* The opinion of the President on the draw on past reserves was circulated to hon Members on 17 June 2020. Please refer to Annex 1.
"}],"takesSectionVOList":[{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Opening of Parliament at Two Locations","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OS","content":"[(proc text) By Proclamation in the Gazette dated 14 August 2020, the President had appointed Parliament House as the place at which the Opening of the First Session of the Fourteenth Parliament shall be held and 24 August 2020, 5.30 pm as the date and time at which it shall commence. (proc text)]
[(proc text) Additionally, the President had appointed The Arts House, Civil Service College, NTUC Centre and The Treasury as appointed places at which the First Session of the Fourteenth Parliament may be held. (proc text)]
[(proc text) As a precaution during the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to Articles 64A(2) and 64A(2)(c)(ii) of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, the Speaker (Mr Tan Chuan-Jin) decided that proceedings on 24 August 2020 be held at both Parliament House and The Arts House concurrently and in contemporaneous communication with one another, as part of continuity arrangements under the law. (proc text)]
[(proc text) The notification of the Speaker on the continuity arrangements was circulated to hon Members on 21 August 2020. (proc text)] [Please refer to Annex 2.]
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Election of Speaker","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OS","content":"[(proc text) On 24 August 2020, at 5.30 pm, the Serjeant-at-Arms laid the Mace below the Table of the House. (proc text)]
[(proc text) The Leader of the House stood up and addressed herself to the Clerk of Parliament. (proc text)]
The Leader of the House (Ms Indranee Rajah): Clerk, I propose, \"That Mr Tan Chuan-Jin do take the Chair of this Parliament as Speaker.\"
[(proc text) Member Mr Sitoh Yih Pin stood up and addressed himself to the Clerk of Parliament. (proc text)]
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin (Potong Pasir): Clerk, I support the proposal.
[(proc text) There being only one proposal, the Clerk then declared Mr Tan Chuan-Jin to have been duly elected as Speaker of this Parliament. [Applause.] (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Speaker, standing at the Table, took an Oath of Allegiance. (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Speaker went to the Chair and sat down. (proc text)]
[(proc text) Then the Mace, which before laid below the Table, was placed on the Table. (proc text)]
[Mr Speaker in the Chair]
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Administration of Oaths","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OS","content":"Mr Speaker: Hon Members in Parliament House and the Arts House will now proceed to take their Oath or Affirmation of Allegiance at the respective Tables, starting with the Prime Minister and thereafter in the order as arranged.
[(proc text) Members took and subscribed the Oath of Allegiance, or made Affirmation of Allegiance, in the order below: (proc text)]
[(proc text) At Parliament House (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Lee Hsien Loong (Ang Mo Kio) (proc text)]
[(proc text) At The Arts House (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Heng Swee Keat (East Coast) (proc text)]
[(proc text) At Parliament House (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Teo Chee Hean (Pasir Ris-Punggol) (proc text)]
[(proc text) At The Arts House (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam (Jurong) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 1 – at Parliament House (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Indranee Rajah (Tanjong Pagar) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Chan Chun Sing (Tanjong Pagar) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Masagos Zulkifli (Tampines) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Lawrence Wong (Marsiling-Yew Tee) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Dr Vivian Balakrishnan (Holland-Bukit Timah) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Ong Ye Kung (Sembawang) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Dr Tan See Leng (Marine Parade) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 2 – The Arts House (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr S Iswaran (West Coast) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Dr Ng Eng Hen (Bishan-Toa Payoh) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Gan Kim Yong (Chua Chu Kang) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 3 – The Arts House (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai (Marine Parade) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mrs Josephine Teo (Jalan Besar) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman (East Coast) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Desmond Lee (West Coast) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 4 – Parliament House (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Tan Kiat How (East Coast) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Sim Ann (Holland-Bukit Timah) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan (Hong Kah North) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Low Yen Ling (Chua Chu Kang) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Dr Koh Poh Koon (Tampines) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 5 – The Arts House (proc text)]
[(proc text) Dr Janil Puthucheary (Pasir Ris-Punggol) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Zaqy Mohamad (Marsiling-Yew Tee) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim (Nee Soon) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Heng Chee How (Jalan Besar) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Chee Hong Tat (Bishan-Toa Payoh) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Desmond Tan (Pasir Ris-Punggol) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 6 – Parliament House (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Miss Cheng Li Hui (Tampines) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Bukit Panjang) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Baey Yam Keng (Tampines) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo (East Coast) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 7 – Parliament House (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Darryl David (Ang Mo Kio) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Sitoh Yih Pin (Potong Pasir) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling (East Coast) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Eric Chua (Tanjong Pagar) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Dr Tan Wu Meng (Jurong) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Leon Perera (Aljunied) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 8 – Parliament House (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Ang Mo Kio) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Henry Kwek Hian Chuan (Kebun Baru) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Foo Mee Har (West Coast) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Chong Kee Hiong (Bishan-Toa Payoh) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 9 – Parliament House (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin (Ang Mo Kio) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song (Aljunied) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Miss Rachel Ong (West Coast) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Mohamed Sharael Bin Mohd Taha (Pasir Ris-Punggol) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim (Sengkang) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms He Ting Ru (Sengkang) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 10 – The Arts House (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Desmond Choo (Tampines) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Alex Yam Ziming (Marsiling-Yew Tee) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 11 – The Arts House (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Derrick Goh (Nee Soon) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye (Radin Mas) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng (Jalan Besar) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 12 – The Arts House (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Mariam Jaafar (Sembawang) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui (Holland-Bukit Timah) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan (Pioneer) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 13 – The Arts House (proc text)]
[(proc text) Dr Wan Rizal (Jalan Besar) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong (Jurong) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Yeo Wan Ling (Pasir Ris-Punggol) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Raeesah Khan (Sengkang) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 14 – Parliament House (In Malay) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Rahayu Mahzam (Jurong) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 15 – The Arts House (In Malay) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Fahmi bin Aliman (Marine Parade) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap (Aljunied) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim (Chua Chu Kang) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 16 – Parliament House (In Chinese) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Sun Xueling (Punggol West) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Don Wee (Chua Chu Kang) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Gan Siow Huang (Marymount) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 17 – The Arts House (In Chinese) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Hany Soh (Marsiling-Yew Tee) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Poh Li San (Sembawang) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Alvin Tan (Tanjong Pagar) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Carrie Tan (Nee Soon) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien (Yuhua) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 18 – The Arts House (In Chinese) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis (Sengkang) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Ng Ling Ling (Ang Mo Kio) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Ang Wei Neng (West Coast) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong (Hougang) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Xie Yao Quan (Jurong) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 19 – The Arts House (In Tamil) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Vikram Nair (Sembawang) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Group 20 – Parliament House (proc text)]
[(proc text) Ms Hazel Poa (Non-Constituency) (proc text)]
[(proc text) Mr Leong Mun Wai (Non-Constituency) (proc text)]
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Election of Speaker","subTitle":"Tribute","sectionType":"OS","content":"Mr Speaker: Leader of the House, Ms Indranee Rajah.
The Leader of the House (Ms Indranee Rajah): Mr Speaker, Sir, on behalf of the House, may I extend our warmest congratulations to you on your re-election as the Speaker of this Fourteenth Parliament.
In your last three years as Speaker, you gained the respect of Members of this House with your fairness and impartiality. Your firmness in discharging your duties has also enabled smooth and orderly proceedings in this House. I have every confidence and trust that the good standing of this House will continue to be maintained under your Speakership.
Sir, you will be Speaker of Parliament that is sitting in extraordinary times and has its work cut out for it. While our COVID-19 situation is under control, the need for vigilance remains to prevent recurring waves of infections as we have seen in other countries – indeed, the fact that this evening’s Sitting is in two locations is a testament to this. As we redouble our efforts to see Singapore through this crisis, we must also not lose sight of our longer term goal of building a better Singapore – an economy that serves as a global-Asia node and continues to create good jobs; a liveable city equipped to adapt to the effects of climate change; and a caring and inclusive society where every Singaporean can achieve his or her full potential, regardless of starting point.
As we deal with our internal challenges, we must also continue to secure Singapore’s position as a trusted and valued partner in the region and the world, amidst an increasingly uncertain global environment.
Sir, the issues that this House will consider over the next five years will be increasingly complex, with no textbook answers or model solutions. We will have to find our way, create solutions suited to our unique context while holding fast to the values that define us as Singaporeans. We welcome sincere and rigorous debate from Members on both sides of the House – be it new ideas and policy proposals, or the difficult decisions that have to be taken and trade-offs that have to be made.
In this Parliament, we have, for the first time, an officially designated Leader of the Opposition. May I take this opportunity to formally congratulate Mr Pritam Singh. I look forward to working with him in this new term of Parliament.
Sir, Parliament is more than a place where laws are made. It is a place where the aspirations of a nation are articulated and made real.
This must be a House with a heart that cares, a voice of reason and a place of courage to do what is right, all conducted with the necessary dignity and decorum. Over this, Mr Speaker, you will preside.
Once again, my heartiest congratulations. [Applause.]
Mr Speaker: Mr Pritam Singh.
Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): Mr Speaker, on behalf of the Workers' Party Members of Parliament and the Progress Singapore Party Non-Constituency Members of Parliament, congratulations on your re-election of Speaker of Parliament.
Since your election as Speaker in 2017, you have given the Workers' Party Members of Parliament appropriate time to engage the government of the day on the issues that matter. We trust that you will continue in the same vein.
In your few short years as Speaker, you have sought to increase public awareness of Parliament and its work through new methods of communication, such as engaging younger Singaporeans through social media. In doing so, you have encouraged Singaporeans to take an active interest in Parliament as an Organ of State that is fundamental to our democracy.
Mr Speaker, you have done so in step with the changing norms of society and without losing sight of the formality and serious purpose of Parliament as a central pillar in our system of Government.
When Parliament opened after the President's Address in 2016, I spoke on the tremendous scope available to Parliament and, more specifically, through Select Committees to make our politics more accountable and better accessible to all Singaporeans.
Mr Speaker, I hope you can lend your weight to this and continue to explore ways to demystify the work of Parliament and to better enable Singaporeans appreciate law-making and debates on policy imperatives and trade-offs. Parliament's direct and indirect impact on each and every Singaporean and our businesses is massive; and it is only appropriate that we amplify the choices and the reasons behind the decisions made or not made in Parliament more widely. In doing so, I hope Singaporeans are, in turn, driven to understand the issues we debate deeply but always in the context of a small and multi-racial society which has to balance and accommodate many different viewpoints and shifting norms.
Beyond our shores, I, along with other Parliamentary colleagues, joined you in an official visit to Malaysia in March last year. The courtesy visit to the Malaysian parliament, the Dewan Rakyat, was a highly successful one. I recall the moment our delegation had just taken our seats in the Malaysian parliament's Visitors' Gallery when the matter of a Malaysian member of parliament's ejection from their parliament was being fiercely debated and vigorously challenged. I do not think it was a coincidence that another Malaysian member of parliament stood up and invited the Dewan Rakyat to seek your advice from the Visitors' Gallery as to whether such a removal of a member of parliament was proper. Though we have not experienced such an episode ourselves in the Singapore Parliament in recent memory, it is clear that your views of how such a matter should be handled are valued in the region.
You followed up with another visit in the latter part of 2019 with an official trip to the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly or Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat Republik Indonesia where you invited former Workers' Party Secretary-General Mr Low Thia Khiang to join the delegation. Sir, your active interest in engaging parliamentarians of our closest neighbours is something that has not gone unnoticed. Indeed, as this generation of Singaporeans traverses a more volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world than before, we would be remiss to ignore our closest neighbours and the context of Singapore's place in our neighbourhood and the wider world.
I am sure the House will continue to look forward to your leadership in such official functions which also include meeting Singaporeans overseas and flying the Singapore flag high.
Sir, on behalf of the Opposition Members of Parliament and Non-Constituency Members of Parliament, we wish you a successful turn as Speaker of this House. We will continue to support your efforts in raising the esteem of our Parliament and our country, both in and out of this Chamber. Congratulations. [Applause.]
Mr Speaker: Mr Saktiandi Supaat.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Mr Speaker, please allow me to speak in Malay.
(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Speaker, I rise in support of my colleagues in congratulating you on your unanimous re-election as the Speaker of Parliament. You have an even more challenging role to play in this Fourteenth Parliament and we have full confidence that you would be able to guide and help us to contribute to a more robust debate in the House.
Since you were first elected in September 2017, you have enhanced the digitalisation experience in parliament for its members and have shown fairness and impartiality to every member. And, in fact there were moments where you summarised the sitting and even peppered your remarks with wit to lighten an otherwise heated or sombre session.
In this new Parliament, there may be more supplementary questions, and maybe even interruptions and interjections. Your task will obviously not be an easy one.
I am, however, certain that you will treat all of us equally and fairly. As we say welcome to new members from both sides of the House, I am confident that the new members can look to you, Mr Speaker, for your forbearance to make their participation less daunting. New members will have a friend in Mr Speaker.
Please allow me now to say a few things about Mr Speaker’s other qualities. Besides being a savvy social media platform user, you are an accomplished photographer, with a heart to help others, and this is evident in your strong support for charities through your photos. This also means that, when Mr Speaker takes a glance at you, do take note for he may be seeing your points in a different light. As you know photographers use colour filters in tricky lighting conditions.
Now, we also know lensmen usually possess patience and flexibility. They can keep waiting and sometimes take a hundred snapshots just to get one good photo. But rest assured that we will not test your patience from the Bench. Above all, photographers also have an eye for beauty, creativity and details. Yes, we will stay focused during the sittings and also be appropriately dressed and observe the rules of decorum and etiquette in this House.
Once again, congratulations on your re-election, Mr Speaker. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr Speaker: Ms Tin Pei Ling.
Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson):(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Speaker, congratulations on your re-election as Speaker of Parliament. Your re-election is what we all hoped for. I believe my colleagues, like me, wish to offer our heartfelt blessings to you.
Mr Speaker, you are our respected Speaker. Furthermore, you are now the most popular Speaker in our modern history. Named the \"Coolest Singaporean on Twitter\", you not only preside over serious matters in Parliament and serve the residents in your constituency, but also engage actively with netizens on social media.
Your re-election symbolises our expectations for Parliament in the coming years. Parliament is where laws are made. This is also an important forum where we can debate about the present and future of Singapore and Singaporeans. The most pressing task on hand is to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, revive our economy and help Singaporeans resume normal lives. Looking ahead into the post-COVID-19 era, how do we lead Singapore towards another 50 glorious years? It all starts from here.
In addition, as Parliament is imbued with more diverse and colourful elements, how do we transcend political ideologies and verbal sparring to fight for Singaporeans' interests in unison?
We need a Speaker who is just and compassionate.
Mr Speaker, I have worked with you for 10 years. From what I have observed, you have three qualities that make you the best candidate for the Speaker's role.
First, you are compassionate and care for the people around you. You will not neglect anyone, no matter how unimportant or removed they are from you. You constantly keep an open mind and listen to views from all parties to understand their aspirations and challenges, so that policies can be implemented effectively, new laws enacted are fair and balanced, and that the people can benefit. In your constituency, your affable manners and series of people-centric community schemes have won praises and warmed the hearts of many. To you, every resident and every life is precious, each worthy of your attention.
Second, you have a sense of righteousness. You are a just and fair leader. If you see any unfairness, you will surely step forward. I remember that when you were the Minister for Social and Family Development, you supported the idea that single mothers should enjoy the same maternity benefits so that their young children can be properly cared for. As a mother, this is very important. This is one good example. You are the same in your own constituency. MacPherson can be considered your neighbour. From my years of observation, I am convinced that you are a good leader who treats everyone equally, no matter how insignificant or powerful he is.
Third, you are humorous but still maintain propriety and can preside over proceedings in this august Chamber. Having served in the army and Cabinet, you are not only equipped with rich experiences but also possess uncommon confidence and composure to deal with any situation. In Parliament, occasional heated debates are inevitable and can be seen as a healthy phenomenon. However, there should not be stalemates in Parliament, especially in the face of the pandemic and economic transformation. We must continue to work for Singaporeans' common good and forge ahead. Hence, having a Speaker who can lead and rally all sides in Parliament is all the more important now.
Mr Speaker, I look forward to the start of this new term of Parliament and hope that you will pay attention to your health because things are going to get busy again in Parliament. Congratulations once again! [Applause.]
Mr Speaker: Mr Vikram Nair.
Mr Vikram Nair (Sembawang): Mr Speaker, in Tamil, please.
(In Tamil): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I am happy to speak in support of Mr Tan Chuan-Jin's election as Speaker.
We both entered politics at the same time in 2011. Since then, Mr Tan has held different responsibilities, including as Minister for Manpower and Minister for Social and Family Development.
Mr Tan, you are a man with a big heart. You always try to engage people. Even where some may disagree with you, you talk to them. You are active on social media and regularly engage people and share stories about your life and your thoughts on matters.
As Speaker of the House, you have brought that same spirit here. You have tried to make parliamentary business interesting to members of the public by explaining the rules and their purpose in an interesting way.
This term of Parliament will see us charting the course through the COVID-19 crisis. It will be important for our people to understand the issues and what is being done to manage the situation. I believe you will play your part to manage the debates fairly and find creative ways to keep the public engaged in the matters in this House.
Mr Tan, my congratulations once again to you. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr Speaker: Hon Members, I would like to thank the Leader of the House Ms Indranee Rajah, for proposing me as Speaker and for her kind words, Mr Sitoh Yih Pin for seconding the nomination. I am also grateful for the kind words of the Leader of the Opposition Mr Pritam Singh and of Mr Saktiandi Supaat, Ms Tin Pei Ling and Mr Vikram Nair. I would like to express my gratitude to all of you for your support in re-electing me as Speaker. I am fully committed to being fair and impartial but you also do know that I am fully committed to being firm.
I have no intention of ejecting anyone from this Chamber, so, please help me to help you. As Mr Saktiandi has said, I have also no intention of \"photoshop\"-ing anyone out of the picture. Ms Tin Pei Ling, in her tribute, talked about me caring for those near me and those afar. I suspect she is referring to herself because there were a couple of times in the last session, where she sat in the far corner and did not quite catch my eye, and I did not call her to speak. So, I hear you and I will try to remember that.
I am also fully committed – and I do need your support for this; many of you participate in this as well – to continue to engage the public. Because it is imperative that we earn their trust, respect and confidence in order for us to be able to do what we do here.
