SINGAPORE: Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has said
the government will try to ensure that Singaporeans continue to
benefit from economic growth.
Speaking at a dinner in his Marine Parade
constituency organised by the merchants association, Mr Goh said
attention would also be given to rising costs.
He noted that inflation for the first half of the
year is expected to be four to five percent, mostly due to high
prices of cars and homes.
Without these, the core inflation rate is much lower - at just two
to three percent.
He said that most Singaporeans own their own homes and are not
affected by high Certificates of Entitlement (COE) prices unless
they are buying a car.
Still, Mr Goh called on businesses to keep prices down.
He added that measures to grow the economy and create jobs are the
more important part of the Budget 2011 announced on Friday.
"Unless the economy grows in future, we're not going to have
surpluses to share. So while you're very happy with the generosity
of the Budget, I would myself focus on the first part, the growth
element. This is the Grow and Share Budget, so we have to grow
first before we can share, not just for this Budget but for the
future (too)," said Mr Goh.
- CNA/ir
