your population and you have got your domestic issues well under control, then they take you seriously. In fact, they will ask you, 「By the way, your healthcare system I hear is not bad, tell me how you do it.」 Or, it has happened to me once, we were discussing corruption. This was quite early in one of my first APEC meetings as PM and one of the big countries said to me, 「Singapore, tell us how you combat corruption.」 They know about us. They want to know how it works. Makes a big difference.
Therefore, to be effective internationally, to be strong at all, you have to be united domestically. And when people say, Singapore is a safe haven. In an uncertain world, in Singapore, you have security, you have safety. That is why people want to put family offices here. That is why people want to deposit money here. That is why people have confidence and put factories worth billions of dollars here, which take 20, 30 years to pay back, because of Singapore being a safe haven. And one big part of that safe haven, one big factor, is stable politics, good politics.
I know that many Singaporeans want more opposition and if you ask why, they will say, well, we would like a stronger check and balance on the PAP. And I would say the opposition has a role to play in our democratic system. It is here to stay. Opposition MPs are never going to disappear from Parliament. I accept this. That is the way democracies work. We started in a very unusual position with almost overwhelming PAP presence in Parliament, almost zero opposition. And now there is significant opposition, and I do not think that is ever going to change, and we will work with this.
But Singapore also needs an effective system of government which is led by a good and capable ruling party, and that depends on elections delivering outcomes which work for Singapore. And what are outcomes which work for Singapore? They are when, after the election, the country is able to generate a leadership which is capable, which is committed, which is honest, which can run a competent and efficient, effective government. Defend our place in the world and lead Singapore safely through crisis.
That is ultimately what elections are about; to choose who is to lead the country and to make sure that the team which can lead the country can do so well. In fact, ideally the team which can lead the country most successfully and most effectively. And part of the system is you have the ruling party and you have the opposition party. You have ruling MPs and opposition MPs. But if voters keep on electing more opposition MPs, even when the government is doing a good job, then beyond a point, it must weaken the government's ability to govern, to form the best possible team for Singapore and to run this country the way Singaporeans have come to expect. It must be so. Some people say the civil service is marvellous, you do not need a good minister. Anybody can be the minister. The Permanent Secretary would do the work, you just sit there and say yes or no. It is like saying you do not need a good Sec-Gen; the unions are fine, Sec-Gen just sits there and says, "Everything is good". Really? When you work in a company, is that how it works? If you see a company where the boss is doing that sort of thing, do you think good people are still going to be in that company? Or they will say, "This place has no hope, better go and work for a better boss". To run a good team, you need a good leader. And if you do not have a good leader, a good team will melt away. And we need to have that kind of leadership, that kind of quality, in order for Singapore to perform and to succeed the way it deserves to.
I give you an example – GE 2020, during COVID-19. When COVID-19 came, we were about a year away from elections. But when the pandemic started to get serious, I decided to call elections as soon as practicable. Some people said, 「No, put it off as late as possible.」 Even declare an emergency and postpone it till after COVID-19. I said, "No, you go now". Circuit Breaker could not be helped – we had to deal with an immediate problem. Once that was done, I said, "Let us call an early General Election; get a new team elected with a fresh full mandate. We are going to have a lot of challenges. We are going to have make a lot of difficult decisions. People are going to go through a lot of dislocation and hardship. We must have our minds focused on fighting COVID-19, and we cannot do that if every day I want to make a new COVID-19 policy, I have to ask myself, should I do this before or after the election?" Singaporeans will die, literally. So we went, we got a good mandate, and thereafter we focused on fighting COVID-19 as one nation, and I am relieved to say, not unsuccessfully. And it was because we were able to unite and put our team together and be able to focus on solving problems.
It was a good result, but unfortunately, we lost Sengkang GRC and in the process, we lost Brother Ng Chee Meng as a candidate. It was a setback for the Labour Movement. But fortunately, Brother Chee Meng had the staying power, the gumption, to continue serving as Sec-Gen, and fortunately the Labour Movement continued to support him. It also supported the other leaders on the team – the PAP MPs: Heng Chee How, Desmond Tan, Patrick Tay, Desmond Choo as well as stalwart union leaders like Sister Thana, Sister Mary, and many others on the Central Committee and in the unions.
And therefore, during the pandemic, the Labour Movement was well-led, and it could be a good partner to the Government, and it played a key role. It saved jobs, it pushed for skills upgrading. It administered SIRS – Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme. So that it was not just helping union members or bargainable employees, but workers of Singapore, including self-employed workers. And it looked beyond the pandemic, to set-up Company Training Committees (CTCs) to support businesses in upskilling. Turned out to be a very successful project. And so this year in the budget, we put another $200 million of support, because you had run out of money. But we were very happy that it had overfulfilled your plan and it was a good programme, so we will support it, do more.
Therefore, NTUC was able to help us bounce back stronger from COVID-19. This is what tripartism means – the Government, unions, employers working together. In fact, this is what the symbiotic relationship between PAP and NTUC can do – for workers and for Singapore. And that is why PM Lawrence Wong and his 4G team have committed to strengthen tripartism and the symbiotic partnership. I look forward to you supporting this team in this next General Election, whenever it is called. And especially supporting the labour leaders and PAP union advisors in the team.
Conclusion
This evening has been a sober speech but I thought it was my duty to come, and talk to you directly, candidly, honestly, and share with you things as they are.
It is a lesson I learned at the beginning of my political journey, when I first became a minister, and we were dealing with an economic recession, a severe recession in 1985 and we had to cut CPF, employer CPF by 15 percentage points. Those of you old enough will remember what a shock and what a difficult decision that was. But we were able to carry it because the union members had confidence in their leaders at that time. Brother Ong Teng Cheong was Sec-Gen. And the government ministers – Teng Cheong himself, I, Goh Chok Tong, Lim Boon Heng who was Deputy Sec-Gen then – we went in person, talked to the union leaders, talked to the workers, session after session, to get them to understand what was at stake, and to get them to support policies which would get us out of the difficulty. And fortunately, they believed us. They had trust in us. They took the advice, they accepted their medicine, and Singapore recovered much faster than expected. And therefore, whenever I am confronted with a crisis like this or a situation like this, my immediate instinct is to go, "Let’s talk, understand what is this about. What can we do together? How to dig out of the hole, not dig yourself deeper and deeper." So, I think that we can go into battle with confidence. We have the resources, we have the experience – we are ready. We have done it before, and we will show the world that we can do it again.
The upcoming elections will be crucial. It is a changed world. We have a fresh team in charge, and we will have a new resolve to tackle challenges, and to emerge stronger.
PM Lawrence Wong is leading the PAP into elections for the first time, seeking his own mandate to take Singapore forward – forward through this crisis, forward with their plans, forward for our future.
I hope Singaporeans understand what is happening, what is at stake, and what we must do to secure our future together. Thank you.
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