For the first time, we will be opening Parliament from two locations – here in Parliament House and in The Arts House. As Members know, The Arts House used to be our previous Parliament House. I think there is a special sense of nostalgia for many of the Members, those in The Arts House, to be there in that same Chamber, taking the oath as many of our predecessors did when they pledged to serve Singapore and Singaporeans honourably and faithfully. If I may be candid, I think many of us here would have wished that we were one of those that were designated to be there this evening.
The Oath of Allegiance is important not because after you take this oath, you become Members of Parliament. In case there is any doubt, you became a Member of Parliament the very night itself when the Returning Officer declared you as victorious in your constituency. The oath is important because, constitutionally, Members of Parliament cannot participate in Parliamentary proceedings until they have taken this oath. Hence, it is important, despite all the challenges that we face because of COVID-19, we need to make sure that we make the arrangements and provisions for all of us to take this oath. And we do so in full accordance with the process because we need to uphold our role in keeping the government of the day accountable to citizens. That is our role in Parliament.
But accountability also begins with every Member, where we represent the interests of our residents to the best of our abilities. Therefore, we must always keep our eyes and ears close to the ground to understand their concerns. I think all of us need to boldly state our positions, put forth your proposals and seek clarity on matters and issues that matter to your residents. But to be able to do this, we need to participate in Parliamentary proceedings.And to participate in Parliamentary proceedings, you need to be here in the Chamber. So, I look forward to seeing all of you here at every Sitting unless you have official duties or are on urgent leave.
The Fourteenth Parliament will see 31 newly elected Members of Parliament, the largest number of Opposition Members in recent history and a formally designated Leader of the Opposition. These developments reflect a greater desire by Singaporeans to have more choices and voices in Parliament. We can expect and I think we will expect more contestation. This is a natural step forward. It is good for our country and our people if and only if contestation leads to better outcomes for our people and our nation, for the present and for the future.
However, do beware that the wide and easy path towards polarisation and division is easy to embark on – the pathway to populism and short-termism. We are all now in a situation where there are no 10-year series answers to fall back on. There will be difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions to be made because there are very real and genuine trade-offs that need to be undertaken.
Will we focus on solutioning or will we focus on politicking? All of us will determine what these possible outcomes would be. It is important for all of us to remember that regardless of whatever political stripes or colours, wherever we stand on issues, never forget that, as Singapore Parliamentarians, we all serve a common purpose. We have been successful as a people and as a nation on many fronts because we have been exceptional, because we have been different. My challenge to all of you and to all of us here is that, in this House, can we be exceptional because we are able to transcend our political affiliations, our interests and our differences? So that even as we contest passionately and sometimes vigorously, even as we robustly debate and scrutinise laws, policies and Budgets, can we show Singaporeans, can we show the world that we need not be factious, we need not be fractious? Can we earn their trust and confidence as they look upon us as we carry out our business in this Chamber? It is not beyond us – and I look to all of you, and especially to the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition – to help us realise this.
In closing, let me echo what the Leader of the House stated. We are opening our Fourteenth Parliament in extraordinary times. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary people and leaders. Let our politics drive us forward and not drive us apart. We are in a raging storm. The countries that are agile, adaptive, determined and, above all, united will be the ones that will be able to ride the waves of recovery. I am confident that we will eventually overcome COVID-19 and emerge stronger.
So, all hands on deck as we embark on this next lap of our journey together as Parliamentarians. I wish you godspeed, fair winds and following seas as we seek safe harbour from this almighty storm that we find ourselves in and to ready ourselves for the many, many more exciting journeys ahead.
With that, thank you very much and all the best. [Applause.]
I wish to inform hon Members that the President will be present in this Chamber to deliver her speech at the Opening of Parliament later. I, therefore, suspend the Sitting until 8.00 pm. Order. Order.
Sitting accordingly suspended
at 6.35 pm until 8.00 pm.
Sitting resumed at 8.00 pm.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"President's Address","subTitle":"Securing Our Future in a Different World","sectionType":"OS","content":"[(proc text) The President (accompanied by two ADCs) entered the Chamber, accompanied by Mr Speaker, who was preceded by the Serjeant-at-Arms (without the Mace), the Deputy Clerk and the Assistant Clerks. (proc text)]
[(proc text) On the Clerk announcing \"The President\", the President delivered his Opening Address. (proc text)]
The President (Mdm Halimah Yacob): We are starting a new term of Government under the shadow of COVID-19. Singapore has been fully engaged in this fight. New infections have been brought under control. We have completed testing all the migrant workers in the dormitories and are progressively returning them to work safely. Fatalities have been kept very low.
But the situation continues to unfold. Many cities that had initially suppressed the virus are seeing infections rise again as they reopen their economies. Scientists are still learning new things about the virus – including how best to protect ourselves and how new medical treatments and vaccines can help.
We must therefore adjust our COVID-19 strategies and plans along the way. We have prepared our healthcare system and expanded reserve capacity to deal with a possible resurgence of cases. We are continuing to ramp up our ability to conduct aggressive testing and contact tracing. Most importantly, all of us must stay vigilant to prevent a new wave of infections.
At the same time, we are facing our worst recession since Independence. Our economy will likely shrink by 5% to 7% this year. The Government has acted decisively to save jobs and provide emergency support to workers and companies. We are injecting almost $100 billion into the economy, including the latest package that Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced last week. These measures have reduced the immediate pain, but things will remain grave for quite some time.
The situations globally and domestically have changed and there is no going back to the status quo ante.
For decades, Singapore has thrived under globalisation and a stable international order. But our external environment has become less benign and predictable. COVID-19 has reshuffled the deck. It has revealed new threats, while also opening up fresh opportunities.
Global fault lines have sharpened, and US-China rivalry has intensified. Supply chains have been disrupted. Countries are fighting to meet their own needs, fuelling a new wave of protectionism. This is especially challenging for Singapore, as we make our living by doing business with the world.
Domestically, Singapore is at an inflection point of our history. New generations of Singaporeans are coming of age. We have new aspirations and expectations, including a desire for more diverse voices to be heard, and stronger checks and balances. At the same time, new leaders are emerging to take Singapore the next steps forward.
The new generation of leaders and Singaporeans will have to form bonds and connections afresh, forge their own compact, find their own ways of working together and strike their own balances. They have to continue to deliver effective and sound government, while accommodating the growing diversity of views. And they have to foster a more open spirit in our society, even as we strengthen the common cause holding us together as Singaporeans.
For Singapore to continue to succeed, we need to understand these changes in our external and domestic environments, rethink our problems and improve on the status quo.
The Government will continue to evolve our economic and social models, and our policies to suit the new circumstances. We will encourage citizen initiatives and participation. We will listen to and examine novel ideas objectively, recognising that no solutions are right for all time.
Sometimes, staying the course will remain the best way forward and we must convince Singaporeans to persevere. Other problems will require fresh approaches and the courage to take a different direction. In all cases, we will seek to do what is best for Singapore and Singaporeans.
Despite the sea change in our environment, one thing remains constant: Singapore is still a little red dot in an uncertain world. To survive and thrive, we must stand out compared to other countries. We need to be more resilient and nimble than others in responding to change. We must do things that others cannot do, and do the things that others can do, even better.
This requires us to reach a broad consensus on the economic and social changes necessary, the Singaporean identity we aspire to forge, and the kind of politics we want to have.
We recognise the fears and anxieties about jobs that Singaporeans have today. COVID-19 has amplified the pressures caused by a slowing global economy in recent years, especially on certain groups of workers, such as our lower wage workers, mature workers and mid-career Singaporeans with heavier financial commitments and families to support.
Jobs will remain our top priority for the next few years. Keeping people in work is the best way to help them take care of their families and to keep their skills current until the economy improves.
We are doing all we can to help. We are supporting businesses, especially SMEs, with cashflow and credit so that they stay afloat and hold on to their workers. The National Jobs Council is working closely with tripartite partners to create new job and skills upgrading opportunities for Singaporeans.
We will continue to look out for our lower wage and mature workers, many of whom are also essential workers who have been keeping Singapore going during the crisis.
We are also making a concerted effort to help workers in their 40s and 50s, by matching them to suitable jobs and SkillsFuture programmes. I urge employers to see mid-career Singaporeans as valuable assets, and provide them with opportunities and training for new jobs.
To sustain job creation, we must keep our economy strong and competitive. Our economy will undergo significant structural changes. Some sectors will not return to what they were before. Some jobs will disappear altogether. Much of our economy thrives because we have made ourselves a vibrant hub for the region and an attractive place for trade, investments, talent and ideas. We cannot take our hub status for granted, or assume that its scope and role will remain the same.
There is therefore great urgency to transform our economy and find new ways to make a living. We will resume air travel safely, to maintain Singapore’s role as a global and regional hub. We will strengthen digital connectivity and help companies develop their links to new markets. Our efforts to fortify our resilience in critical areas like food, healthcare and supply chain management can become new sources of growth.
We will also make a major push for sustainable growth. We will reimagine how we plan our city, redesign urban mobility and grow using less resources in a low-carbon future. We will push for green financing and sustainable infrastructure development across the region, to ride on Asia’s growth while protecting the environment. With creativity and resourcefulness, we can turn our aspirations for a greener Singapore into a competitive advantage.
While we pursue economic growth to create opportunities for Singaporeans, we must also share the benefits of progress widely with all citizens.
We started strengthening our social safety nets more than a decade ago. In this crisis, we have implemented many emergency measures to help Singaporeans cope. These are temporary relief measures, but we do expect a permanent shift to a new normal after the crisis. We are entering an era of volatility, uncertainty and disruption in people’s lives. Individuals will need greater social support than before.
We will have to consider carefully how to strengthen our safety nets, to give Singaporeans more assurance coping with life’s uncertainties. And we will have to be careful to do so in a way that is financially sustainable for future generations.
As part of this shift in social policy, the Government will do more to support every Singaporean, at each stage of life, to build a stronger and more cohesive society.
We will support young families to own their homes, and to improve their own and their children’s lives through quality education and training pathways. We will offer middle-aged Singaporeans more help to secure good jobs and greater assurance of retirement adequacy. We will take good care of our seniors to enable them to age well and with dignity.
But more redistribution cannot be the only way to level up those who are doing less well. We also have to continue strengthening social mobility and broadening our conception of merit.
Meritocracy has been a crucial pillar of our society. It has served us well over the past 55 years. However, just as our social norms and policies have evolved in tandem with Singapore’s development, so too must our model of meritocracy.
We recognise that unfettered meritocracy can foster excessive competition. We also realise the need to level up families who are at a disadvantage, and give their children a fair start in life. We want to keep our society open and socially mobile, and not allow it to stratify and ossify over time.
That is why we have made a concerted effort to value a wide range of talents. Schools and Institutes of Higher Learning admit students through yardsticks other than academic results. The Public Service Commission has widened its catchment of scholars. Employers are encouraged to hire people based on skills, with the public service taking the lead. Political parties are fielding candidates who took different life paths and have diverse talents and strengths.
This is also why we must continue to invest heavily in education and training, from the earliest years of childhood through the schooling years. We are developing many pathways, so that young Singaporeans can achieve their fullest potential regardless of their starting point. And through the next bound of SkillsFuture, we will enable every worker to upskill and progress throughout their career, beyond their initial qualifications. Employers must support lifelong learning as the new norm. Society must value people for what they contribute, in every job and every role.
Building a fair and just society goes beyond Government actions. It requires the support and participation of all Singaporeans. It turns on how we look after our most vulnerable members, such as helping students from disadvantaged families through UPLIFT and KidSTART, providing training and job opportunities for people with disabilities and bridging the digital divide for our seniors.
We have made progress over the last decade, and we will do much more in this term of Government to see our people through this crisis and beyond. The more closely knit we are as a people, the further we can move ahead as a nation.
In the longer term, the key to Singapore’s success lies in our sense of shared identity. Singapore can endure and secure her place in history, only if Singaporeans feel passionately about our country, and put our hearts and souls into making this a better home.
Since Independence, we have gradually built a distinctive Singaporean culture and identity. Regardless of race, language or religion, we all think of ourselves as Singaporeans. You can see this in our attitudes, memories and experiences; it is in our arts and heritage, and the way we cheer for Team Singapore together. You see it in the way we can gladly identify one another in an unfamiliar foreign land, and the way we have each other’s backs in a crisis. These are emotional ties that are strengthened over the years.
There is still much more to do to strengthen the sense of togetherness in our society. We must start young and shape the multi-cultural instincts in our children early in life; our approaches and methods must therefore evolve with the outlook and attitudes of the young. We must then sustain this mindset across our communities and workplaces.
We must also recognise that larger forces are at play that test our solidarity and pull us in different directions. The social media has amplified contending voices and views. We are more exposed than ever to causes, attitudes and values from other societies that may not be relevant to our social context, but will influence us nonetheless. Economic distress arising from COVID-19, or social inequality, can breed a sense of insecurity amongst different groups of Singaporeans.
Multiracialism will always be a core element of our Singaporean identity. Everyone, regardless of race, language or religion, must have an equal place in our society. Here in Singapore, we embrace our plurality and diversity, even as we continue to develop a stronger Singaporean ethos and strive together to become more than the sum of our individual parts.
But our multiracialism is still work in progress. Each successive generation will bring different life experiences and perspectives. In each generation, some will want to discuss sensitive issues afresh. Younger Singaporeans prefer talking about these issues more candidly and openly, which is a positive development. But the conversation needs to be conducted with restraint and mutual respect, because race, language and religion will always be visceral subjects. If each group pushes its own agenda to the extreme, we risk eroding the common space and fracturing our social cohesion.
Another potentially divisive issue closely connected to our Singaporean identity is the sense of competition for jobs from work pass holders. This has become a major source of anxiety, especially among mid-career Singaporeans. We understand these concerns. They not only touch on matters of livelihood, but also on our sense of identity and belonging. They will be addressed.
As masters of our own land, Singaporeans must have confidence in the rights and privileges of citizenship. Our strong education system and training pathways have produced a workforce that can compete against the best in the world. We will work with employers to further strengthen the capabilities of our workforce in every field, and ensure that firms treat Singaporeans fairly when they recruit or retrench workers. In all that we do, the interests of Singaporeans are always paramount.
At the same time, we must not turn inwards, away from the world. We must keep our hearts open to those who come from beyond our shores. We should continue to welcome and integrate those who can contribute to Singapore, and improve our lives and our children’s future.
Our Singaporean identity has been formed and strengthened not by excluding those who arrive later, but by successive arrivals adding to the richness of our society.
These are emotive issues that can evoke strong reactions. Debates on such sensitive matters can easily become polarised. So, as we open up more areas for meaningful discussion, Singaporeans must work even harder to listen to and understand one another.
We must break out of the echo chambers that form so easily online, and make genuine attempts to bridge the gap with those who think differently from us. We must strive to obtain greater insight, build shared understanding and use our diverse perspectives and ideas to achieve better outcomes for all.
These must also be the guiding principles of our politics. Parliament is the central platform to debate national policies and set the tone for our political discourse.
One significant change in this term is the designation of the Leader of the Opposition, reflecting the larger number of Opposition Members in Parliament. The Government and the Opposition both have roles to play to build trust in our public institutions and achieve good outcomes for Singapore.
Given the magnitude of the challenges and uncertainties, we must expect to encounter more differences in views and interests among Singaporeans. We must learn to handle these differences constructively. On some issues, we can agree to disagree. But on issues core to Singapore’s survival and future, we must do our best to find common ground and build a broad consensus.
The Government will be open to constructive criticism and rational debate, and to new ways of doing things. But the Government, having been elected by the people, must also govern for all our people. It cannot shy away from taking difficult and tough decisions in the national interest, or shirk the duty of winning support for such decisions.
The Opposition too has its part to play. In Parliament, besides raising questions and criticisms, the Opposition should also propose policy alternatives to be scrutinised and debated. And when the situation demands, both the Government and Opposition should set aside differences and work together to secure the safety and future of our nation.
Singaporeans’ expectations and choices will determine what kind of politics Singapore will have. The key question is how to forge a common cause together, regardless of our own political inclinations. We need to base our rhetoric on a responsible sense of the realities and come to a shared understanding about our goals and constraints. Our public debates should be honest and open about the trade-offs of different options and what they will cost society. Only in this way will our system continue to encourage able and committed individuals to step forward to serve.
Ultimately, we want Singapore to evolve in a way that engages the aspirations and creative energies of all our people. Singaporeans aspire to make this a better place and have interesting and diverse ideas to pursue. Such a diversity of views and ideas can be a source of strength, for us to navigate the challenges and possibilities ahead.
To realise this strength, we need a sense of common purpose, and a readiness to act to make a difference to causes we care about. Singaporeans must come together, in partnership, to pursue the greater good, united by a belief in Singapore and a desire to turn our vision into reality. This is the spirit of Singapore Together. We invite all Singaporeans to partner each other and the Government in this journey.
In the coming years, we will confront major changes in the world. But we can face the future with confidence, having built up deep strengths since our Independence. Our Pioneers prevailed against great odds to build Singapore and it is now our turn to tackle this crisis of a generation.
How we respond to the pandemic and economic crisis will define Singapore for many years to come. We must continue to command confidence and respect in the world, and emerge a stronger and more united nation.
So, let us work in close partnership, as Singapore Together – one people uniting behind our elected Government – to save lives, protect livelihoods and secure a brighter future for ourselves and our children.
Adjourned accordingly at 8.28 pm.
ADDENDA TO THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS AT THE OPENING OF THE FIRST SESSION OF THE FOURTEENTH PARLIAMENT ON MONDAY, 24 AUGUST 2020
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Ministry of Communications and Information","subTitle":"Addendum to the President's Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Minister for Communications and Information (Mr S Iswaran): COVID-19 has reinforced the imperative for businesses and individuals worldwide to be digitally-ready. The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) will maximise Singapore's \"digital dividend\" by creating new jobs and driving digital innovation, and bridge the \"digital divide\" by establishing a baseline level of digital access and skills for all. Further, in a digital age where our common spaces are no longer just physical, MCI will protect our online and offline spaces, and build trust in our institutions and cohesion in our society through public communications and engagement.
As part of the Government's priority to create jobs for Singaporeans, MCI will accelerate the creation of tech and tech-related jobs in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, and across the economy. We will ramp up placements, traineeships, and skills upgrading under the SGUnited Jobs & Skills Package, as well as the TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) and Cybersecurity Development Programmes. The jobs for both fresh graduates and mid-career professionals will be in growth areas like cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, data analytics, software and network engineering, as well as executive roles in business transformation for companies going digital.
