Long-term planning looks like this. Do we appreciate it?

The deep tunnel sewerage system, built to last 100 years maintenance-free, is about sustainable development.

It is a massive integrated project in land scarce Singapore to meet our long term clean water needs through the collection, treatment, reclamation and disposal of used water from industries, homes and businesses.

But long-term planning is something Singaporeans has enjoyed since independence, so much so that we do not appreciate it enough. This is evident during election when voters are ready to vote the government out over one policy they don't feel happy about instead of assessing the government as a whole and taking the long term view.

For example, some think the government should be voted out for increased water tariffs. And some think the government should be voted out for wanting to increase GST.

Nation-building is a collective effort and requires all of us to play a part, and this includes being willing to pay higher prices to ensure that generations of Singaporeans can continue to enjoy good things.

Overheard on Chan Chun Sing

 #overheard 1

He hardly had any sleep last year and when lack of sleep, words might not be what he thinks. He’s really impressive to do everything positively and still walk around and care for his grc. So much efforts, time and mental power !

We even have eggs from Poland and Ukraine! Basic essential items’ supplies and so much more mnc based here and create so much more job opportunities.

Just that tiny mistake and get boo... it’s really a bully act of a coward !

#overheard 2

Yes, you made fun of the man who mistakenly said Cotton came from Sheep during an interview on the difficulty of importing materials to make surgical masks last year.

But the same man and his team brought in $17.2b of investments in 2020. Despite the pandemic and the recession, it was a 12-year high.

The same man secured our supplies for food and other daily necessities and made sure that there was no panic among the population.

So laugh all you want at Chan Chun Sing but don't forget the contributions he gave to Singapore in all his adult life.

Helping ourselves when we help people

 

Our own experience is that it also makes us more grateful and appreciative of what we do have.

A Singaporean's personal encounter with Chan Chun Sing

 

Leading vaccine developer and manufacturer Sanofi will be investing in a new vaccine production centre in Singapore

 

A good shot!

"Leading vaccine developer and manufacturer Sanofi, which produces vaccines for diseases such as polio and influenza, will be investing in a new vaccine production centre in Singapore. Sanofi will invest €400 million and hire up to 200 locals over five years to create a state-of-the-art facility in Singapore that can produce multiple vaccines in one go.

When this facility comes online in 2026, together with the other companies like GSK Biologicals and Thermo Fisher Scientific, we will have the full capability for end-to-end production of almost all kinds of vaccines in Singapore, for ourselves and for the world. It will make us more resilient, physically and economically. It will also strengthen our position as part of the global vaccine value chain.

Companies like Sanofi and GSK invest here because they trust Singapore as a place where they can be sure that their ideas can be protected and executed on, and where we have dependable and skilled workers to deliver."

- Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing

Opposition targets Chan Chun Sing because they see him as a threat!

Opposition supporters target Chan Chun Sing because they see him as a threat. They mock at him when he speaks the common man lingual even as they charge that PAP MPs are elitist and not in touch with the common man on the ground.

Yet they haven't done a fraction as much for the country as Mr Chan has done, first serving in the army and then as a politician to improve the lives of Singaporeans.

Under his watch, MTI attracted investments that exceeded target in challenging circumstances, creating thousands of jobs for Singaporeans.

Few people know that he was inducted into the hall of fame of the United States Army Command and General Staff College considered by many as the intellectual centre of the US Army.

Mr Chan excelled as a student at the US Army Command and General Staff College in 1998, and was the first foreign student to be conferred the "Distinguished Master Strategist Award" in the same year.

Like the rest of the PAP Ministers, he serves Singapore with his whole heart and soul, putting Singapore and Singaporeans' interests first.