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PM Lee says downturn will be protracted, but no reason to panic
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.
Speaking at a conference attended by top Latin American companies in Santiago, Mr Lee said that while there is still bitter medicine to be taken, the Singapore government has put a bit more sugar coating on the pill.
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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