PM Lawrence Wong’s Press Conference with Local Media (Aug 2024)

Good afternoon, everyone, I had mentioned earlier that I would hold press conferences from time to time to share my thinking with Singaporeans, through the media.

I had just delivered the National Day Rally last week. So I thought it would be useful to have this press conference today, to take stock of what we have done so far, and what Singaporeans can expect in the months ahead.

For my first National Day Rally, I wanted to flesh out in more concrete terms the aspirations and hopes that Singaporeans had shared with us during the Forward Singapore exercise. Our aspirations and new ambitions are underpinned by two important pillars. The first is a renewed social compact: a compact where every Singaporean will get support to get through setbacks in life and to get a fair shot in life. But at the same time, everyone must do their part, to work hard, make the effort to excel and uplift their families and if they do that, the government will be there to support them every step of the way and help them to get ahead. So that is the first pillar. The second pillar is a refreshed Singapore dream: where we can find our own paths, we do not have to compare with one another, we can all be the best possible version of ourselves; in other words, we can thrive and flourish on our own terms, and in ways that are less prescribed and more open. So, these two key pillars underpin, I believe, what Singaporeans would like to see in the future for ourselves and for Singapore.

As I said, realising these shared goals requires a major reset - a reset in our policies, but also a reset in our attitudes and mindsets.

In the NDR I tried to focus on changes in a few key areas - like parental leave arrangements, job seeker support, and education - where I see these changes and resets happening, not just policies but attitudes.

I could not cover everything, but I hope as for the few, beyond the topics at the NDR, there are other issues we are looking at. For example, how we can better look after our seniors, especially their longer-term care and housing needs. It is a big issue which will continue to grow because of our increasing number of seniors, and so we are very much focussed on this. And it is not just about helping those in their 70s and 80s, the older folks, but as we do more to take care of them, we will also be helping their children, who increasingly are not so young anymore, they are 50s now - young seniors, and many of them do feel sandwiched, because they have to look after aged parents but still have children themselves to look after. So that is one key area of concern and focus which we are continuing to study. Another issue is tackling cost of living concerns. I mentioned this in the National Day Message and the different schemes we have to help Singaporeans cope with cost of living concerns. We have broad-based schemes like CDC vouchers, we also have more targeted schemes like cost of living payouts and U-Save rebates for lower and middle income groups. But as I mentioned in the rally, we are now also looking at specific segments and how we can provide more help. For example, those with larger families, more young children. Which means the costs add up quite quickly, and so we are seeing how we can provide more support for them.

So these are existing issues which we are thinking about, which we are studying, but there will also be new issues we pick up through our engagements with Singaporeans.

That is why I see these regular engagements with Singaporeans as a very important aspect of my work. I have embarked on visits to several districts now - it is a very good opportunity for me to meet residents and hear first-hand their perspectives and feedback. And I am continuing to have dialogue sessions with different segments of society. And also through social media and press conferences like this.

I hope that through these engagements, we can help everyone in Singapore have a common picture of why the government is embarking on certain plans, where we are heading towards, and what we can all do in big and small ways to realise our shared vision together.

This is the commitment from me and my team: we are here to listen to you; to understand firsthand your concerns, hopes and dreams; and to build a stronger, more meaningful connection with every Singaporean.

Besides the domestic focus, we cannot neglect our external environment. There are powerful forces shaping the world around us, and these will have direct impact on Singapore. Just think about the number of shocks and crises that have buffeted the world in say the last five years. Unfortunately, we must expect even more to come in the coming years. Because we are in a world with increasing geopolitical tensions and armed conflicts everywhere. It is a world with growing fragmentation in the global economy, and rising barriers to trade which means more impact and stressors on the global supply chains. It is a world with a whole range of external threats, including the latest outbreak of mpox, which we are monitoring very carefully and closely.

So in this dangerous and troubled world, our relations with other countries are crucial. And establishing good rapport with friends old and new is also a key priority for me. I have hosted several of them and several visitors in Singapore recently, the Prime Ministers of Cambodia and Laos visited, we have got many visitors coming for the Shangri-La Dialogue recently. I have also made trips to our closest neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia, and in the coming months I will be doing more visits to ASEAN countries, and in time to come, visits to our key partners outside of Southeast Asia. I will also be attending a few international summits - the ASEAN Summit, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit and G20, all coming up in the latter part of this year.

These are all opportunities for me to touch base with my counterparts. Some I have met before; but important that I meet them in my new capacity, and establish good personal relations at the leadership level, because that sets the tone for our overall relationship. In some countries there have been or there will be changes in government - and that means potentially working with new governments, new people, new leaders, even as we renew ties with old friends.

So that is how we navigate this new environment - always staying nimble and vigilant; continually finding ways to strengthen our partnerships and build new connections; and to maintain our relevance on the global stage.

I did not get a chance to say much about foreign policy or the external environment at the rally. But I will find future occasions to do so. It is important for me to engage Singaporeans on these issues, because I think everyone needs to understand what is at stake, especially on critical issues where our collective security and fundamental interests are involved. We must be able to come together as one people despite our differences in perspectives and take a common pro-Singapore position, to advance our national interests together.

So we have a full agenda ahead of us - both domestic and foreign. And we will have to continue working closely together to chart our new way forward, towards a better Singapore in the years to come.

Topics: Governance