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.
CF丨編輯
HQ丨編審
新加坡國會丨來源
新加坡國會丨圖源
