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PM: 3 keys to secure S’pore’s future

SINGAPORE — With the Government mid-way through its current term, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday used the opportunity to “take a step back” from Singapore’s immediate priorities of the economy and jobs to address longer-term issues at the National Day Rally (NDR).

National Day Rally coverage at ITE College Central on Aug 20, 2017. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY

National Day Rally coverage at ITE College Central on Aug 20, 2017. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY

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SINGAPORE — With the Government mid-way through its current term, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday used the opportunity to “take a step back” from Singapore’s immediate priorities of the economy and jobs to address longer-term issues at the National Day Rally (NDR).

The issues of building up pre-schools, fighting diabetes and making the Republic a Smart Nation — which were flagged by Mr Lee in his National Day message earlier this month — are critical in securing the well-being of Singaporeans in this generation and beyond, he said.

Delivering his NDR speeches in Malay, Mandarin and English at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College Central, Mr Lee spelt out the Government’s efforts to boost the pre-school sector — including adding another 40,000 places in the next five years and setting up a new national training institute for early childhood educators — and ramp up the Smart Nation push, as well as cajoled Singaporeans to take better care of their health in order to keep the serious diabetes problem in check.

Mr Lee, who took ill in the middle of NDR 2016, kept his speeches shorter this time. At slightly over 2.5 hours, this year’s NDR was among the briefest by the Prime Minister since he took office in 2004. After his Malay and Mandarin speeches, there was also a 45-minute intermission — 15 minutes longer than previously — before he started his English speech.

In his English address, Mr Lee noted that it has been an “eventful year” for the country, on the terrorism and foreign relations fronts, for example. On efforts to take the economy to a higher plane — an issue which Mr Lee spoke about at last year’s NDR — he said that “good progress” was being made.

Wages have been on the rise while “most encouragingly”, productivity is also improving, Mr Lee said.

Last year, Singapore’s productivity went up 1 per cent, after it registered almost zero growth for several years. “This year, we should do even better,” he said. Nevertheless, there is still work to do, with the Government pressing on with the SkillsFuture movement by helping workers who have been displaced to take up new jobs through retraining and reskilling.

Mr Lee stressed that the country’s immediate priorities are important, and the Government will continue to focus on them.

However, the three longer-term issues “are important to the success and well-being of Singapore, for the current generation and also for future generations”, he said. A focus on pre-school education — which covers infants and children under six years old — will help every child get a strong start in life, regardless of their family background, he reiterated.

Stressing that there are “specific windows” to a child’s development of language, emotional and social skills, he said: “Pre-school is important to give our children a good start and the best chance to succeed in life … You miss that (window), and it becomes much harder later on.”

Apart from plans to create more pre-school places, boost the profession, and enhance the quality of education during these foundation years, Mr Lee also revisited the diabetes problem which was first highlighted during the debate on the Health Ministry’s Budget last year.

Mr Lee warned that it is a “very serious” health problem in Singapore, with a prevalence rate second only to the United States, among the developed countries.

He noted that some Singaporeans have wondered why diabetes would be a fitting topic at the NDR.

“It is precisely because you are not worried, that I am worried. It is precisely because many people do not take diabetes seriously, that it has become a serious problem,” Mr Lee said in his Mandarin speech.

The challenge with this ailment, he said, is that it masquerades as an “invisible disease” in the early stages. But many common causes of death here — including heart attack, stroke and kidney failure — are complications that have resulted from diabetes being left untreated. Mr Lee devoted a large chunk of his speech to advising Singaporeans to take responsibility for their health by making changes to their lifestyle and diet.

On the Republic’s Smart Nation drive, Mr Lee said the Government is “making every effort to bring everyone along” through various platforms such as the schools, the People’s Association, and the SkillsFuture movement.

“Smart Nation is for all of us, young and old,” he said, noting that many Singaporeans have been tapping technology to create jobs and tackle social problems.

While the Republic has a “natural advantage” — as a compact and highly-wired society, with a high level of digital literacy — it still lags behind other cities in some areas, said Mr Lee, who cited electronic payments and the use of information technology in public security. “We have to continue to push such projects. The world is changing. Unless we change with it, we will fall behind. And Singapore must always stay with the leaders to attract talent and business, to live up to our own expectations of what we ought to be and can be,” he said.

Rounding up his English speech, Mr Lee held up the example of pharmaceutical engineer Aziz Ahmad’s family, which he felt encapsulated the Republic’s growth story over the last 50 years.

Mr Aziz’s father Ahmad, 79, is part of the Republic’s Pioneer generation, while Mr Aziz’s teenage years coincided with a severe recession and drastic measures — including a “sharp and painful” cut to the Central Provident Fund contributions — taken to revive the economy, Mr Lee noted.

But as the Government dealt with the crisis, it continued to improve its schools, expand the polytechnics and universities, and upgraded the old Vocational and Industrial Training Board to today’s ITE. As a result, Singaporeans like Mr Aziz could work hard and do well. Mr Aziz’s nine-year-old son Adam is now “growing up in a completely different world”, and he will need different skills to compete in the future economy, Mr Lee noted.

“But like his father, he too will have the opportunity to thrive ... We are giving children like Adam strong foundations so that when they start working, they can take up good jobs and seize the opportunities and make this a Smart Nation.”

Like Mr Aziz’s family, each generation of Singaporeans must continue to strive and build for the next.

“(Singaporeans must keep) our eyes on tomorrow and (invest) in our children, undaunted by challenges and disruptions. Instead, working together to overcome every obstacle, seize every opportunity and realise a bright future for all of us,” Mr Lee said.

 

 

KEY ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Building up pre-school sector

— Over 40,000 full-day pre-school places to be added in the next five years, bringing the total to about 200,000

— People’s Action Party Community Foundation to build more Early Years Centres to address shortage of places for infants up to four years old

— Ministry of Education to open 35 more kindergartens in the next five years, up from existing 15

— New national training institute to be set up, offering full range of diploma and certificate programmes for pre-school professionals

 

Fighting diabetes

— Soft drink producers to reduce sugar level in all their drinks sold in Singapore

— S$5 health screenings to be offered for those above 40 years old

 

Smart Nation

— A common QR code to be rolled out in six months, to make it easier for consumers and small businesses to receive money via PayNow

— Parking mobile application to be launched by October

— National Digital Identity system to be operational in three years. Trials to be held over the next six months for mobile software tokens

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