MCI will step up efforts to digitalise our Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which employ almost 70% of our workforce. We will provide targeted financial assistance through the Digital Resilience Bonus (DRB) for the most affected Retail and Food Services sectors, in addition to broad-based schemes such as Start Digital Packs, the Productivity Solutions Grant, and Grow Digital e-commerce platforms for SMEs to access overseas markets.
Companies have been going digital to enhance productivity, build new businesses, and grow internationally. MCI will promote a vibrant ecosystem for digital transformation through international connectivity, progressive regulation, and public-private partnerships. To help companies access growth in Asia and beyond, Singapore is developing an international network of Digital Economy Agreements (DEAs) with like-minded countries, to establish interoperable digital systems and frameworks for data flows and electronic transactions, and ensure an open digital trade architecture.
Singapore has signed DEAs with Australia, Chile, and New Zealand; talks are ongoing with the Republic of Korea. The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), together with Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and the National Research Foundation (NRF), will build on the National Innovation Challenges to catalyse the development of new products, services, and business models that will better position sectors such as logistics, maritime, and modern services for growth in a digital era.
MCI and Digital Industry Singapore (DISG) will continue engaging large global tech companies as investors, industry partners, and policy stakeholders. We will support the growth of local digital champions in areas such as AI, cybersecurity, communications, and digital platform services, assisting them with talent acquisition, market access, and capability building. We will also raise the digital capabilities of our enterprises, equipping them with digital tools to transact seamlessly, access overseas opportunities, and create good jobs.
Singapore's innovation ecosystem will be empowered by our investments in world-class infrastructure, as well as research and development (R&D). We are building a secure and resilient 5G communications network, which will provide the foundation for innovative applications and services. We will grow indigenous capabilities in technologies that drive value creation. MCI will collaborate with academia, industry, and other partners to strengthen R&D and translation capabilities, particularly in data, AI, cybersecurity, media, and communications technology.
MCI aims to enable every Singaporean to thrive in a digital society. We will ensure that all Singaporeans have a baseline level of affordable digital access, especially vulnerable groups such as low-income seniors and families. Singaporeans will be equipped with the digital skills and literacy needed to go online safely and confidently. The SG Digital Office, which brings together Digital Ambassadors, volunteers, as well as corporate and community partners to drive the nationwide digitalisation movement, exemplifies the importance of working with the community to bridge the \"digital divide\".
MCI will build lifelong learning communities. Libraries and archives provide trusted information services and inclusive social spaces that foster lifelong learning and an appreciation of Singapore's history. The National Library Board (NLB) will roll out a five-year Libraries and Archives Plan to prepare Singaporeans for a digital future. Partnerships with volunteers and organisations will create more opportunities for people to learn together, connect with our shared history and culture, and engage with curated content and customised services, both physical and digital. NLB will strengthen access to services for segments of our society, such as working professionals, who require more curated resources for learning and skills development.
The Government adopts a balanced approach towards content regulation, both on the Internet and in other media, to facilitate informed media consumption choices and to expand the common space for diverse views that respect our society's values, while protecting our social harmony. We will continue to refine our content guidelines in consultation with independent advisory panels and stakeholders across the community, to reflect our evolving societal norms and diversity of perspectives. We will also nurture and support local media companies, who play key roles in our news and social media landscape.
MCI will keep our cyberspace secure so that Singaporeans can benefit from digitalisation. We will strengthen the cybersecurity of our Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) – systems providing essential services, such as energy, telecommunications and water. The focus will be broadened beyond Information Technology systems to include Operational Technology. The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) will implement the Safer Cyberspace Masterplan to secure Singapore's digital core, safeguard cyber activities, and nurture a cyber-savvy population. CSA will maintain vigilance over the evolving threat landscape, and develop tools to protect Singapore's cyberspace from new and emerging forms of cyber-attacks. Singapore will also work with our international partners to build a resilient and secure international rules-based order in cyberspace.
Ultimately, the most important line of defence against digital harms is a well-informed and discerning citizenry. We will deal with evolving digital harms, by drawing on the collective responsibility and capability of the Government, industry, and our citizens. MCI will work with academia and community partners to augment the reach and impact of our public education campaigns that will empower Singaporeans with information and media literacy skills to protect themselves from digital harms.
MCI will play its part to strengthen social cohesion and trust in the Government through timely, accessible, and inclusive Government communications. MCI has leveraged a range of traditional and digital media platforms, including mobile messaging applications in our official languages, to reach Singaporeans of different age groups and backgrounds. MCI will further enhance its Whole-of-Government communications strategy by using analytics and technology to tailor content to different segments based on their needs and preferred platforms. MCI will explore new ways to disseminate official information in the vernacular languages.
MCI will work with all its stakeholders, including through the Government's engagement platform REACH and industry associations, to understand their concerns and seek suggestions on policy challenges. Together, we will seize new opportunities and forge a thriving digital future for all.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth","subTitle":"Addendum to the President's Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai): The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth's (MCCY) mission is to build social capital and inspire the Singapore Spirit. COVID-19 is impacting us in many ways, reminding us that social cohesion and a strong spirit of civic responsibility are more important than ever before. In this new term of Government, MCCY will continue to work with Singaporeans to build a home that is caring, cohesive, and confident. We will step up our community and youth engagement efforts, while continuing to develop a vibrant arts, heritage, and sports landscape that Singaporeans can enjoy and be proud of.
MCCY will continue to help Singaporeans stay connected and support each other through the crisis. The SG Cares Volunteer Centres complement the efforts of our community organisations to care for vulnerable groups, by coordinating volunteerism efforts on the ground. Religious organisations are also giving spiritual guidance and comfort to their communities, working with us to put in place measures to keep their worshippers safe. Together, we have and will continue to adopt new ways to connect with those in need of support, such as phone calls, tele-conferencing, contactless delivery of essential goods, and digital platforms for religious worship.
To safeguard the livelihoods of our arts and sports professionals, MCCY introduced the Arts and Culture Resilience Package and support measures for the sports sector, a suite of funding and training support for new artistic commissions, SGUnited jobs for sports professionals, digital channels for arts and sports content, and upskilling opportunities in preparation for post-COVID-19 recovery. We also created traineeship and internship opportunities for youths in the community and social sectors, enabling them to pick up work-ready competencies while giving back to society.
Singaporeans have rallied together during this crisis. We have seen Singaporeans showing empathy, social responsibility, and neighbourliness – values and behaviours that underpin a cohesive and caring society. More ground-up movements are emerging to propagate community-based initiatives for mutual support and we will support them. We want to sustain this strong spirit of civic contribution and mutual care, even when COVID-19 is over. Through Youth Corps Singapore, Team Nila, and the People’s Association (PA) Youth Movement, and grants for ground-up projects, such as Our Singapore Fund, Our Harmony Fund, and the National Youth Fund, we will empower Singaporeans to create positive change in society.
Through the SG Cares movement, MCCY will continue working with partners and intermediaries to coordinate volunteerism efforts, build capabilities, channel resources to areas of need, and grow a more caring society together.
We will continue to create opportunities for Singaporeans to come together and build shared memories with their communities, friends, and loved ones. Even as the arts sector works to safely resume live performances, we will continue the #SGCultureAnywhere campaign so that Singaporeans can continue to enjoy the arts and culture. We will also continue to build and upgrade sports facilities, and offer affordable, quality ActiveSG programmes, so that Singaporeans can enjoy an active lifestyle and bond through sports. Through such platforms, Singaporeans with a passion for the arts and culture or sports will have access to opportunities to pursue their aspirations.
With community partners, we will strengthen solidarity by providing opportunities for Singaporeans from different backgrounds to engage in respectful dialogue on sensitive issues of race and religion, both online and face-to-face.
We will continue to enrich and grow our arts scene and cultivate our tangible and intangible heritage. We look forward to the outcome of our nomination to inscribe Hawker Culture in Singapore on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, so we can proudly showcase our culture to the world.
Sports can inspire Singaporeans to rally together as a nation, and celebrate with our sporting heroes. MCCY is committed to supporting our athletes' aspirations through the SportSG spexScholarship programme, funding for National Sports Associations, and High Performance Sports (HPS) funding, which also provides sports science and sport medicine support for athletes preparing for their campaigns. Earlier this year, we introduced the Inspire Fund, in partnership with Temasek Foundation, to support athletes outside the HPS system. Through this, we can spur our athletes to greater heights.
To strengthen the resilience of the community and social sectors over the longer term, we are partnering the National Council of Social Services (NCSS) and Tote Board to raise the digital capabilities of the local non-profit organisation sector, particularly the charities. We will also raise the digital capabilities of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the arts, heritage, and sports sectors by leveraging SMEs Go Digital Programme, with support from the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Enterprise Singapore (ESG). Due to the economic impact of COVID-19, the road ahead will not be an easy one for many of these organisations. We will invest in new capabilities that can help them lower costs, improve service delivery, and develop new and exciting products.
We will continue to create opportunities so that youths are well-positioned to thrive in the future. We will set up a \"digital corps\", comprising trained youths, who will be deployed to assist community and social sector organisations to digitalise. We aim to create up to 1,000 opportunities for this. We will partner Youth Sector Organisations (YSOs) to provide life skills training for youths, such as in leadership and financial planning. We will equip youths with the skills and knowledge to capitalise on opportunities in Asia through the Asia-Ready Exposure Programme (AEP).
To look after our youths' well-being and create better access to help, we will partner YSOs to co-create mental well-being resources, online. We will also continue working with partners to strengthen peer support among youths in schools and the wider community. As part of the Youth Mental Well-being Network, we will support youths who want to initiate ground-up efforts to promote mental well-being.
In 2018, we launched Our SG Arts Plan and Our SG Heritage Plan, setting out a 5-year roadmap for our sectors. We are reviewing these at the midpoint, drawing on the experiences, insights, and aspirations of the arts and heritage communities. Similarly, in 2019 we launched V2030 Recharged, co-created in close collaboration with the sports community. These plans will support MCCY's vision to foster a caring people, cohesive society, and confident nation.
Singaporeans have undergone a shared experience that has changed our lives. We must reflect on and learn from what is happening, and how we can emerge stronger as a society. The Government will convene the Emerging Stronger Conversations, so that Singaporeans, including our youths, can reflect and reimagine the future together. These conversations will be an inclusive platform to discuss important bread-and-butter and key societal issues. We invite Singaporeans to partner the Government to translate these reflections and ideas into action. The SG Together Action Networks will bring together Government, community, and businesses, to cocreate solutions and lay the foundation for our vision of a stronger Singapore society.
The current pandemic has underscored our duty to each other as fellow Singaporeans. We came together to do our part, and demonstrated that we are a caring, inclusive society, that is united in the face of adversity. In this new term of Government, MCCY's agenda of policies and programmes will bolster this Singapore Spirit, and in partnership with Singaporeans, forge a stronger, more resilient society of mutual care and collective well-being. We will create a shared future by working together, as one people.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Ministry of Defence","subTitle":"Addendum to the President's Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Minister for Defence (Dr Ng Eng Hen): A strong defence safeguards Singapore's peace, security, and sovereignty, and lays the foundation for our pursuit of economic and social progress.
The geopolitical environment and security landscape which we face is becoming more complex, and further exacerbated by disruptions and differences brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Contestation between the US and China is rising across all spheres, while territorial, maritime, and other disputes among countries have intensified. Sensing opportunities, terrorists and cyber-attackers continue to pose significant threats. Across borders, the rules-based order which has contributed to global stability and multilateral institutions that have forged cooperation to transnational problems are unravelling. Within each nation, COVID-19 is inflicting enormous health, economic, and social damage.
As we navigate through these turbulent times, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) must stand ever prepared to defend our nation. Despite COVID-19, the SAF has not compromised on operational readiness, be it in island defence, maritime security, air defence, counter-terrorism, or cyber defence. To generate new units to meet security needs, we have resumed more training activities, including Basic Military Training for new enlistees and essential In-Camp Training for National Service (NS) units. The SAF is also progressively restarting overseas exercises to sharpen our capability edge. In August 2020, RSS Supreme joined 22 ships from nine other navies at the biennial Rim of the Pacific Exercise 2020 held at sea off Hawaii.
To protect the health of our servicemen, the SAF will continue to undertake comprehensive safety measures, supported by robust COVID-19 surveillance and testing regimes. We will also comprehensively relook how we operate, train, and work, and make fundamental changes that are necessary for the new normal.
The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the SAF also remain ready to contribute to national COVID-19 efforts when called upon. We have led national health surveillance and contact tracing operations to contain COVID-19's spread, built and managed community care and recovery facilities, and taken care of COVID-19 patients and migrant workers in dormitories. Our defence scientists and engineers have stepped up to contribute technology and testing solutions in support of frontline operations.
Even as we face a more volatile external environment and a widening array of threats, the SAF's enlistee pool will shrink. In response, the Next-Gen SAF will seek to protect the peace and security of Singapore by fighting with enhanced situational awareness, greater connectivity, and sharper strike precision, all enabled by a leaner but better trained force. It will transform its fighting concepts, restructure its units, and strengthen operations-technology integration to maintain a decisive edge over potential adversaries. The Next-Gen SAF will be one that harnesses the power of digitalisation, autonomous and unmanned systems, and big data and artificial intelligence. In the cyber domain, an integrated cyber force will defend our digital borders.
The SAF's transformation is possible because of our long-term planning and steady investments over the years. New land, maritime, and aerial platforms, as well as Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) systems will be progressively deployed in the coming years. Upgraded local training facilities including SAFTI City and overseas ones such as the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Australia will allow us to train more effectively.
We will also be strengthening our local defence ecosystem, to enable us to develop bespoke technological capabilities for the SAF, while building resilience amidst uncertainties in our global supply chains. As we do all these, we will continue to be prudent in defence spending, taking into account the economic downturn and competing needs due to COVID-19.
NS remains the crucial backbone of Singapore's defence. We will enhance the NS system to drive the Next-Gen SAF and support the needs of a new generation of national servicemen. The National Service Review Committee established in 2020 will develop mechanisms for better matching of skills and experience to vocations and deployment, and continual professional development of our servicemen. We will also revamp our servicemen's end-to-end NS journey for a more meaningful and efficient experience.
As a small city state, it is vital that we uphold a global system and regional security architecture that are based on openness, inclusivity, co-operation, and respect for international law. MINDEF and the SAF will contribute towards constructive dialogue and partnerships at multilateral platforms, including the Shangri-La Dialogue, the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM), the ADMM-Plus, and the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA). We will support the ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Groups' new three-year cycle of cooperative initiatives in areas such as counterterrorism and maritime security. We will reaffirm our commitment to strengthening defence consultation and cooperation with member-nations of the FPDA, which marks its 50th anniversary in 2021.
On the bilateral front, we will continue to develop defence ties with our neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia, and other partners such as Australia, China, India, and the US. With the US, we will build upon the 2019 Protocol of Amendment to the 1990 Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate the US' presence in our region and work together on areas of mutual interest. With other regional partners, we will grow our military ties as established through defence cooperation agreements to scale up bilateral military exercises, and conduct regular dialogues and exchanges.
To strengthen Singaporeans' collective commitment to Total Defence, MINDEF and the SAF will step up engagements with key segments of society, including families, employers, businesses, and educational institutions, as well as the wider public. We will also instil pride in and support for the institution of NS, and continue to recognise NSmen and their supportive families and employers for their sacrifices. The 55th anniversary of NS in 2022 and upcoming development of the prominent NS Square at Marina Bay will provide valuable opportunities to commemorate NS and reaffirm the central role that it plays in our nation and our lives.
Together, Singaporeans will build a strong defence that keeps our families safe and our nation peaceful, and enables us to advance our lives and develop a better society.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Ministry of Education","subTitle":"Addendum to the President's Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Minister for Education (Mr Lawrence Wong): The Ministry of Education (MOE) strives to provide every Singaporean with opportunities to achieve their fullest potential. We will ensure education remains an effective social leveller, by giving every child access to quality education, and multiple pathways throughout life to pursue their aspirations.
Education remains the best way for us to sustain and strengthen social mobility. With COVID-19's disproportionate impact on the disadvantaged, we are redoubling our efforts to make sure no child is left behind.
We will give every child a good start in life, regardless of their backgrounds. By 2025, we will operate at least 60 MOE Kindergartens. We will also deepen support for students with special needs – by strengthening educators' professional competencies in both mainstream and Special Education (SPED) schools, as well as opening new SPED schools and upgrading current ones.
Through the Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families Taskforce (UPLIFT), we will deepen school-community partnerships to support vulnerable students and engage their families. More Singaporeans will be able to benefit from the recently-enhanced MOE Financial Assistance Scheme and Government bursaries for students in Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs).
At the same time, we will continue to support all students holistically. We strive to foster the joy of learning in our students, so that Singaporeans are equipped not just with knowledge and skills, but also with the spark to pursue their passion and fulfil their potential. To achieve this, we will strengthen our team of Teachers, Allied Educators, and Education and Career Guidance Counsellors, and extend more resources for students with greater needs.
We will create fresh opportunities for students of different backgrounds to interact and build bonds with one another. Students from different schools will also come together for inter-school activities like combined team co-curricular activities, the MOE-Outward Bound Singapore Challenge Programme, and Values-in-Action programmes.
Disruptions due to COVID-19 have opened up new opportunities to reimagine teaching and learning. Building on our experience with home-based learning, MOE will make blended learning an integral feature of the curriculum from next year. As part of our National Digital Literacy Programme, we will accelerate the roll out of personal digital learning devices to all secondary school students by end-2021.
A key part of education has always been to inculcate social responsibility and resilience in our students. A refreshed Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) curriculum will be progressively rolled out in all schools, to give added focus to mental health and cyber wellness education. In secondary schools, teachers will engage students in regular discussions on contemporary issues and equip them with critical thinking skills to navigate such issues.
To prepare students for the future workplace, our IHLs will expand efforts in inter-disciplinary learning. Students can look forward to more broad-based common core curricula and access to electives, as well as new industry-relevant degree programmes that integrate knowledge from different disciplines. We also aim to give students more room to decide on their academic specialisations by introducing more common entry programmes in the Polytechnics and giving University students more time to declare their major.
Through multiple pathways in our education system, we will cater to the diverse strengths and aptitudes of students. We want to embrace a wider spectrum of skills and talents, and not just focus narrowly on academic achievements.
