Government HEALTHCARE SPENDING is expected to rise sharply

By 2030, about 1 in 4 Singaporeans will be aged 65 and older. 

Government HEALTHCARE SPENDING is expected to rise sharply, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said.

Mr Heng was speaking to the media after a tour of Changi General Hospital and Saint Andrew's Community Hospital on Wednesday (Dec 6).

"As medical technology improves, as our population ages, the demands will grow, and the need to provide for that will also grow," he said.

Mr Heng predicts an annual budget of "at least" $13 billion from 2020.

Mr Heng said the figure "is just an initial estimate" and will depend on "how well we are able to manage in the next few years".

The budget for MOH this year was $10 billion. In 2010, it was $4 billion.

Singapore has a rapidly ageing population. This year, 1 in 7 Singaporeans is aged 65 and older.

By 2030, 1 in 4 Singaporeans will be 65 and older.

How the PAP Government builds up our reserves

If you want good government, you need good leaders. Even in the best of systems, if the leaders in charge are bad, the government will be bad. - Lee Kuan Yew, 19 Jan 1994 

Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat noted that earlier generations of leaders and finance ministers were very prudent, even during the years when Singapore's gross domestic product was growing 8 to 9 per cent annually.

"They did not take it upon themselves and say, 'Well, look, this is a great bonanza and for a government to be popular let's spend all that'."

The Government exercises prudence and great restraint in spending the reserves, to safeguard the future of future generations of Singaporeans.

Elsewhere this is NOT ALWAYS THE NORM.

We see cautionary tales of elections descending into auctions, with political parties competing with each other to promise greater largesse from their nation’s coffers.

Take GREECE, for example, where political parties engaged in a “disastrous competition” to offer patronage, cronyism, nepotism, and welfare populism.

Once the populist policies were set in place, it was difficult to turn back as it would be “political suicide” for any party to do so.

The end result was economic and political bankruptcy and a younger generation that finds that its future has been mortgaged.

AUSTRALIA is another example. They have tightly contested elections in rapid 3-year electoral cycles. One party comes up with a programme, the other offers more, each trying to outbid the other.

This has led successive governments to continue spending accumulated surpluses from a resource boom, which by now are gone.

In Singapore, our opposition parties too will spend the reserves, if they can, to make themselves popular if they are in charge.

Tan Jee Say was famous for saying that $60 billion from our reserves is just small change.

And WP's Low Thia Khiang once asked then Finance Minister Tharman if it was possible for Singapore to have the benefits of a welfare state without their taxes. How do you give people free education, free housing, free healthcare without raising taxes? You know the answer.

Our reserves are not to be taken for granted. We do not want our children's future mortgaged.

Singapore's demographic time bomb starts to tick in 2018

By 2030, the proportion of Singaporeans who are older than 65 will more than double Singaporeans younger than 15.

A rapidly ageing population presents huge social and economic challenges to Singapore.

The Population White Paper sought to address such challenges so that Singaporeans, both young and old, can continue to enjoy quality lives.

The intent and purpose of the paper became 'hijacked' when Workers' Party chose instead to focus discussion on a population figure, whipping up a great emotion.

Thus a precious opportunity for a conversation on the challenges that Singaporeans must face together was lost.

What got a whipping was not the Government but the well-being of present and future Singaporeans, both young and old.

Fortunately for Singapore and Singaporeans, a rapidly ageing population is something that the Government has been preparing for, having studied the population trends since the 1980s.

OUR RESERVES ARE NOT TO BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED

OUR RESERVES ARE NOT TO BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED

During a question and answer session at the Straits Times Global Outlook Forum, Mr Heng was asked by Bank of Singapore chief economist Richard Jerram about the possibility of spending a higher proportion of the earnings on Singapore's "huge assets".

Mr Heng replied that the size of the Republic's reserves gives Singapore "the FIREPOWER" to deal with anyone who tries to attack the Singapore dollar.

It also provides LONG TERM STABILITY to Singapore's economy.

It also gives Singapore the means to "weather crisis in ways which many other countries cannot". 

The reserves are not to be taken for granted, Mr Heng stressed.

If he can, he would rather leave it for the future generations, he said.

Reiterating the extent of Singapore's rapidly ageing population, Mr Heng said: "If we don't prepare for that, I think we will come to regret it and I want to make sure that… I will do the responsible thing."

Mr Heng noted how earlier generations of leaders and finance ministers were very prudent, even during the years when Singapore's gross domestic product was growing 8 to 9 per cent annually.

"They did not take it upon themselves and say, 'Well, look, this is a great bonanza and for a government to be popular let's spend all that'." 

He also credited former Deputy Prime Minister Goh Keng Swee for the creation of GIC. The sovereign wealth fund has, over the years, invested in a variety of assets and earned returns which Singapore has tapped on. 

