<!-- by line -->
PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday cautioned Singaporeans
against measuring the pace of the economic recovery by looking at
the property market.
He also tempered any expectations of a mound of goodies in the
coming Budget, saying it 'may be too early to hope for a big
hongbao'.
The Budget statement will be made on Feb 22, he said.
He was speaking to reporters after attending the official
light-up ceremony of Chinatown's Chinese New Year celebrations last
night.
Looking cheerful and jovial as he spoke about the economic
recovery, Mr Lee highlighted the need to strike a balance between
making people feel confident they can improve things and ensuring
they do not assume all problems are gone.
'And you can't just look at the property market and say 'wow,
it's gone up so much and next year will go up even more' and get
carried away, whether carried away with enthusiasm or carried away
with panic,' he said. 'I think we have to treat these things with
detachment and calmness.'
PM Lee cautions S'poreans against getting carried away
with economy's recovery
Posted: 23 January 2010 2217 hrs
SINGAPORE : Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has cautioned
Singaporeans against getting too carried away with the recent
recovery in the economy.
He noted that Singapore is not expecting a very vibrant and strong
recovery.
Mr Lee said that although the government wants people to feel that
things are better, at the same time, Singaporeans cannot assume
that all problems have passed.
Mr Lee was speaking to reporters at the Lunar New Year light-up
ceremony in Chinatown on Saturday evening.
On the buoyant property market, Mr Lee said that Singaporeans
cannot assume it will continue going up.
He added that the government is confident that things are under
control.
On whether Singapore will achieve 3 or 4 per cent economic growth
this year, Mr Lee said it will depend on how well things turn
out.
He was also asked about the Economic Strategies Committee
report.
Mr Lee did not want to give details but said Finance Minister
Tharman Shanmugaratnam will release the report on February 1. -
CNA/ms