From 2021, the Primary School Leaving Examination will have wider scoring bands to reduce the overly fine differentiation of students. By 2024, streaming will be phased out and Full Subject-Based Banding will be implemented across secondary schools. This will offer students more opportunities to pursue subjects at a level suited to their strengths and interests.
We will also expand our post-secondary progression pathways for students with different aptitudes and skills. By 2030, all Institute of Technical Education (ITE) graduates will have a range of opportunities to upgrade beyond a Nitec over the course of their careers, according to their interests and learning needs. To cater to their different interests and learning needs, we will continue to increase the number of places in ITE's Work-Study Diplomas and full-time Higher Nitec programmes, as well as the number of places for working adults in full-time Polytechnic diploma programmes. We will also further expand the adoption of Aptitude-Based Admissions across our six Autonomous Universities.
As part of SkillsFuture, our immediate priority is to support the efforts of the National Jobs Council in creating jobs, traineeships, and training opportunities. Our IHLs will continue to ramp up their capacity for continuing education and training, and in particular, increase their range of industry-relevant modular courses to support lifelong learning. We will also grow SkillsFuture Work-Study Programmes into a mainstream pathway by 2025 so that more students can benefit from learning opportunities both in the workplace and the classroom. For mid-career workers in their 40s and 50s, we will provide them with additional help to refresh their skillsets, so that they can seize new job opportunities amidst economic restructuring.
Our educators too must embrace this mindset of continuous learning. We will support them in their professional development through SkillsFuture for Educators (SFEd). SFEd provides a roadmap for all teachers to strengthen their practice in six areas: assessment literacy, differentiated instruction, inquiry-based learning, e-pedagogy, CCE, and support for students with special educational needs.
In the midst of crisis, we are seizing opportunities to reshape our education system for the longer term, and to accelerate improvements in the way we teach and learn. In partnership with parents, employers, and community, we will help Singaporeans to learn for life and learn from life. We will continue to uplift our people and expand opportunities for progression, as part of our overall efforts to build a more fair and just society.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Ministry of Finance","subTitle":"Addendum to the President's Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (Mr Heng Swee Keat): The Ministry of Finance (MOF) seeks to advance the well-being and development of Singapore through sound and forward-looking fiscal policies. We aim to enable an innovative and efficient Government that delivers strong outcomes and value for money for taxpayers.
In this new term of Government, our immediate priority is to protect lives and livelihoods by enabling a timely and robust response to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. We are deploying effective fiscal strategies to enable a strong recovery and to position Singapore for future growth. We will continue to build a fair and progressive fiscal system that fosters continued social mobility and uplifts the vulnerable. We will ensure sound finances and a sustainable future for generations to come.
In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, MOF mounted successive major fiscal packages to protect our workers and save jobs. We launched key measures like the Jobs Support Scheme to stabilise the economy and stem unemployment. We also provided support to businesses such as property tax rebates and rental grants, to cushion the immediate impact and provide relief on business costs. This was a substantial slate of support, with more help given to those most affected by the crisis.
But it will not be sustainable to continue this level of support indefinitely. Beyond immediate relief, the pandemic has increased the urgency of economic transformation. We must help businesses and workers adapt and grow in an economy profoundly reshaped by COVID-19.
To this end, we are accelerating our innovation and digitalisation push across each of our Industry Transformation Maps, growing our base of innovative enterprises, and pursuing new frontiers of growth by investing in research in areas like health and biomedical sciences, climate change, and artificial intelligence. We are forging stronger connections to major innovation nodes and key demand markets through trade facilitation and digital economy agreements, platforms like the Networked Trade Platform and Global Innovation Alliance, and by pressing on with major investments in our port and airport. These will strengthen our position as a Global-Asia node of technology, innovation, and enterprise. We are also building an adaptable and skilled workforce to take on quality jobs and to power our economic transformation, through the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package and the Next Bound of SkillsFuture.
We have been reviewing and enhancing policies over time to build a fair and just society. A strong society is our stabiliser in an ever more uncertain and volatile world. It has helped us to weather crises, while avoiding the social fractures seen in many other countries. We will redouble efforts to strengthen our social compact, and build a united Singapore.
MOF will deploy resources to maintain social mobility and opportunities for all at each stage of life. We will continue to help those who start off with less. To give every child a good start in life, we are doubling our annual spending on affordable, quality pre-school education within the next few years, from 2018 levels. To help every worker progress throughout their working lives, we are investing significant resources to build an industry-relevant skills ecosystem that will enable Singaporeans to upgrade themselves.
We will continue to strengthen our support for low-wage workers, vulnerable seniors, and households with greater care-giving burdens. This continues the shifts that we have progressively made over the years to strengthen social security, through schemes like Workfare and Silver Support, and enhancements to preschool, education, and healthcare subsidies. We will continue to support affordable and quality education, healthcare, and housing for the broad base of Singaporeans, particularly the lower- and middle-income segments. These investments build human and social capital.
Even as we meet our needs today, we must also build for tomorrow. MOF will continue to invest in building a safe and liveable home for our families, and support our vision of a Smart Nation, to improve our quality of life for current and future generations.
We will continue to invest in our defence and domestic security to protect our interests and safeguard our way of life in an increasingly complex external environment. We will build new and stronger capabilities to defend ourselves from evolving and unconventional threats. We will strengthen our resilience against crises so that we can recover and emerge stronger. With our major investments in the coming years, Singaporeans will benefit from improved transport connectivity through new rail lines, and active mobility infrastructure. We will rejuvenate our housing estates, and build vibrant communities in our heartlands. We will make significant and early investments to help us mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.
MOF is committed to maintain a sound and sustainable fiscal system that will enable us to realise our long-term plans for Singapore. Our fiscal strength has enabled us to navigate the COVID-19 crisis with confidence. It will also give us a competitive edge in a post-COVID-19 world that puts a premium on reliability and resilience.
To combat this crisis, we have drawn on our reserves, equivalent to over 20 years of past budget surpluses. We have used a generation's worth of savings to combat a crisis of a generation. We must therefore ensure that our fiscal balance is put back on a stable path when the economy recovers.
We face a challenging fiscal environment ahead. COVID-19 will give rise to new spending priorities, even as we spend more to support our families with their healthcare and pre-school needs, and keep them safe. In parallel, revenues will come under greater pressure from slower global growth in the aftermath of COVID-19 and sharper international competition over tax revenues.
We will take steps to strengthen our revenue position. We will do so in a way that fosters collective responsibility, with each generation contributing its fair share. We therefore plan to raise the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to help fund our growing healthcare and social spending needs, while making responsible use of borrowing to finance infrastructure investments that will benefit many generations to come. We will carefully monitor the timing of such moves, including the state of the economy and our spending needs. As announced in the Unity Budget, the GST rate increase will not take effect in 2021. We will continue to steward the reserves well to prepare us for future shocks and crises, and to invest them for long-term returns that will be shared equitably between present and future generations.
We are committed to a fiscal system that is fair and progressive – with the better-off contributing more, and lower- and middle-income households receiving more in benefits than the taxes they pay. We will continue to adjust taxes on income, consumption and assets to achieve the right balance, while keeping our tax rates competitive.
At the same time, we will ensure the effective and efficient use of public resources, maintain value-for-money Government procurement, and continue to support innovation and enterprise through our policies and practices.
We will need collective action at all levels of society to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis. In the longer term, our success in building a vibrant economy, an inclusive society, and a better home will increasingly hinge on strong partnerships between Government, businesses, and community. We can achieve this through SG Together, collectively harnessing the best of our people, ideas, and energies to improve Singapore. MOF will continue to support, enable, and amplify the efforts, ideas and initiatives of the business and people sectors, to build a better Singapore together.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Ministry of Foreign Affairs","subTitle":"Addendum to the President's Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Minister for Foreign Affairs (Dr Vivian Balakrishnan): The mission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) is to uphold Singapore's independence and sovereignty while advancing the interests of Singapore overseas and providing consular services to Singaporeans. In the midst of this unprecedented crisis, we will continue to prioritise these key areas of MFA's work: First, looking after Singaporeans overseas; Second, managing and strengthening relations with our immediate neighbours, ASEAN, and key regional and international partners and; Third, maintaining our relevance on the global stage and engaging our international partners as we embark on our collective fight against COVID-19.
Even as we deal with the massive health, economic, and social impact of the pandemic, we need to maintain our engagement on the global stage. COVID-19 has reinforced how important it is for Singapore to continue to play an active role internationally and deepen our interactions with key stakeholders and at multilateral fora. The fight against COVID-19 is a global one and we cannot win it alone.
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, more Singaporeans than ever were living, working, studying, and travelling overseas. COVID-19 has deeply affected these overseas Singaporeans and their families. In the weeks and months following the outbreak, we saw numerous Singaporeans return home. MFA officers, together with other Ministries and agencies, were heavily involved in these repatriation efforts. Our officers worked around the clock and went beyond the call of duty to help their fellow Singaporeans in their time of need. Singaporeans know that we will leave no Singaporean behind.
Diplomacy was crucial in these efforts. MFA worked closely with our international partners on these repatriation missions. In the months since, we have continued to work with the international community to cope with the travel and movement restrictions imposed by the pandemic while safeguarding Singapore's interests and Singaporeans' welfare.
COVID-19 will continue to be a threat for the foreseeable future and we must be prepared for the uncertainty that lies ahead. For those Singaporeans who have chosen to remain abroad, their families here are understandably concerned about their well-being. MFA remains committed to helping overseas Singaporeans and doing our part to bring peace of mind to their families at home.
As a small nation-state, developing strong, sustainable, and multi-faceted partnerships is vital for Singapore's long-term security and continued prosperity. Maintaining and strengthening our relations with our immediate neighbours, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei, is more critical than ever as we work to maintain supply chains for essential trade and overcome the longer-term socio-economic impact of the pandemic. In our relations with Malaysia, we continue to adopt a win-win approach in the many areas where we have common interests, such as the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link project that both sides have agreed to proceed with. We are also discussing measures to progressively restore cross-border travel between Singapore and Malaysia while ensuring the health and safety of the citizens of both countries. We are also keeping up our strong and mutually-beneficial cooperation with Indonesia and will explore ways to support each other's economic recovery.
ASEAN continues to be a cornerstone of Singapore's foreign policy, serving as the necessary bedrock for a stable, peaceful, and prosperous region. Singapore will continue to work closely with our fellow ASEAN Member States, as well as ASEAN's external partners, to enhance ASEAN's global footprint. We share substantive and growing economic, defence, and people-to-people ties with our Southeast Asian neighbours and are developing new areas of cooperation such as smart city infrastructure, FinTech, digital technology, innovation, as well as agri-trade to secure and diversify our supply chains.
Beyond Southeast Asia, we will continue to strengthen our political, economic, and strategic ties, and explore new areas of cooperation particularly in vaccine multilateralism, which would be critical to help Singapore secure early and adequate access to COVID-19 vaccines. For instance, we are cooperating with the US on emerging areas such as cybersecurity and infrastructure financing. With China, we will leverage on the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation to expand bilateral cooperation in a wide range of areas including public health. At the same time, we will continue with our active engagement of other key partners including India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and the European Union, and explore ways to enhance cooperation in areas such as public health, reciprocal green lanes, and supply chain connectivity. We will have to work together with friends in the international community to ensure fair and equitable access to vaccines for people in all countries. Beyond the pandemic, we are strengthening cooperation with international partners in areas such as vocational education and sustainable development.
We will continue to play a constructive role at various multilateral fora, including the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and the World Trade Organization. We will continue to advocate for trade and investment liberalisation, a free, open and rules-based multilateral system, the importance of preserving supply chain connectivity, facilitating the flow of essential goods, and promoting vaccine multilateralism. These are critical to Singapore's growth and prosperity. We will work with partners to foster an environment where individuals, businesses, and governments can transact safely in cyberspace and thereby create opportunities for Singaporeans in the new digital era. We will also continue to contribute to efforts to address global challenges like climate change and sustainable development and developing global public health protocols and standards.
MFA will continue to enhance relations with countries in other regions including the Middle East, Central Asia, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Latin America is increasingly an important source of food for Singapore, and potentially a growing market for our companies' expertise. We have embarked on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with the Pacific Alliance and MERCOSUR regional blocs to enhance our economic ties. We will also utilise our Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP) to support the efforts of developing countries to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Foreign policy begins at home. As we navigate the challenging times ahead, we must ensure that first and foremost, we are strong and united as Singaporeans. This will strengthen our credibility when we work with external partners to strengthen our bilateral relations, regional standing, and international presence. In the spirit of SG Together, we will continue to ensure Singaporeans are aware of the Government's collective efforts to address challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, increase our relevance, and expand our space on the global stage.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Ministry of Health","subTitle":"Addendum to the President's Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Minister for Health (Mr Gan Kim Yong): The Ministry of Health's (MOH) mission is to deliver health and healthcare in a sustainable way so that all can benefit from a healthy life well-lived. To achieve this, we promote good health and reduce illness, ensure access to good and affordable healthcare appropriate to needs, and pursue medical excellence. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented challenge for our healthcare system. We are committed to continuing our fight against COVID-19, while also continuing to transform and strengthen our health systems in a sustainable way for the long term.
MOH will strive to keep the public safe by coordinating Singapore's public health response against COVID-19. Following SARS in 2003 and H1N1 in 2009, we enhanced our capabilities in infectious disease management, expanded our laboratories and set up our national stockpiles of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and drugs. We established the National Centre for Infectious Disease, which had its official opening in September 2019. We will press on with our strategy to fight the disease: First, to collectively prevent spread of COVID-19 through practicing safe management in how we conduct our daily activities; Second, detect new cases as early as possible; Third, contain close contacts of new cases to prevent further transmission; and finally, provide quick and effective care for patients to allow them to recover and return to their normal lives.
We have been able to respond well and adapt quickly to COVID-19 because of our healthcare workers and partners who have led the charge against COVID-19. Their adaptability, resilience, and determination have led to innovations in caring for patients both within the existing healthcare institutions and in in new settings such as the various isolation and recovery facilities. We are grateful to them and the many Singaporeans who have stepped up to volunteer for the SG Healthcare Corps, and contributed their valuable time and skills to augment our manpower needs in many key areas of our COVID-19 defence.
COVID-19 will be with us for a long time, and until a vaccine becomes available, there is always a risk of further waves of the disease. MOH will ensure sufficient healthcare resources to care for our COVID-19 patients, and support our Public Healthcare Institutions (PHIs), private hospitals, community hospitals, Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs), and Nursing Homes (NHs), to help them continue their vital roles in the fight against COVID-19. We will also continue to maintain adequate quarantine and community isolation capacity, to remain prepared for any sudden surge in cases. We will continue to leverage data and technology to improve our capability to respond quickly to evolving situations and contain outbreaks
We will continue to work with international partners to deepen international cooperation in the global fight against COVID-19, by sharing data and information on cases, and on the disease. We remain actively involved in vaccine and therapeutics development, including in clinical trials with global partners, and will continue to invest in and further develop our research capabilities in public health and strengthen our research partnerships.
In the meantime, for as long as COVID-19 is still with us, we must remain vigilant as a nation and continue to encourage the public to practice social responsibility and good personal hygiene habits. We will work together with businesses, workers, civil society, and members of the public alike to find new and safe ways to operate. We will all have to adapt our daily practices and develop new habits so that we can work, learn, and play in a safe manner. We will also learn from these experiences, to better prepare ourselves for future pandemics and other threats that can affect the health and lives of Singaporeans.
Even as we tackle COVID-19, we must not lose sight of our long-term vision for health and healthcare. We must continue to ensure that quality healthcare remains accessible and affordable, and that our healthcare system can better and more sustainably serve the evolving health needs of Singaporeans. To achieve this, we will press on with three major shifts in our healthcare system, to move Beyond Healthcare to Health, Beyond Hospital to Community, and Beyond Quality to Value.
First, and most importantly, we will continue to strive for better health, and keep Singaporeans healthy. We will continue our efforts to improve the diets and lifestyle of Singaporeans, and we will find new ways to do this safely in light of COVID-19. We will also push on with our initiatives to make preventive healthcare more affordable and accessible, such as by enhancing subsidies for vaccinations in various settings. In addition, we will extend more help to proactively manage the health of vulnerable groups in the community such as our seniors through our review of the Action Plan for Successful Ageing, and by forging more partnerships with members of the public as well as corporate and community partners to transform our seniors' lived experience. Beyond the elderly, we will also continue to collaborate with the relevant Ministries and agencies, as well as people and private sector partners, to support the mental wellness of our entire population, through targeted programmes like the Integrated Youth Service for youths at risk of mental health conditions. Our War on Diabetes will likewise continue, with screening for diabetics and those with pre-diabetes to detect those who have and are at risk of developing the condition, as well as continuing to optimise our care for diabetics and preventing long-term complications. Finally, we will look to identifying best practices that can help us in our fight to better manage other chronic diseases.
We also remain committed to enhancing healthcare accessibility and providing better care. While COVID-19 has pushed back the completion timelines for some of the upcoming new facilities, we will continue to expand our healthcare capacity, such as by building a new hospital in the east and new polyclinics across Singapore by 2030. We will enhance our community-based services, by progressively expanding the service scope of eldercare centres to include active ageing programmes for well, befriending services for the lonely, and information and referral for care services for frail seniors. We will also evolve regulation of the healthcare sector through the implementation of the Healthcare Services Act (HCSA) and work with industry on the safe introduction of new care delivery models.
To provide better value, we will continue to keep healthcare affordable and sustainable for Singaporeans as our population ages, partnering with Singaporeans to prepare for their long-term care needs. These include three new initiatives from 2020: ElderFund, launched in January 2020, as well as CareShield Life and MediSave Care, to be launched by the end of this year. In addition, we are working with the MediShield Life Council to review MediShield Life benefits and premiums to ensure that the scheme continues to provide adequate protection against large medical bills and remains sustainable. Our subsidy frameworks will also be reviewed to ensure that they remain adequate and directed at those who need it most.
Although it has presented us with many challenges, COVID-19 has also strengthened our resolve to transform healthcare. We will push forward with digital transformation and research efforts which will support better and more integrated care across providers, facilitate better patient experience, and improve operating efficiency within our healthcare sector in all environments. We are accelerating several digitalisation projects to support telehealth initiatives, help our healthcare workforce work remotely, and improve pandemic preparedness. In research, we will build and support a greater pool of talent, improve data infrastructure, and strengthen research and development (R&D) in a wide range of translatable areas. We will manage the rollout of these initiatives expeditiously and securely, whilst strengthening cybersecurity across MOH, its statutory boards, and the healthcare sector.
