Channel NewsAsia - Friday, November
28
SANTIAGO, Chile: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said
on Friday the current downturn Singapore is facing is nothing quite
like what the country has experienced before.
Citing the 1985 financial crisis, Mr Lee recalled how the
government then had to roll out a host of measures to contain the
economic spiral.
It was all about cost—cutting then, and there were no goodies
announced. These even included cutting the employer’s CPF
contribution rate, which is the country’s national pension
scheme.
Mr Lee said CPF cuts are not the government’s first preference
in the immediate term.
Said Mr Lee: "I think we look at other measures first to reduce
costs, we do not want to send too pessimistic a signal."
He said the overriding priority is to secure jobs for
Singaporeans, reduce business costs and ensure the competitiveness
of Singaporeans.
These will be the focus for the upcoming budget.
Mr Lee noted that low and middle income Singaporeans have also
not been left out, citing the Growth Dividends and income tax
rebates that have been extended to these groups.
Still, he pointed out there is a need for Singaporeans to manage
their expectations because the recovery this time round does not
depend on the immediate measures Singapore has taken.
Singapore is already in recession and Mr Lee said the country
will experience many more years of slow growth because countries
will need some time to collectively figure out how to deal with the
financial crisis never before seen since the Great Depression, and
work out a new international financial regime.
But if there is a silver lining, it’s in the resilience of Asian
economies, which Mr Lee said is dynamic and still offers
opportunities.
"We want people to know this is a serious situation which they
have to prepare for, take seriously,” he said. “But at the same
time we don’t want people to panic, to think that this is the end
of the world. It is not.
“During this downturn we must do all that we can to prepare
ourselves. Which is why we are continuing to invest whether in
education, healthcare and infrastructure. You have to keep on doing
these things for the long term.”
Mr Lee heads back to Singapore on Friday.
— CNA/yb
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Why doesn't he want to remove the
GST, ERP charges during this recession to ease the load of the
nation?
wow, when he said <ensure the competitiveness of
Singaporeans> i scare because it could mean pay cut for
singaporeans!