Our healthcare workers are integral to our transformation efforts. For our existing healthcare workers, who have played a crucial role in keeping Singapore safe during COVID-19, we will continue to explore how we can improve their career development and welfare. At the same time, MOH will create and facilitate new job opportunities and traineeship positions for Singaporeans over the next few years, in both the public healthcare sector and community care sector. To attract more to the community care sector, we will introduce leadership development and scholarship programmes, and review salaries for competitiveness as well as in recognition of the sacrifices made by our healthcare workers.
Our healthcare transformation journey is a multi-year endeavour. We must keep innovating and improving to make Singaporeans healthier and our healthcare system better for all, in partnership with public, community-based, and private healthcare providers. We will continue to reach out to all Singaporeans, to help us continue our journey to build a strong and sustainable health system for the future together, so that all Singaporeans can live well, longer, and with peace of mind.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Ministry of Home Affairs","subTitle":"Addendum to the President's Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Minister for Home Affairs (Mr K Shanmugam): The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) safeguards Singapore's safety and security by maintaining a high level of operational excellence and readiness, building new capabilities to meet emerging and evolving threats, and leveraging both community and international partnerships.
There remain significant threats to our safety and security. Externally, the terrorism threat remains high. We continue to be at risk of foreign parties interfering in our domestic politics, as many countries have experienced in recent years. Technological advancements have also made it easier for criminals to operate across national boundaries, and are driving an increase in crimes such as online scams and unlicensed moneylending. The international drug situation continues to be of concern, with the emergence of new psychoactive substances, and more countries adopting a liberal stance towards drug use. Domestically, it remains imperative to ensure racial and religious harmony for the sake of our country’s peace and prosperity, given the make-up of our society.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, MHA has been actively involved in the Whole-of-Government effort to contain the virus, deploying our officers and resources at the frontline, including at the borders and quarantine facilities. MHA will also continue to help coordinate the Government's response to the pandemic through its chairmanship of the Homefront Crisis Executive Group (HCEG). The HCEG supports the Multi-Ministry Taskforce in planning and executing national policies and responses for COVID-19.
With the local community transmission situation stabilising, the Government is taking steps to gradually re-open our borders through various travel schemes with other countries. To support this, MHA has set up a Safe Travel Office (STO) under the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), to provide a single touch-point for all travellers, and also provide coordination across the many agencies involved in the various travel schemes. The STO will make for an easier and smoother traveller experience.
The Home Team Science & Technology Agency (HTX) will put its technological capabilities and scientific expertise to use in the fight against the virus. Currently, travellers at our land, air, and sea borders are screened using HTX's in-house designed test kit, with swab samples analysed at HTX's laboratory. Travellers are able to obtain their results by the next day. In addition, technology such as unmanned aerial vehicles, patrol robots, and remote sensors are being deployed for monitoring of key facilities to better detect crowding and ensure safe distancing.
As we gradually resume more activities, our police officers will continue to assist safe distancing ambassadors to ensure compliance with safe distancing measures and requirements, as well as to support the Ministry of Health in contact tracing.
MHA will continue to enhance our capabilities to deal with emerging and evolving threats.
We will strengthen our legislation and regulatory regimes. MHA will amend gambling-related legislations, and reconstitute the Casino Regulatory Authority to form the new Gambling Regulatory Authority, which will have an expanded mandate to regulate the entire gambling landscape in Singapore. We will review our drug laws to enhance deterrence and strengthen enforcement, including to deal with the rising threat of new psychoactive substances. We will enhance the fire safety regulatory regime and strengthen the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s (SCDF) investigative and enforcement powers against fire safety violations. We will consider the need for new legislation to better guard against foreign interference in our domestic politics, and counter hostile information campaigns mounted by foreign actors.
We will leverage technology to build a stronger Home Team so that we can better protect Singaporeans. We will develop more digital forensics capabilities to tackle technology crimes. We will continue to build up our network of sensors, and use analytics to detect, deter, and solve crimes faster and more effectively. Robots and Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles (UAVs) will play a greater role in search-and-rescue, fire-fighting, and hazardous materials operations. We will make greater use of automation and video analytics to enhance safety and security in the prisons.
We continue to strengthen our collaboration and operational effectiveness as one Home Team. We will develop more joint operations plans and conduct more joint exercises. We will build more joint capabilities, including in the areas of command, control and communications, and logistics and other support functions. We will strengthen collaboration and deepen expertise across all parts of our Home Team. We are building a Home Team Operations Centre, which will be an integrated 24/7 coordination hub to manage and monitor Home Team operations more effectively.
We will enhance service delivery to the public with more convenient service touchpoints and platforms. For example, ICA will set up an Integrated Services Centre to offer one-stop services to the public, to achieve our \"3N\" vision of \"No Fuss, No Visit, and No Waiting\". Customers can expect efficient and fuss-free services, without having to make a trip to ICA for most transactions. We will also build up the capacity of SCDF's Emergency Medical Services to deliver better emergency response outcomes while meeting growing demand.
We will continue to invest in our people. We will equip Home Team officers with skills and knowledge to meet future challenges. We are leveraging simulation training with realistic scenarios for officers to develop competencies in a safe environment. The Ops-Tech career track will allow us to nurture uniformed officers grounded in operations and proficient in technology.
Terrorist and militant groups continue to be active, and ISIS' propaganda remain widely available online and continue to have a radicalising influence. It is thus important that we build up our people's resilience against the threat of terrorism. In this regard, we will deepen the community's participation in our safety and security efforts through the SGSecure movement.
To better deal with the threat of scams, we recently set up the Inter-Ministry Committee on Scams, which will coordinate efforts across the Government to innovate and implement cross-cutting solutions. We will also partner the community, including stakeholders such as financial institutions, telecommunications companies, and Internet platforms, to combat this growing problem.
The Central Narcotics Bureau will work with the community to sharpen preventive drug education efforts. The Singapore Prison Service and Yellow Ribbon Singapore (YRSG) will expand community correction efforts to better support the rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-offenders. They will also step up collaboration with community partners to help ex-offenders through training and employment assistance. As part of YRSG's recent rebranding, YRSG will be enhancing the career prospects of ex-offenders, by shifting from a training and job placement model to one that emphasises skills for long-term career development.
Given the rising volume and complexity of transnational crime, it is important that the international community work more closely together. We will deepen our cooperation and partnerships with organisations such as INTERPOL, ASEAN and the United Nations (UN), as well as bilaterally with partner countries.
Together with Singaporeans, the Home Team will continue to ensure that Singapore remains a safe and secure home for all of us.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Ministry of Law","subTitle":"Addendum to the President's Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Minister for Law (Mr K Shanmugam): The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) will work with stakeholders, partners, and the public to advance access to justice, develop our legal services to support our economy and society, and strengthen the Rule of Law in Singapore, to realise our vision of \"A Trusted Legal System; A Trusted Singapore\".
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many businesses and individuals. To mitigate the impact of the pandemic, Parliament passed the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Bill in April 2020 under a certificate of urgency. This provided companies temporary relief from their contractual obligations. The Act also increased the monetary thresholds and time limits for bankruptcy and insolvency to help individuals and companies respectively. The Act was further amended in June 2020, to further enhance support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and eligible non-profit organisations, through the provision of fair handling of rental obligations.
In the coming months, some companies will face a real risk of insolvency and financial constraints may cause litigants to forgo pursuing their legal rights. We will put in place measures to assist micro and small companies who need to restructure or wind down their businesses through simpler, faster, and lower cost proceedings.
We will continue to strengthen and enhance access to justice for all Singaporeans. We reviewed the civil legal aid means test in 2019, which simplified the application process and introduced a new Means Test Panel that can waive the means criteria for deserving applicants with extenuating circumstances. We will continue to work closely with the legal fraternity to provide civil and criminal legal aid to Singaporeans with limited means.
COVID-19 has brought on new challenges to our society and may have exacerbated the legal problems which vulnerable groups face. To better support them, we will expand our partnerships with Social Service Agencies (SSAs) and Family Service Centres (FSCs). We will help people address not only their legal problems but also their underlying social needs. As we accelerate the digital transformation of our legal aid services, we will work with our partners to ensure that access to legal aid and advice will not be hampered by the lack of access to technology.
To ensure that all segments of our society have access to justice in a post-COVID-19 world, we are reviewing and streamlining common legal processes, such as conveyancing, making a will, and applying for probate. We will accelerate the use of technology in these processes, so that they are more accessible and user-friendly, whilst still protecting the interests of all parties. We will also review the Community Dispute Management Framework to strengthen the management of disputes between neighbours.
Looking beyond the immediate challenges, we are planning ahead and will boldly seize new opportunities to transform our legal services, intellectual property (IP), and geospatial sectors.
Singapore is already a leading international dispute resolution hub. This was further bolstered by the adoption of the Singapore Convention on Mediation, the first UN Convention named after Singapore, in 2019. The Convention will come into force on 12 September 2020.
We will build on our strong foundation and work closely with law associations, law practices, lawyers, and law schools to strengthen and deepen our capabilities in key and emerging high-growth practice areas. We will support law practices in expanding their international reach, for example by equipping lawyers with an understanding of key markets, and developing joint programmes with other professional services such as the \"Lawyers and Accountants Go Global\" programme to capture new markets and foreign client bases. We will also build on the new omnibus Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act to strengthen Singapore as an international centre for debt restructuring. We will continue to implement reforms to provide companies and individuals with additional options for litigation funding, starting with certain categories of proceedings, to enable more litigants to pursue meritorious claims.
We will also build on the \"Tech-celerate for Law\" programme, and continue to work with law practices to accelerate the adoption of technology to improve productivity and enable the delivery of legal services in new and innovative ways.
To encourage and strengthen support for businesses to use their IP for growth, we launched the SG Patent Fast Track in April 2020 to enable innovative businesses to protect their inventions in all fields of technology, including COVID-19 solutions. We will expand the programme to include Trade Marks and Registered Designs. We will also continue to assist enterprises and communities to better manage and monetise their intellectual property, for example through the Growing with Resilience through InTangibles (GRIT) initiative.
We will work with the private sector to build up Singapore's geospatial capabilities with the launch of a 3D Singapore Sandbox. This Sandbox will enable the private sector to test out innovative solutions using 3D geospatial modelling, visualisation and analytics tools.
A strong rule of law is a cornerstone of a progressive country. We will continue to undertake legal reforms to maintain trust in our legal system. We will also continue to be a responsible member of the international community and fulfil our international obligations, such as our efforts in anti-money laundering/ countering the financing of terrorism.
To strengthen the criminal justice system, we amended the Penal Code to introduce enhanced penalties for offences against minors and vulnerable victims, and to create new offences for voyeurism, distributing intimate images, and sexually exploiting minors. We also amended the Protection from Harassment Act to strengthen protection for victims of harassment and online bullying, and to tackle offences such as doxxing. We will operationalise a new specialist Protection from Harassment Court to provide a one-stop solution for victims to receive holistic and effective relief with simplified procedures and expedited timelines.
We will progressively implement the recommendations of the Committee to review and enhance Reforms in the Family Justice System to promote the use of multi-disciplinary approaches and processes to resolve family disputes out of court. This will help minimise litigation and promote healing of relationships. We will also simplify and streamline court processes in the civil justice system while keeping costs affordable and enabling court proceedings to be conducted flexibly, for example by expanding the scope of remote and asynchronous hearings.
MinLaw has been working in close partnership with agencies and stakeholders to transform the legal industry to adopt innovation and technology, as well as strengthen Singapore's position as an international hub for dispute resolution. Through SG Together, we will further widen and deepen our engagement and collaboration efforts as we develop our plans to help us better realise our vision.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Ministry of Manpower","subTitle":"Addendum to the President's Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Minister for Manpower (Mrs Josephine Teo): The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges in our employment landscape. Jobs and livelihoods have been affected. We will help workers and companies tackle the immediate challenges to emerge stronger. Before COVID-19, we had been preparing workers and employers for the future of work. These efforts must now shift to even higher gear. We will deepen and expand efforts to ensure fairness at work, with a focus on giving every worker a chance to be meaningfully employed, and fostering an inclusive workforce and progressive workplaces.
The National Jobs Council will spearhead the Whole-of-Government effort to bring together 100,000 jobs and skills opportunities through the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package. Our economic agencies will press on with industry transformation to keep as many Singaporeans as possible in jobs, and create new jobs to make up for job losses. Workforce Singapore and its partners will strive to open up pathways for every newly displaced worker to return to meaningful employment:
(a) We will work with employers to make jobs available to jobseekers willing to acquire new skills, through heavily subsidised training and the Jobs Growth Incentive. Where employers remain cautious about hiring, we will support them to host traineeships and attachments, by co-funding the training allowance with host organisation. This will allow jobseekers to gain industry-relevant skills and be better positioned for economic recovery. We will give stronger support to employers that favourably consider middle-aged and mature workers.
(b) We will intensify efforts to help Singaporeans in their job search. We will expand our offerings and improve accessibility through:
(i) SGUnited Jobs & Skills Centres across all HDB towns;
(ii) Enhanced Digital Career Matching Services;
(iii) Private sector employment agencies serving as SGUnited Jobs & Skills Placement Partners.
Singaporeans, regardless of age, race, gender, must have a fair chance at job opportunities. While employment rates have risen for mature workers, women and ethnic minorities, we must remain vigilant and build on the gains.
Our foreign workforce policies have been designed to support economic growth, so as to create good jobs for Singaporeans. There is regular calibration, to enable firms to access the manpower they need while ensuring a strong Singaporean core. In the last decade, we have also made policy adjustments to spur businesses to upgrade productivity.
Through expanded opportunities, nearly six in 10 locals in the workforce today are employed in Professional, Managerial, Executive and Technician (PMET) jobs, among the highest in the world. For every Employment Pass (EP) holder, there are nearly seven locals employed in PMET roles. However, with COVID-19 and the economic disruption it has caused, there is now more slack in the labour market. We will therefore make further adjustments to our foreign workforce policies, including raising the salary criteria for EP and S Passes, to reflect the changed conditions.
Even as we stay open to the world to accelerate our recovery, the crisis makes it all the more important that employers give fair treatment to Singaporeans. They should also seek to achieve greater diversity within their EP and S Pass workforce where practical. We will ensure that employers uphold both the letter and spirit of the Fair Consideration Framework. We will closely examine retrenchment exercises to ensure they are carried out fairly.
Businesses that bring in skills in short supply or new networks of opportunity for Singapore will always remain welcome. At the same time, we will require businesses to invest more effort to develop and strengthen their Singaporean core.
COVID-19 has accentuated the fast-changing nature of employment, and the uncertainty for those who are self-employed to find consistent work. This affects their income stability and ability to save regularly for retirement and healthcare needs.
We will continue to implement the recommendations of the Tripartite Workgroup on Self-Employed Persons (SEPs). We have piloted the contribute-as-you-earn model earlier this year to help SEPs make small and regular Medisave contributions. We aim to reduce payment-related disputes, mitigate the loss of income due to prolonged illness or injury, and support SEPs in their skills needs. We will further review the responsibilities of service-buyers and intermediaries to bring about a fairer and more balanced relationship with their self-employed workers.
Uplifting wages at the lower end remains a key priority. In sectors like cleaning, security, and landscaping where the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) has been fully implemented, full-time workers have seen their gross monthly incomes increase by around 30% in the last five years, much higher than median wages. When enhancements to Workfare are included, the gains are even larger.
In the context of the current downturn and very uncertain outlook for the economy, our overriding objective is to ensure continued employment opportunities for these workers. Over time, we will expand the PWM to more sectors, in a manner that is practical and ensures we preserve low levels of local unemployment.
This effort to raise wages at the lower end will require long-term commitment and new mindsets among employers, service buyers, and society at large. We may have to pay slightly more for services, so that lower income workers are able to take on better jobs and earn higher wages. Together with the Government's support for lower income workers through Workfare and other schemes, it will help us mitigate inequalities and strengthen our social compact.
We will undertake regular reviews of Workfare and Silver Support. Workfare payouts were raised from January 2020 to uplift more workers. The enhanced Silver Support will provide higher payouts and help 100,000 more seniors with lesser means, covering up to one in three of our elderly.
To better support persons with disabilities (PwDs), we introduced the Enabling Employment Credit (EEC) which will cover about four in five of current PwD employees. There is also an additional wage offset when employers hire PwDs who have not been working for at least six months.
We will continue to look out for gaps in our social safety nets, and enhance support in sustainable ways, and ensure every Singaporean who makes the effort gets a fair chance to bounce back from employment setbacks.
COVID-19 has led to individuals facing considerable stress. We will need a renewed focus on the health and wellness of the entire workforce. We will forge partnerships with Trade Associations & Chambers, Non-Governmental Organisations and professional bodies, to broaden and strengthen the network of support for our workers.
We will also build on the experience of managing and safeguarding the wellbeing of migrant workers during the pandemic. We have set up a new operating unit – the Assurance, Care & Engagement (ACE) Group – to take over and continue the work of the Inter-Agency Task Force.
Over the last five months, the Task Force has provided assurance to migrant workers at the dormitories and cleared the dormitories of COVID-19 infection. The new ACE Group will ensure dormitories and other migrant worker housing are safe and resilient against public health threats, by building a stronger system of medical support for migrant workers. It will also partner with the community and migrant worker groups to meet the social needs of workers.
As important as it is to safeguard the health and wellness of our workers, we must also ensure the higher costs are sustainable. In particular, we will carefully consider the cost-sharing model for higher standards in migrant worker dormitories and develop an insurance programme to help employers manage unexpectedly large medical expenses of their migrant workers.
The \"new normal\" brought about by COVID-19 provides a great opportunity to review workplace practices and entrench more flexible work arrangements (FWAs). This will serve public health objectives, and improve business continuity and work-life harmony (WLH).
We will implement the Citizens' Panel’s recommendations to support employers to offer FWAs and WLH initiatives and promote greater awareness through diagnostic tools, ambassadors, and recognising progressive employers.
Our tripartite partners are jointly committed to working closely with Singaporeans to overcome the economic and labour market challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. To help our workers and business succeed, we will continue to uphold fair opportunities, fair hiring, fair competition, and fair support for everyone to progress at every stage of their working lives. In collaboration with the whole-of-society as part of the SG Together movement, we can and will emerge stronger from this crisis as a cohesive society.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Ministry of National Development","subTitle":"Addendum to the President's Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Minister for National Development (Mr Desmond Lee): In this term of Government, the Ministry of National Development (MND) will continue the work to make our city and our homes more green, liveable, and sustainable, in order to support the diverse aspirations of Singaporeans today and in the future. But we recognise that COVID-19 has significantly impacted our lives and our livelihoods as well as the way we live, work, and play. Some of these changes are short-term, while others may be permanent structural shifts. Most importantly, we seek to be responsive and agile in tackling these challenges together.
The construction sector has been hit hard by COVID-19. One of our immediate priorities is to help the sector restart work safely and smoothly, as quickly as possible. Government agencies have been working hard to help construction and renovation firms restart. We have also provided significant financial support to help our firms tide over this difficult period. This will help preserve industry capacity for us to continue building and improving Singapore.
To help the construction sector to get on a stronger footing post-COVID-19, we will step up the pace of industry transformation to improve productivity. This includes adopting advanced building technologies to allow for cleaner, higher quality, and less manpower-intensive construction. We will drive research, innovation, and digitalisation across the built environment value chain, from construction to property transactions services and facilities management. We will also enhance professionalism at all levels across the sector, to create new and better jobs for Singaporeans, guided by a comprehensive Skills Framework. We will grow local construction and consultancy firms to be industry leaders, which will not only serve Singapore's own needs, but also to seize opportunities overseas.
Amid the COVID-19 crisis, we will continue to take care of Singaporeans' housing needs. In the near term, we will seek to assist households who are facing difficulties, for example, by allowing more flexibility in mortgage repayments. We are also working hard to ensure that construction projects can resume smoothly, to minimise delays in the completion of our Build-To-Order (BTO) flats. These delays have impacted families who have been waiting for their new homes. We will also monitor the housing market closely and take measures where needed to keep it stable and sustainable.
We will ensure that public housing remains accessible and affordable, especially for young families seeking to own their first home. We will need to keep flats affordable as we inject more public housing in and around the city centre. This will ensure that our public housing estates remain inclusive and vibrant places where residents of different backgrounds can mix and interact.
In line with our efforts to keep public housing inclusive, we will continue to cater to the diverse housing needs of different Singaporeans. For our seniors, we have expanded and enhanced our schemes to help them tap on their flat's value to supplement their retirement adequacy. We will continue to review and improve these schemes. We will also launch new assisted living flats that will integrate affordable housing with care services, to support seniors with care needs. For lower income families, we will continue to support them to buy their own flats. For those who are unable to afford home ownership, we will continue to provide highly subsidised public rental housing that is well-integrated with home ownership flats in good living environments. We also regularly review our housing plans and policies to better support various groups of Singaporeans with their housing needs, including multigenerational families, singles, and single parents.
In addition, we will continue to rejuvenate our towns and keep public housing highly liveable, through various upgrading programmes. We will also continue developing our plans to progressively redevelop older HDB towns to keep them vibrant, through the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme. This will be a major and complex undertaking.
We aim to develop \"Healthy Towns for all ages\", by planning and designing our HDB towns and estates to better support the physical, social and mental well-being of residents at different life stages. As part of the SG Together movement, we will also broaden and deepen community engagement, by involving residents to contribute ideas, as well as to jointly create plans to refresh and enliven community spaces. Through shared neighbourhoods, public spaces, and experiences, Singaporeans can build stronger bonds and a more united community. A City in Nature, a Greener Urban Environment
We remain committed to our greening efforts island-wide, to transform Singapore into a City in Nature over the next decade. We will dedicate more nature parks for recreational activities, and protect our nature reserves from the impact of urbanisation. We will conserve more native flora and fauna, introduce more natural landscapes and waterbodies in our gardens and parks, and integrate nature into our urban areas and pathways. By extending and enhancing our natural capital in this manner, Singaporeans will enjoy a higher quality living environment, and have greater access to the benefits of nature on our health and well-being.
Our urban infrastructure will become greener too, as part of our climate change efforts. We are working with the industry and community to roll out the next Green Building Masterplan and raise building sustainability standards. We will encourage the adoption of best-in-class energy performance solutions through the Super Low Energy Buildings programme. We aim to green 80% of our buildings by 2030.
At the town level, we will design new HDB towns for greater environmental sustainability, with plenty of green spaces. For instance, Tengah will have a comprehensive cycling network with dedicated cycling paths on both sides of all roads. It will also feature the first \"car-free\" HDB town centre where roads will run underground to free up the surface level for people. For existing towns, we will deploy resource-saving and other sustainable initiatives through the HDB Green Towns Programme, including rooftop solar panels for more HDB blocks, smart LED lighting in common areas, and the intensification of greenery in selected multi-storey carparks. We aim to reduce energy consumption in HDB towns by 15% by 2030.
We will develop Jurong Lake District (JLD) as a model sustainable mixed-use district, with smart infrastructure and planning to optimise resources and reduce the carbon footprint, and as a potential platform for urban solution trials and other new opportunities.
We invite every Singaporean to join us in shaping the future of our city and our home. Earlier this year, we launched our One Million Trees movement with the support of community partners to engage Singaporeans from all walks of life to be stewards of our island's greenery. The Urban Redevelopment Authority's Master Plan, gazetted last year, was the product of extensive public engagement.
We will continue to partner the community and industry, as we push ahead to lay the groundwork for major projects. This includes revitalising communities along the Rail Corridor, by working with stakeholders to celebrate the heritage of these areas and to introduce new amenities. We are rejuvenating our Central Business District to ensure that it remains vibrant and relevant, while bringing jobs closer to homes, through growth centres like JLD and Punggol Digital District. Longer-term projects, such as development of the Greater Southern Waterfront and redevelopment of the Paya Lebar Airbase site, will provide future generations more opportunities and new ways to live, work and play.
We are never done improving Singapore. Each generation builds upon the efforts of the previous one. We will work with Singaporeans to build a better home for our generation as well as future generations of Singaporeans.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Ministry of Social and Family Development","subTitle":"Addendum to the President's Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Minister for Social and Family Development (Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M): The social needs of Singaporeans have become more complex as Singapore's demographics and economy change. This is augmented by the deep and far-reaching impact of COVID-19 on Singaporeans. More people need help, and lower income and vulnerable households are especially impacted. The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) has responded with support during the Circuit Breaker. We will now refresh our strategies and policies, and step up our efforts to meet Singaporeans' needs, as we are still combating COVID-19 and the consequent economic impact. The crisis will not divert us from our efforts to improve social mobility, and we will ensure that no Singaporean is left behind. All Singaporeans will have an important role to play as we strengthen our social compact. We will engage citizens, and work with community and corporate partners in the spirit of SG Together to co-create and codeliver social policies and programmes that can better serve Singaporeans.
We will continue to review and strengthen our social safety nets. Through ComCare, the Temporary Relief Fund, the COVID-19 Support Grant, and The Courage Fund, we provided financial and social support to lower income and vulnerable Singaporeans affected by COVID-19 during the Circuit Breaker and the phased opening up of our economy. We also provided ComCare recipients with longer periods of assistance. As we brace for a global economic downturn, we will continue to work with other agencies and community partners to strengthen social support for Singaporeans in need, including strengthening support for mental and family wellbeing. We will also dovetail our efforts with that of the National Jobs Council to facilitate the employment and training of Singaporeans, and assist those who still need help.
We will enhance social service delivery, so that Singaporeans in need can receive comprehensive, convenient, and coordinated support. This has become especially important, as COVID-19 has exacerbated the challenges faced by vulnerable segments of our society who have less resources to buffer against the impact. We will expand our networks and programmes, such as the SG Cares Community Network and Community Link (ComLink), and deepen our collaboration with social service agencies (SSAs), community partners, and volunteers to proactively reach out to vulnerable Singaporeans and support the needs of each town. Through partnerships such as the Partners Engaging and Empowering Rough Sleepers (PEERS) Network, the Vulnerable-in-the-Community Network, and the Food Workgroup, we will ensure that those in need receive timely help.
MSF is committed to building an inclusive society by strengthening support for persons with disabilities. We are working with SG Enable and other partners to implement the Enabling Masterplan 3 and develop plans for the next phase beyond 2021. We will systematically reach out to persons with disabilities and caregivers to better support them. In line with efforts by the National Jobs Council, we will sustain efforts to improve the employment and employability of persons with disabilities. We will also continue to support independent living for persons with disabilities, and maximise their potential at every stage of life. We aim to provide better support for children with moderate to severe developmental needs within preschools.
To give every child a good start in life, we will build on earlier efforts to enhance the accessibility, affordability, and quality of preschools. We have significantly enhanced preschool subsidies so that more families pay less for preschool. We will continue to work with Anchor Operators to build more preschools, and appoint more Partner Operators to assure families that 80% of preschoolers can have a place in Government-supported preschools by 2025. In the medium term, as Government-supported places increase, we will further lower their fee caps to enhance affordability. We will also continue to enhance training and career progression of early childhood educators, and raise preschool quality via the Singapore Preschool Accreditation Framework (SPARK). We will strengthen holistic and upstream support for more children from low-income families with the expansion of KidSTART to more regions. Through the Growing Together with KidSTART initiative, we will deepen community partnerships to better support KidSTART families.
To support youth-at-risk, offenders, and their families, we will adopt a more preventive approach, as well as better rehabilitative methods, and will work with agencies and partners through the National Committee on Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Recidivism to strengthen our programmes and capabilities. Our youths must continue to have opportunities to succeed in life.
The family is the basic building block of our society. We will promote and support families through the Families for Life movement, bringing together like-minded individuals and organisations to build the support ecosystem. Together with our community partners and volunteers, we will support couples and families on their marriage and parenthood journey, by providing evidence-based programmes and resources, and encouraging family-friendly practices, such as flexible work and workfrom-home arrangements, to help families manage their caregiving responsibilities. We will also strengthen preventive work with early-risk families, such as minor and young marriages and divorced families, and families with stresses through family counselling services, and early-risk marriage and divorce support, so as to reduce acrimony and improve outcomes for children and their families.
To support families and Singaporeans who faced emotional and psychological stresses during the COVID-19 Circuit Breaker, we set up the National CARE Hotline to provide psychological and emotional support, and referrals for intervention. We will work closely with other agencies and the community. The Youth Mental Well-Being Network will develop and implement initiatives to strengthen support for youths and their families.
We will continue to protect vulnerable individuals who are abused or neglected, and provide good alternative care for children and vulnerable adults whose families are unable to care for them. The inter-agency Taskforce on Family Violence will consult widely with stakeholders, and further enhance measures to prevent and address family violence.
Our SSAs play a critical role in delivering social services to those who require help through COVID-19 and beyond. With the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), we will support SSAs through the Invictus Fund, Community Capability Trust, and other supporting programmes and initiatives to build capability and capacity for both the immediate term and the longer term. We will work in partnership with the NCSS-led Beyond COVID-19 Taskforce to drive the transformation of the social service sector to emerge stronger.
COVID-19 has provided the added impetus for the social service sector to transform, so as to ensure service continuity and meet increased social needs. NCSS is developing a Sector Digitalisation Roadmap to help build SSAs’ capabilities in leveraging innovation, digitalisation, and better use of data, to deliver social services more effectively. Through the Social Service SkillsFuture Tripartite Taskforce, we will partner academia, professional associations, and SSAs to build the sector's manpower capability and competencies.
We are glad that there has been an outpouring of support for COVID-19-related causes. We will work with partners to sustain the spirit of philanthropy and volunteerism by encouraging Singaporeans to contribute through varied giving and volunteering opportunities in the community. We will also steward community resources prudently to benefit more Singaporeans.
When the government and the people work together in solidarity, we will able to emerge stronger from this crisis. MSF will continue our mission to nurture resilient individuals, strong families, and a caring society. We will partner our agencies, our people, and the private sector, to build a stronger Singapore together.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment","subTitle":"Addendum to the President's Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien): Since independence, Singapore has pursued economic growth in tandem with social inclusion and environmental protection. This is the foundation for the green and liveable city that we enjoy today. However, we cannot take our success for granted. In a global landscape characterised by pandemics, climate change, and resource constraints, sustainability has become increasingly important. Sustainability is the principle that in meeting the needs of current generations, we should not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their needs. It has always been part of Singapore's DNA. But we will push for it to be at the heart of our plans, policies, and processes. This renewed commitment is reflected in our name change to the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE). We will continue to work with all segments of society and the economy to realise our vision for a sustainable Singapore, as we ride out COVID-19 and beyond.
As an immediate priority, we will shore up Singapore's environmental public health resilience as a first line of defence against the transmission of COVID-19 and dengue. We will strengthen our environmental sanitation controls, upgrade public health infrastructure in hawker centres and coffeeshops, and rally Singaporeans to uplift and sustain cleanliness and public hygiene norms.
The disruption of global supply chains amidst COVID-19 is a reminder of why we must take Singapore's food security seriously. While our food supply has remained stable, we have launched the \"30x30 Express\" grant to support agri-food players to accelerate local food production over the next six to 24 months.
We will play our part to support those affected by the economic downturn through meaningful jobs. For example, in Phase Two of re-opening, agencies working with MSE have hired about 1,900 temporary staff from industries such as aviation and hospitality as Safe Distancing Ambassadors and SG Clean Ambassadors, who are helping to educate the public on safe distancing measures and promote positive social norms. We are also hiring more staff for our enhanced dengue management efforts.
As we respond to immediate challenges, we look to the future to ensure that Singapore emerges stronger and more sustainable. In public health, we will further improve the way public health threats are managed. Besides scaling up Project Wolbachia as an important complement to our dengue fighting toolkit, we piloted a cutting-edge wastewater-based epidemiology programme that enables the early detection of COVID-19. We will explore how this programme can be scaled and applied to other infectious diseases.
We will keep sight of the longer-term existential threats from climate change. We will push for a green recovery from COVID-19, to support a competitive transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient future.
MSE will drive and coordinate public sector efforts to take the lead in sustainable development, and ensure that sustainability is at the heart of the MSE family of agencies' core functions. For example, we will develop Tuas Nexus to maximise energy and resource recovery by harnessing synergies between solid waste and water treatment processes; PUB will generate sufficient solar energy to power all of its local waterworks by 2021.
We will promote green growth, ride on opportunities from decarbonisation, and grow green industries such as carbon services and climate science. We will encourage and support companies to reduce their carbon footprint, and explore new private-public collaborations to make Singapore a leading example of how economic prosperity and environmental sustainability can go hand-in-hand.
We will invest heavily in research and development for climate action. The Climate Science Research Programme Office will be set up in end-2020 to drive efforts to formulate Singapore's national climate science research masterplan. We have already launched a S$10 million National Sea Level Research Programme to develop more robust projections of rising sea levels, and we are setting aside dedicated resources in the Coastal and Flood Protection Fund to protect Singapore against rising sea levels.
The challenges of COVID-19 and climate change, together with other trade and environmental pressures, pose a threat to Singapore's supply of critical resources like food and water. We will ensure that Singapore's critical resources remain uncompromised for both present and future generations.
To enhance water security, we will continue to build up weather-resilient sources such as by expanding the Changi NEWater Factory. We will invest in technology to stay ahead of the curve in water management and conservation, including the rollout of smart meters in 300,000 premises by 2023. We aim to reduce household water consumption from 141 to 130 litres per capita per day by 2030.
To ensure food security, we will intensify efforts to diversify our imports, strengthen our food supply chains, and realise our goal to produce 30% of Singapore's nutritional needs locally by 2030 (\"30 by 30\" goal). We will continue to unlock more spaces for farming, by encouraging sea-based farming in the deeper southern waters of Singapore, and bring food production closer to communities, such as on the rooftops of HDB multi-storey carparks. We will also masterplan Lim Chu Kang and develop the Agri-Food Innovation Park to create a vibrant and sustainable agri-food ecosystem and provide good job opportunities for the agri-food workforce.
In an increasingly resource-constrained world, we will continue to pursue Circular Economy approaches and work towards our vision of a zero-waste nation. Closing our resource loops locally and turning trash into treasure will reduce our vulnerability to global supply shocks and extend the lifespan of Semakau Landfill. We are pushing boundaries in Circular Economy by transforming waste treatment residue into construction materials (or \"NEWSand\"), and discarded plastics into higher value products like pyrolysis oil (or \"NEWOil\"). We will also mandate key responsibilities to enable re-using and recycling nation-wide for our priority waste streams of food, ewaste, and packaging, and support the localisation of our recycling capabilities.
As we pursue sustainable development, the MSE family expects to create 4,000 new and upgraded jobs in the next year, and 55,000 over the next 10 years. As we strengthen food security, we will create skilled jobs in the high-tech agriculture and aquaculture industry. We will also continue to promote joint responsibility for food safety assurance with the industry by training more Food Hygiene Officers (FHOs) and Advanced FHOs, who will serve as food safety guardians at food establishments. As we raise environmental sanitation and waste management standards, this will create new good jobs for Singaporeans. We will review the Environmental Control Officer (ECO) scheme to broaden the work areas for ECOs beyond construction sites to more premises, which will create new opportunities for individuals like operations or facilities managers looking to establish high environmental standards in the premises they oversee. We will also help cleaning and waste management professionals enhance their skillset and take on more specialised roles in disinfection, recycling, or waste treatment.
We will develop a pipeline of talent to support sustainability in Singapore. MSE will offer scholarships for people passionate about our mission, in areas such as climate adaptation and climate science, and train a workforce that is ready for the sustainability challenges and opportunities of the future.
We are committed to achieving our long-term environmental goals by working together with partners in the People, Private and Public (3P) sectors. We will tap on their energy, experiences, and ideas to co-create and co-deliver solutions for Singapore through consultations, collaborations, and initiatives such as Citizens' Workgroups and SG Eco Towns. As part of SG Together, we are launching the $50 million SG Eco Fund to support projects on environmental sustainability. Available to the 3P sectors, this fund will enable every Singaporean to contribute to environmental sustainability.
MSE will do its part to keep Singapore at the forefront of public health, climate action, and resource security, with sustainability at the core. We ask all Singaporeans to work with us to make Singapore a green and liveable home and a global champion for sustainability.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Ministry of Trade and Industry","subTitle":"Addendum to the President's Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Chan Chun Sing): The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) is committed to creating opportunities for Singaporeans by helping businesses and workers adapt to a changing world economy.
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted businesses and livelihoods. It is the most serious challenge we have faced since Independence. We will not return to the pre-COVID-19 world. We must chart a path forward together in a very different future.
The geopolitical environment which allowed Singapore to thrive over the past 50 years has changed. We face the prospect of a fragmented world, marked by tensions between the major powers, uneasy trade relations, and bifurcated technological standards. The merits of free trade and global integration have been increasingly questioned. The increased tensions amongst the major powers extend beyond politics and permeate trade, investment, and technology.
Global companies are rethinking and reorganising global production and supply chains. Some companies are reviewing the need for regional hubs in favour of a single global headquarters, and while other manufacturers may decentralise operations to strengthen their resilience. All these present challenges and opportunities for Singapore's position as a hub for regional headquarters, high-technology manufacturing activities, and modern services.
Our workers will also become more exposed to global competition. COVID-19 has shown that remote working and automation are possible. Singaporeans can thus seize global opportunities out of Singapore, but our jobs are conversely more open to competition from abroad.
MTI stands ready to take Singapore forward in this changed world. Our first step will be to open our economy safely and sustainably, because it will be difficult to generate economic growth otherwise. We will enable businesses to resume progressively and manage the risks with tight safe management measures for higher-risk activities. We will expand our testing and contact tracing capacity significantly, so that we can isolate clusters swiftly and effectively, to allow the rest of the economy to continue operating.
To enable the safe resumption of international travel, we will continue to facilitate safe long-term and short-term business travel. This will help our businesses and workers tap on international opportunities and create good jobs.
MTI will also help our businesses and workers adapt. The impact of COVID-19 has been uneven. Some sectors still see growth opportunities, including biomedical sciences, electronics, financial services, and the digital economy. We will help companies in these sectors invest and expand, which will generate business for other companies and ultimately create good jobs for Singaporeans.
Other sectors are facing a fall in demand but will eventually recover, such as aerospace, and marine and offshore. We will preserve core capabilities that were painstakingly built up over many years, which will help these sectors remain competitive and recover quickly from this crisis. We will channel support to help companies in these sectors generate fresh revenue and become more cost efficient.
There are also sectors that have permanently changed, including mass market tourism and social entertainment. We will help them reinvent themselves and pivot to new markets and products. Where tough decisions are taken by businesses to cease operations or retrench workers, we will partner the Ministry of Manpower and our tripartite partners to help workers develop new skills and find new jobs, and to preserve the Singapore core of skills and capabilities.
To this end, we will implement new programmes that boost business investment, support local entrepreneurship, strengthen balance sheets, and incentivise hiring, ultimately creating more good jobs for Singaporeans.
MTI will continue to strengthen our business environment to enable businesses and workers to seize opportunities.
To preserve Singapore's ability to create jobs for our people, we will strengthen our links with the world for markets, supplies, technology, and talent. We will work with like-minded partners internationally to reaffirm our shared commitment to keeping trade routes open and ensuring the continued flow of goods between Singapore and our partners. We will break new ground with Digital Economy Agreements to facilitate trade in the digital economy, providing ease and certainty to companies, and better enabling technology companies to manage their global platforms and digital services out of Singapore. We will develop multi-modal transport solutions to offer new competitive advantages to traders and logistics players using Singapore as a hub. This improved connectivity will also enable companies to diversify their supply sources and reach more customers more readily, increasing their resilience against the risk of supply chain disruption.
We will also strengthen our existing toolkit to support businesses. For example, we will help Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) strengthen their capabilities, and work through intermediaries such as Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs), SME Centres, and the Heartland Enterprise Centre to reach out to the community. We will strengthen support for our startups through Startup SG and the Global Innovation Alliance, and promote internationalisation through programmes like Scale-Up SG to groom more Singapore companies to go global. We will invest in research and innovation to help businesses and workers seize new opportunities, and strengthen our pro-enterprise business environment. We will leverage our Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) to provide sector-specific support.
We are confronting this crisis from a position of strength. Our hard-won reputation for transparency, rule of law, skilled workforce, and world-class connectivity are significant advantages, and will enable us to adapt to the challenging environment.
MTI will partner businesses, workers, and other stakeholders to forge a new path ahead. We will reopen our economy safely and sustainably, help businesses and workers adjust, and establish a conducive environment for businesses and workers to grow, to realise our vision of a vibrant economy with opportunities for all.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Ministry of Transport","subTitle":"Addendum to the President's Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Minister for Transport (Mr Ong Ye Kung): The transport sector plays a vital role in Singapore's survival and prosperity, as it brings Singaporeans together, Singapore to the world, and the world to Singapore. COVID-19 has inflicted severe damage on the transport sector. The Ministry of Transport (MOT) will work with the industry to tide over the COVID-19 pandemic, revive the Changi air hub, strengthen our status as a global hub port, and deliver sustainable and inclusive land transport for our home of the future.
The Changi air hub anchors Singapore's place in the world, making us an attractive node for international business, trade, investment, and tourism. This is even though, geographically, we are not a natural air hub. We developed into one through the vision of our founding leaders, and decades of enterprise and hard work of workers in the aviation sector.
However, COVID-19 has decimated air travel and set us back decades. Changi Airport has lost about 50% of its air links and over 95% of scheduled passenger services. We cannot take our hub status for granted and assume that we will remain one when global air travel recovers.
Reviving our air hub in a safe way will be a top and immediate priority for MOT. We have already resumed some transit and transfer services for passengers in a safe way. We will have to take further steps and implement them carefully and progressively, starting with countries or cities which have kept the virus under control, and taking all precautions.
We are helping aviation companies preserve and enhance their core capabilities, and re-skill workers. We are actively contributing to the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) COVID-19 global response and recovery efforts. We will take the opportunity when air traffic volume is down to improve our aviation infrastructure, namely developing a three-runway system. We are reviewing the layout, design, and timeline of Changi Airport Terminal 5 to build a more competitive and resilient terminal for the future.
While COVID-19 has slowed world trade and disrupted global supply chains, our maritime sector has stayed relatively resilient, and the Port of Singapore continues to serve the trading needs of world markets. We will build on this to further strengthen Singapore's status as a maritime hub and position our port to seize new opportunities. In the coming years, international division of labour may change, global supply chains may shift, and we need to be nimble to adapt to these trends.
We are investing in the maritime sector. We expect Tuas Port to be completed in the 2040s, as planned. It will be the world's largest fully automated container terminal, able to serve the world's largest container ships. We will step up digitalisation to streamline port clearances, enable just-in-time vessel operations at our port, and standardise and enhance flows of vessel data across ports globally.
The peoples and economies of Singapore and Malaysia are closely intertwined. The land crossings between us and our closest neighbour have remained open to essential goods and materials throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Both Governments are progressively restarting travel through the reciprocal green lane and periodic commuting arrangement.
Last month, Singapore and Malaysia agreed to resume the Johor Bahru – Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link Project. When service commences in 2026, it will ease Causeway congestion, improve connectivity and deepen people-to-people ties. We are also in discussions with Malaysia on the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) Project, which has been suspended at Malaysia's request until 31 December 2020. Singapore continues to believe that the HSR is a mutually beneficial project for both countries.
Public transport is key to a greener, fairer, and better Singapore. It emits less carbon dioxide than private transport; it is quieter, safer, and uses less land. Millions of Singaporeans from all walks of life take public transport every day. We will strive to ensure that public transport stays reliable and affordable for all Singaporeans.
We will therefore work towards a sustainable and inclusive land transport system for all Singaporeans, in line with our vision of a 45-Minute City with 20-Minute Towns through walk-cycle-ride journeys by 2040.
Over the last five years, MOT has significantly improved rail and bus services. We have turned the corner on rail reliability, with Mean Kilometres Between Failure of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system increasing from 130,000 train-km to over one million train-km. We will continue to build engineering capabilities and invest resources in maintaining the reliability and standard of our public transport system.
In the coming years, we will open new stations and lines almost every year, starting with the remaining stages of Thomson-East Coast Line, to completing Circle Line, and opening Jurong Region Line and Cross-Island Line. The MRT network will grow from around 230km today to 360km by then.
We will continue to improve public transport to better support the less ambulant, and we have begun mobile application trials to help the visually-impaired. We will work with the Public Transport Council and fellow Singaporeans to build a culture of care, where commuters show concern for, and help, fellow commuters with mobility challenges.
Expanding the public transport system to better serve Singaporeans requires major infrastructure and recurrent expenditure. But this is essential public spending, which has to be carried out with financial prudence.
As transport is part of the sustainable development of Singapore, MOT will work closely with other infrastructure agencies to develop a comprehensive sustainable development plan for Singapore.
Improvements to public transport will move us towards a car-lite nation. Our vehicle growth rate is already 0%, and the Government will henceforth purchase only cleaner energy buses. We will further work towards phasing out private vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2040. We will also continue to work on initiatives to promote the adoption of electric vehicles, including efforts to deploy charging infrastructure nationwide.
The lower traffic and new travel patterns brought about by COVID-19 have opened a window of opportunity to re-imagine our road infrastructure. For example, certain under-used road lanes can be converted to cycling and bus lanes. There may be scope to pedestrianise certain roads. We will also follow through on our plan to expand cycling paths from 460km now to around 1,300km by 2030 under the Islandwide Cycling Network.
COVID-19 has brought about changes in habits, such as more telecommuting, meaningfully staggered working hours, and greater use of e-commerce. This has led to more sustainable travel patterns. We will explore ways to make some of these changes permanent.
Internationally, we will play our part to tackle climate change. We have set up an International Advisory Panel on Maritime Decarbonisation to develop strategies for maritime decarbonisation, and started a Maritime GreenFuture Fund to accelerate the development and adoption of low-carbon technologies. We will support the International Maritime Organization's Strategy on Reduction of Greenhouse Emissions from Ships, and ICAO measures including the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Prime Minister's Office (Monetary Authority of Singapore)","subTitle":"Addendum to the President’s Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies (Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam): The Singapore economy is going through its most severe downturn since independence. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) seeks to anchor economic and financial stability, and support businesses and individuals in riding out the COVID-19 crisis. MAS is also positioning the financial sector to emerge stronger, so that it can continue to support the economy and provide more good jobs for Singaporeans.
MAS has adopted an accommodative monetary stance, to complement the Government's significant fiscal policy measures in mitigating the economic impact of the COVID-19 Circuit Breaker and broad-based decline in global demand. MAS eased monetary policy in April this year to prevent a broadening of disinflationary pressures that would be destabilising for the economy. Through its money market operations, MAS has and will continue to ensure the smooth functioning of funding markets in Singapore, so that there is no disruption to banks' ability to continue to extend credit to the economy.
Sustaining the safety and soundness of our financial sector is critical for supporting the economy through the downturn as well as its recovery. Banks and insurance companies generally entered the crisis with financially strong balance sheets. MAS' stress tests found them to be resilient in a deep downturn. Singapore's financial sector has also demonstrated strong operational resilience and has been able to continue to serve customers through the different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has reflected years of investments in digitalisation, sound business continuity planning and agile adjustments to work processes. To ensure that financial institutions stay resilient financially and operationally, MAS has provided a number of regulatory reliefs that do not compromise prudential standards, and will continue to supervise the industry closely.
MAS and the financial industry introduced a comprehensive package of measures that have provided relief to individuals and businesses in meeting their loan and insurance commitments, and helped ensure continued access to bank credit and insurance coverage. As the measures provided temporary relief and come with longer term costs, they need to be gradually withdrawn. MAS is working closely with the industry to ensure a well-paced exit that minimises sharp cliff effects for borrowers, while safeguarding financial stability.
The financial sector remains integral to Singapore's recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and longer term growth. MAS will work with the industry to ensure that the financial sector is well-equipped with the skills and capabilities to emerge stronger from the crisis, and advance Singapore as a global financial centre. The financial sector is on track to meeting its targets for both growth and job creation that were set out in our 5-year Industry Transformation Map for 2016 – 2020.
MAS takes a comprehensive approach, working closely with tripartite partners to support the reskilling and upskilling of the local workforce, and create jobs and traineeship opportunities in the financial sector for fresh graduates and mid-career workers. We are also working with major financial institutions (FIs) to ensure a solid Singaporean core in their workforces, complemented by diverse and high quality manpower. These efforts include developing a strong pipeline of Singaporeans for senior responsibilities in the sector.
In April 2020, MAS launched a $125 million support package, which included enhanced subsidies for training and manpower costs in the financial services and FinTech sectors. The package will enable structured talent development programmes for more than 900 Singaporeans among those newly hired by FIs over the next three years. FIs have also committed to hire significant numbers under the various SGUnited Jobs & Skills programmes. Close to 60 FIs have offered close to 1,300 SGUnited traineeships to fresh graduates.
To prepare local mid-career workers for new or transformed roles, MAS is working closely with the Institute of Banking and Finance and Workforce Singapore to train and redeploy workers into financial institutions. For example, more than 200 attachments have been offered by 18 FIs this year under the Technology in Finance Immersion Programme, in growth areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and data analytics.
Following five years of investments in digital transformation and innovation by financial sector players, Singapore is now widely regarded as one of the top FinTech hubs globally. An estimated 1,000 FinTech firms are based here. MAS recently announced a $250 million enhanced Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme, or FSTI 2.0, to accelerate technology and innovation-driven growth in the sector. The Singapore FinTech Festival and Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology later this year will deliver the world's first week-long round-the-clock, hybrid digital and physical event for attendees across the world, and will bring together the global innovation community despite the current travel constraints.
With the accelerated pace of digitalisation due to COVID-19, MAS is also working actively with other government agencies and the industry to drive further progress on electronic payments and digital banking. In addition, MAS will work with the financial services and FinTech sectors to adopt digital solutions that will strengthen operational resilience, improve productivity, better manage risks, as well as engage customers. Achieving a high degree of digitalisation will be a key source of competitive advantage for our financial sector in the future.
Safeguarding the environment and managing climate-related risks is an increasingly important issue both globally and in Singapore. MAS set out our vision for Singapore to be a leading global centre for green finance last November. We have made good progress and will continue to press on with all three pillars of our Green Finance Action Plan, to strengthen the financial sector’s resilience to environmental risks, develop green finance markets and solutions, and harness technology and innovation to promote green finance.
The financial sector plays a critical role in supporting Singapore through the downturn as well as its recovery. MAS' priorities are to ensure monetary and financial stability, support individuals and businesses to tide through the crisis, and position the financial sector for recovery and future growth. MAS is working closely with the financial services and FinTech sectors to achieve these aims and help Singapore emerge stronger from the crisis.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":" Prime Minister’s Office (National Research Foundation)","subTitle":"Addendum to the President’s Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Heng Swee Keat): The National Research Foundation (NRF) seeks to harness science and technology (S&T) to create new opportunities for economic growth in a post-COVID-19 world, and support Singapore's national and societal needs.
S&T has played a critical role in Singapore's fight against COVID-19. Singapore was the third country in the world, outside of China, to successfully culture the virus. Public research and development (R&D) institutes, such as the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, worked closely with the public health community in Singapore to develop accurate diagnostic test kits and effective treatment methods. Today, the research, innovation and enterprise (RIE) community continues to work on more than 200 research projects that not only support Singapore’s current fight against COVID-19, but also strengthen Singapore's preparedness for future pandemics.
Our RIE efforts will remain key in enabling Singapore to meet future national challenges, and to create new opportunities for economic growth in a post-COVID-19 world. Through our RIE plan for the next 5 years, NRF will support basic and applied research in high impact strategic areas, building on our S&T strengths in advanced manufacturing and engineering, health and biomedical sciences, sustainability and urban solutions, as well as digital technologies.
Our RIE efforts are closely integrated with the work of the Future Economy Council to support economic transformation and create more good jobs for Singaporeans. We will scale up innovation platforms to drive S&T adoption across industry, and enhance the translation of research outcomes into globally-competitive and marketable S&T solutions that will derive greater value for Singapore and the world. For example, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster has catalysed the deployment of innovative additive manufacturing solutions, ranging from the world's first 3D printing facility for port operations at the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) with homegrown firm 3D Metal Forge, to 3D-printed nasal swabs to support COVID-19 testing. We will set up more of such platforms to meet emerging industry needs and better equip existing centres of innovation to support our enterprises to adopt new technologies. We will continue to support the growth of more innovative Singapore-based companies and strengthen research-industry linkages through initiatives such as technology consortia and corporate laboratories, and strengthen access to talent, partners, and markets.
In a post-COVID-19 world, we will also support industries to harness our S&T strengths more effectively to create new avenues of enterprise growth. For example, we initiated the Maritime Transformation Programme and the Aviation Transformation Programme to further Singapore’s position as a maritime and aviation hub. These initiatives leverage technologies such as big-data analytics and advanced sensors and communications to enhance our connectivity capabilities, and will enable Singapore to remain a critical transport and logistics node in a post-COVID-19 world where resilience and reliability will be more valued. As the pace of digitalisation continues to accelerate across the economy and society, we will also build on our investments in digital and automation technologies including artificial intelligence and robotics, which are critical enablers in Singapore's journey as a Smart Nation.
In addition, we will continue to encourage more young Singaporeans to pursue good jobs and careers built around S&T. NRF will support the SGUnited Traineeship Programme, and offer traineeships in our R&D laboratories, deep-tech start-ups, accelerators and incubators. These experiences will be part of a broader effort to grow the RIE talent pool and strengthen people linkages within the RIE ecosystem.
Beyond Singapore's economic transformation, our RIE plan will continue to support national needs and improve the lives of Singaporeans. For example, we will partner the Ministry of Health to build on our R&D strengths in areas such as preventive care and digital healthcare to transform our healthcare system and deliver quality services at sustainable costs, and enable Singaporeans to lead healthy and productive lives. We will also harness S&T to build on our capabilities in sustainable urban solutions and low-carbon technologies. This will contribute to our national efforts to address climate change, and enhance the quality of living in Singapore.
As technology continues to accelerate the pace of change across society, we must continue to grow new S&T capabilities to meet future needs. NRF will continue to invest in building a robust base of research scientists and engineers, with strong links to the global community. The proportion of research scientists and engineers in our population has grown at a compound annual rate of 3.5% over the last 20 years, and is now comparable to that of other small advanced economies. We will also refresh our strategic investments in major research centres across our universities and in the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, and build on our collaborations with international partners through our Campus for Research Excellence and Technology Enterprise. To further position Singapore as a global node of scientific excellence, we will build on our NRF Fellowships and Investigatorship schemes to attract both promising young scientists and established experts to pursue ground-breaking research in Singapore. At the same time, our Returning Singapore Scientist scheme attracts overseas Singaporean scientists and talents home, to grow a strong core of Singapore researchers who will eventually take on leadership positions and drive the pursuit of scientific excellence here.
Our RIE investments have created a strong foundation for Singapore to seize the new opportunities in a post-COVID-19 world and emerge stronger. Our RIE plan for the next five years will strengthen the partnership with industries and create new opportunities for Singapore. It will also ensure that Singapore remains resilient in the face of new challenges, beyond the current COVID-19 pandemic. We must continue to exploit new knowledge and S&T capabilities to diversify our economy, create new industries, train our people, and build capacity to meet Singapore’s national needs. This will enable Singapore to remain competitive and relevant to the world, as a vibrant Global-Asia node of technology, innovation, and enterprise.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Prime Minister's Office (National Security Coordination Secretariat)","subTitle":"Addendum to the President's Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security (Mr Teo Chee Hean): Singapore continues to face challenges to our national security. Traditional threats to national security in areas like terrorism, foreign subversion, and espionage remain. Emergent, cross-domain threats, like the rapid spread of disinformation on the internet, add to and amplify existing vulnerabilities of our multi-racial, multi-religious society. COVID-19 has also added pressure in many areas, including to our supply chains and our social resilience.
The National Security Coordination Secretariat (NSCS) works with Government agencies to identify, assess, and address national security risks. This helps the Government prioritise its resources to strengthen our collective defences against current and emerging threats to national security and keep Singapore and Singaporeans safe and secure.
NSCS complements the work of operational agencies by focusing on crosscutting national security issues. NSCS looks ahead to identify emerging, growing or changing security risks; works across agencies to coordinate and ensure alignment of national security strategy and policy; and adds depth to these strategies and policies by catalysing cross-cutting national security capability development efforts.
In the context of COVID-19, such work has become even more relevant in areas such as economic security, inter-dependencies, and social resilience. NSCS will also work with agencies to draw lessons from COVID-19 to strengthen our long-term capabilities to deal with pandemics.
NSCS works with economic agencies to deal with threats to the flow of essential economic resources, such as goods, manpower, and investments, which enable Singapore to survive and thrive. The COVID-19 crisis has accentuated our need to secure such flows, as countries close their borders and restrict the export of critical goods. Geopolitical tensions in areas like international trade could also affect our ability to secure critical supplies and impact our position as an international transport and trading hub.
NSCS will work with agencies to strengthen resilience of these critical flows to ensure that our strategic interests are not compromised. For example, NSCS will work with agencies to identify and refresh our strategies and planning parameters to prepare for potential future disruptions.
Even though COVID-19 is a public health crisis, it has had cross-cutting impact across multiple domains including the economy, and the functioning of essential services.
NSCS will work with stakeholders to identify and deal with inter-dependencies further upstream, to guide our long-term planning in a coordinated manner. This applies not just to dependencies on external resources but also to in-country networks for the flow of utilities, information and people. For example, we will continue to analyse how disruptions to power or internet connectivity could have a cascading impact across multiple sectors, and how agencies need to work together to address these vulnerabilities.
Social resilience is critical in crisis response, especially for a small, multi-racial, and multi-religious country like Singapore. It is important to build up our collective capacity and cohesiveness to withstand shocks, and to build social capital and social trust so that we can stay united as a people and bounce back from incidents and emerge stronger.
NSCS will continue to conduct and coordinate research on social resilience and share key findings across government to guide policies and initiatives to strengthen social resilience in Singapore. NSCS will also step up education and awareness building for public officers through regular internal outreach, courses, seminars, and milestone programmes, and facilitate information sharing within the Public Service on social resilience issues.
Learning from COVID-19, NSCS will work to strengthen our whole-of-nation capabilities and readiness to deal with future pandemics. These will include enhanced health surveillance, increased capacity for crisis response and healthcare, and more resilient design of key facilities and essential services against pandemics.
We can never be certain when the next security threat will emerge, and what form it will take. As a small country, while we try to influence and shape our external environment, we are also often subject to forces that are beyond our control. We also have to build up our own crisis response capabilities, as we can rely only on ourselves, and cannot count on assistance from others, especially in a regional or global crisis when every country's response capability is under stress. NSCS will continue to work across Government to build up our defences against both traditional and emerging national security threats and help Singaporeans better understand how they can continue to play their part in safeguarding Singapore's future.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Prime Minister's Office (Public Service Division)","subTitle":"Addendum to the President's Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Chan Chun Sing): Our Public Service faces a more volatile external environment, a domestic population with higher expectations, and a need to deliver its work well, within tighter resource constraints.
Externally, Singapore will need to navigate the increasing contestation of great powers in geopolitics, trade, technology, and security. We will have to work with likeminded partners to uphold the global rules-based geopolitical and trade order.
Domestically, Singaporeans desire greater diversity in perspectives and engagements in policy formulation. We will have to not only deliver higher quality and more integrated public services, but also to engage Singaporeans more thoroughly in the formulation and execution of policies.
A shrinking labour force and ageing population will constrain the size of our Public Service and the share of talent that our Public Service can reasonably take from the broader economy. We have to leverage advancements in Science and Technology (S&T) to overcome the constraints of manpower and financial resources.
Our Public Service will organise itself differently. We are building stronger common competencies across our Public Service that are needed by all agencies. For instance, we have set up the Public Sector S&T Policy and Plans Office (S&TPPO) to coordinate the planning of S&T capabilities, aggregate demand for greater efficiency as well as train a strong pool of S&T experts. In addition, we will tighten our focus on solving problems beyond agency boundaries. This will mean that cross-agency teams will become more common, as we take the right people with the right experiences and skills to develop policies and programmes that address national challenges to meet our people's needs.
Our Public Service must work with citizens, businesses and other stakeholders differently. We will conduct early and close consultations to understand their needs, hear their ideas, and work with them to design programmes. We will also need to work with and through them to implement programmes together for greatest impact. For instance, through close partnership with the unions and employers, some 13,000 jobseekers – including new graduates, mid-career jobseekers, and retrenched workers – have been placed into new jobs and training opportunities.
Our Public Service will recruit and develop its people differently. We will recruit candidates from diverse backgrounds so that we have a Public Service workforce that can bring different perspectives to problems and contribute different skills to create new solutions to problems. As our environment changes very fast, we will invest more in skills upgrading to enable our officers to stay employable over a longer career. We will rotate officers to different jobs, so that they gain a wider perspective, and get more opportunities to work with partners in the people and private sectors. This will keep them close to the ground, and give them a diverse body of networks, skills and experiences to solve problems effectively.
Our Public Service will transform the way it works and its people, but our values of Integrity, Service and Excellence will never change. We will deepen our Public Service ethos in our people and groom leaders who can lead their organisations to deliver well today, while building new capabilities to prepare for tomorrow’s challenges. We will strengthen Public Service values, competencies, and accountability among our leaders through wider adoption of 360° feedback and coaching.
We are committed to build a future-ready Public Service that will serve Singapore and Singaporeans well into the future.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Prime Minister's Office (Smart Nation and Digital Government Group)","subTitle":"Addendum to the President's Address","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Minister for Foreign Affairs (Dr Vivian Balakrishnan): The Smart Nation and Digital Government Group (SNDGG) aims to build a Smart Nation where people acquire relevant skills for new jobs in a digital future and our enterprises become more competitive and productive by leveraging on technology. We will drive digital transformation nationwide, build long-term capabilities within Government, and enhance services to the public.
The COVID-19 crisis has brought to the fore the importance of digitalisation, and the importance of developing deep engineering capabilities to respond effectively.
GovTech rapidly engineered digital solutions to enable a more effective response to COVID-19. TraceTogether and SafeEntry have helped to make contact tracing faster and more accurate. We have started distribution of TraceTogether tokens to seniors and those who do not own smartphones. The Government also built a suite of digital tools to direct Singaporeans to the relevant delivery points of essential items like masks and tokens. We have adapted to Circuit Breaker and the urgent need to reduce physical contact by accelerating digitalisation: home-based learning and working were widely practised, and more businesses and Government services have shifted online. Our quick response and adaption have been possible because we have been steadily building our digital foundations and capabilities over the past few years.
COVID-19 presents both a challenge, but also an opportunity to leverage and build on our gains in digitalisation. We must grasp this opportunity and accelerate the transformation of Government, Economy, and Society through technology, to allow us to emerge stronger into a post-COVID-19 world.
All Government services will be digital from end-to-end by 2023, as committed in the Digital Government Blueprint. Many agencies have already brought forward their timelines in view of COVID-19. This enables all citizens and businesses to transact with us in a paperless, \"presence-less\", and cashless manner, for greater convenience, and at this time, with greater safety.
We will continue to put users at the centre, and maintain high citizen and business satisfaction with digital Government services, which were at 86% and 78% in 2019 respectively. We rebranded the Moments of Life app as LifeSG. The app now provides a one-stop directory of key Government services grouped by topics and provides recommendations on programmes and events, based on the user’s profile and interests. We will add more features and personalisation in the coming months.
We will use technology to build Singapore into a Smart City, and to improve quality of life. JTC's Open Digital Platform at Punggol Digital District enables centralised and more efficient district management. The Housing Development Board's (HDB) Smart Hub integrates data to improve estate management and facilitate better town planning. These will be linked to the Smart Nation Sensor Platform to enable even more use cases.
We continue to strengthen our cyber and data security measures and update our data governance policies. We are implementing the recommendations made by the Public Sector Data Security Review Committee, which will strengthen the Government's data security regime. We will continue to improve on these measures to ensure that data is safeguarded and used securely. For greater transparency, we will also publish and report on past data incidents.
Amidst a global downturn, we must ensure economic resilience and preserve jobs for Singaporeans. For Singapore to remain competitive and innovative in the post-COVID-19 world, businesses need to accelerate their digital transformation. SNDGG will support the work by the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI), Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), and the various sector leads to build a digital economy and create more jobs for Singaporeans. In particular, we will use artificial intelligence (AI) to drive the next phase of Smart Nation, and implement the National AI Strategy.
We will make it simpler, better and faster for businesses to transact digitally with the Government. With COVID-19, the GoBusiness platform was enhanced to help businesses to stay up-to-date on COVID-19-related regulations and apply for exemptions. GoBusiness also launched an e-Adviser to help businesses better identify relevant government support based on companies’ needs. Going forward, the platform will be expanded to include more services and personalised recommendations.
To facilitate businesses going digital, the Government is working closely with the industry to build up national digital infrastructure, platforms and standards, that can be used by both the public and private sectors. The National Digital Identity platform will provide a suite of trusted services to help business digitise and transact securely with customers. Our E-Payments infrastructure enables seamless and secure payment. For instance, there are now over 2.4 million individuals registered for PayNow Mobile, 1.7 million for PayNow NRIC and 200,000 companies for PayNow Corporate.
Our digitalisation efforts will help develop capabilities within the local Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. The value of Government ICT contracts is projected to increase by over 30% for FY20, to $3.5 billion. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will be able to participate in up to 80% of procurement opportunities.
Even as we push ahead with our digital transformation as a nation, every Singaporean must feel that they are a part of and can benefit from Smart Nation. To do so, digital technology must enhance, instead of replace, the human touch.
COVID-19 has shown that vulnerable groups who are unable to access digital technology are at a greater risk of being left behind. Our digital services, for both public and private sector, need to be accessible and inclusive. The Government will take the lead to strengthen existing, and start new, digital inclusion efforts. These include efforts to translate digital services and websites commonly used by seniors into our official languages. Our digital services are tested for accessibility and meet accessibility standards, and we will constantly incorporate feedback from seniors and persons with disabilities. We will also work closely with MCI’s SG Digital Office to increase outreach to less digitally literate persons and equip them with the necessary hardware and skills.
We will also continue to support the SG Together movement by engaging Singaporeans to experience, understand and co-create digital technology. We launched \"SmartNation Together\", an online series featuring tech-related talks and workshops, for all age groups. Many of these are conducted by Smart Nation Ambassadors, who are volunteers from all walks of life, united by a passion for tech. Singaporeans will also be able to co-create Smart Nation initiatives. At Smart Nation Co-Creating with Our People Everywhere (SCOPE) sessions, citizens can try out prototypes of upcoming products and share ideas on how to improve our services.
COVID-19 presents both a need and opportunity to make profound digital transformations and in doing so, emerge stronger as a nation. Within the Government, SNDGG will accelerate the building up of engineering talent and foundations that enable more agile use of IT and data, such as the Government Data Architecture. These have proven to be invaluable in this time of crisis. All ministries are pursuing plans to raise their digital maturity. Across our economy, tripartite partners are working together to raise digital skills, develop digital infrastructure, and enable companies to innovate. This will ensure that digitalisation benefits Singapore and Singaporeans, by transforming how we deliver Government services, grow new economic opportunities, strengthen the core of local talent, and improve the lives of our people.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Prime Minister's Office (Strategy Group)","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OS","content":"The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Heng Swee Keat): The COVID-19 pandemic has posed the gravest challenge for Singapore since independence. We are confronting an unprecedented public health as well as economic crisis, with serious social consequences. To get through the crisis and to emerge stronger and better, a concerted whole-of-society response needs to be led by the Government, with all Singaporeans playing their part. This in turn requires a well-coordinated whole-of-Government effort, to navigate our way through the crisis, and to build back a better Singapore post-crisis. In this challenging and uncertain environment, the Strategy Group organises the Public Service to develop and implement the Government's key policy priorities, in a coherent and coordinated manner.
The Government's management of the COVID-19 pandemic is led by the Multi-Ministry Task Force. Beyond this, the Government also needs to adjust its policy responses to the new challenges and opportunities that have arisen from this crisis. The pandemic has exacerbated geopolitical tensions, and altered the regional and global economic landscape. A comprehensive review of the Government's medium-term policy agenda is needed, in order to tackle new challenges but also seize new opportunities, so that Singapore can manage this crisis well, and continue to thrive in a post-COVID-19 world.
In the midst of crisis, the Strategy Group will organise the cross-Ministry effort to review our policy agenda and set new ambitions for our future. Even as we support businesses and workers to cope with the severe disruption to our economy, work is underway with economic agencies to look ahead in partnership with businesses, to identify and seize new growth opportunities for businesses and create new good jobs for Singaporeans. We will work with social agencies to review our social support policies in the light of the impact of COVID-19, especially to help vulnerable groups that have been more adversely affected. This will form the basis of a refreshed social compact. Given that climate change is also a storm of great proportions, we will also review our infrastructure plans for a sustainable city, taking into consideration new industry needs and emerging new norms of working and living.
Tackling these complex challenges will require closer alignment across different policy areas, stronger sense-making capabilities, and effective implementation of the policy agenda. We will have tighter co-ordination between our economic and social policies, to ensure that Singaporeans can access jobs and opportunities in the post-COVID-19 economy, with vulnerable groups of workers receiving additional support, and social mobility continuing to be a feature of our society. To strengthen our sense-making capabilities, we are growing new capabilities in data analytics and citizen engagement to better understand the concerns of our citizens, so that we can develop better, more citizen-centric policies. Finally, we will set the pace for the effective implementation of these policies across the Whole-of-Government through close monitoring of implementation plans and outcomes, and ensuring that strategic priorities are given the support and resourcing needed to succeed.
Singapore continues to face stark demographic realities, including low birth rates and an ageing population. Local workforce growth will slow over the next decade. COVID-19 has intensified some of these challenges, for example with couples delaying their marriage and parenthood plans.
The Government remains committed to keeping Singaporeans at the heart of our population strategies. Our population policies aim to ensure a sustainable Singapore with a cohesive society and vibrant economy that improves Singaporeans' lives. We will continue to support Singaporeans in their parenthood aspirations and support families especially in housing, preschool, parental leave, and the cost of raising children. We will also partner with employers and the community to cushion the impact of COVID-19 on the marriage and parenthood plans of young couples.
We will continue to take a calibrated approach to immigration and maintain a careful balance in our foreign worker flows. We welcome those who can contribute to our society and want to make Singapore their home, while ensuring that our policies allow Singaporeans to benefit from better jobs and opportunities. To build a cohesive society, we will strengthen efforts to integrate new members of our community and help them adapt to the Singaporean way of life.
We must manage the disruptions caused by climate change, which may be more protracted than the impact of COVID-19. We must continue with efforts to enable Singapore's transition to a sustainable, low-carbon, and climate and resource resilient future.
To do so, we will continue to actively support global climate action, as no one country can prevent climate change alone. Earlier this year, Singapore submitted our enhanced 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and Long-Term Low-Emissions Development Strategy (LEDS) to underscore our commitment to continued global climate action. Notwithstanding the disruptions and uncertainties brought about by COVID-19, we remain committed to achieve these goals. To enable our low-carbon transition, we are among other initiatives, studying ways to deploy technologies such as Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS), exploring the use of hydrogen, and pushing the bounds of ambition in solar deployment within our urban environment.
The fundamental shifts to a post-COVID-19 \"new normal\" also present new opportunities to advance our sustainability agenda. We will study green recovery pathways to rebuild our economy, in line with our long-term low-emissions aspirations, so that we not only emerge stronger but also advance our sustainability agenda. We will catalyse and generate new green growth areas for Singapore and create new jobs for Singaporeans. We will build resilience to future crises and supply shocks, such as by enhancing our food security, in a resource efficient manner. We will build on the adaptations that Singaporeans have made during this period of COVID-19, to reduce transport emissions through increased telecommuting and wider use of public transport, and make a decisive move to adopt cleaner energy vehicles such as electric vehicles.
Over the years, this Government has maintained focus on serving Singaporeans well both today and in the long term. Our capability in long-term strategic planning and foresight has served us well, and will remain essential as we navigate this crisis and chart our path beyond. We have outlined the broad strategies we will adopt, including for population and climate action, and the relevant agencies have provided more details on specific plans under their charge.
But the Government cannot achieve this alone. More than ever, Government, individuals, communities, and businesses must each do our part and work together, to overcome the pandemic and build a better and stronger post-COVID-19 future. As part of the SG Together movement, we will work with Singaporeans and businesses to develop new ideas and translate them into action, through the Emerging Stronger Conversations, SG Together Action Networks and Alliances for Action. The Strategy Group will play its part in strengthening partnerships, especially in the areas of parenthood and climate change.
In responding to the immense challenges at hand, and shaping our plans for tomorrow, we look forward to Singaporeans partnering with the Government to realise our hopes and dreams for a better Singapore.
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