"I will be very cautious about making statements about how big our reserves are… increasingly, in a world which is more uncertain, I think we better have more firepower than less," he said.

Singapore's foreign policy and domestic policy are inextricably linked

Singapore's foreign policy and domestic policy are inextricably linked. They are not separate.

Singapore's domestic success depends on the effectiveness of her foreign policy. At the same time, Singapore's ability to speak with influence on the international stage depends on her domestic success.

That is why Singapore must be vigilant against any insidious attempt to divide us against ourselves so as to weaken our will and resolve as a sovereign country.

Whenever we come under 'heavy pressure', whatever our internal differences, Singaporeans must close ranks and stand up together for out vital interests.

Half of PAP's founding members were trade unionists

Back in 1954 when PAP was formed, more than half its founding members were trade unionists and almost two-thirds of the cadres were unionists. 

This is the background to understanding the symbiotic relationship between NTUC and PAP. 

In his speech on May 1 1960, then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew said:

"May Day 1960 will always be a notable occasion in the history of the trade union movement of Singapore. For this is the first time that May Day is celebrated in Singapore when there is A GOVERNMENT WHICH IS OPENLY ON THE WORKERS' SIDE. The PAP said clearly before and during the elections that a PAP Government is a Government on the side of the workers."

While other governments may say they protect workers from competition and unscrupulous businesses, they often end up frightening off investors and damaging the economy, causing job losses for workers.

Some countries try to weaken union influence, resulting in tit-for-tat conflict.

But in Singapore, the Government, workers and employers partner in growing and upgrading the economy, in a tripartite system that has delivered results over 50 years.

"The Government is always on the side of workers, but we make sure we are business-friendly and support our business to grow so that we have jobs for all." - PM Lee in his May Day Rally speech in 2015.

"We all judge tripartism by the basis of the results it generates, and in Singapore I think you you have the proof of the effectiveness of your tripartism, the results are there for everybody to see in terms of economic growth, in terms of employment, in terms of improved living conditions." - Guy Ryder, International Labour Organisation.

<< Be Vigilant Against Foreign Entities That Seek To Divide Us >>

<< Be Vigilant Against Foreign Entities That Seek To Divide Us >>

Singapore's domestic and foreign policies are inextricably linked. 

Foreign policy allows us to create opportunities for Singaporeans. And domestic policy prepares Singaporeans to seize these opportunities. 

Both go hand-in-hand to advance the interests of Singapore and Singaporeans.

Our success is predicated on:

FIRST: Singaporeans’ continued confidence in and support for our foreign policy and its long-term objective of safeguarding Singapore’s independence and sovereignty; and

SECOND: Singapore’s continued cohesion, resilience and economic progress.

ON THE FIRST POINT, an emerging threat would be the proliferation of misinformation in this digital age.

Technological advancements have changed the way we communicate and consume our media.

The same technology which allows information to reach us almost instantaneously is also responsible for delivering distorted and even false information.

The so-called “post-truth era” poses many challenges for both domestic policy and foreign policy.

Big nations and smaller states have realised that they can increasingly achieve their objectives through MISINFORMATION which UNDERMINES THE WILL AND RESOLVE OF NATIONS THAT THEY HAVE PROBLEMS WITH.

It is not only the larger powers, even smaller players can use social media manipulation to undermine resilience in the targeted countries with little expense.

These techniques may be cloaked in new-fangled terms such as fake news and election campaigns, but the aims of achieving national and diplomatic objectives are in fact very old.

THEY SEEK TO DIVIDE a country against itself.

Singapore is certainly not immune to these advanced, persistent threats. We are one of the most internet-connected societies in the world.

With the free flow of information and dis-information across geographical barriers, the onus is on everyone to exercise judgment and not take information at face value.

So, the next time you read a foreign policy commentary or op-ed, ASK YOURSELF WHO STANDS TO BENEFIT FROM THE PROPOSED COURSE OF ACTION.

What we need is a well-informed society that understands not only the multitude of views, but the corresponding trade-offs in each policy position.

ULTIMATELY, SINGAPORE'S CONTINUED SUCCESS will depend on our resilience as a nation and as a society.

As a multiracial and secular society, our social cohesion has been tried in the past, and will continue to face challenges.

There may be attempts by external forces to divide us along racial and religious fault lines. We already see cases of foreign influences such as religious extremism exacerbating societal divisions in countries around the world.

It is imperative that Singapore remains vigilant against those who seek to mount insidious information campaigns to influence segments of our population for their own ends.

Singapore cannot tolerate attempts by foreign countries or entities to manipulate our people’s sentiments.

Singapore’s future is for Singaporeans to decide.

In the face of such attempts, the ties that bind us together as one people, which I would describe as “social reserves”, are vital.

In the same way that we have built up our financial reserves, we should build up our social reserves as an investment for the future because these social reserves will come in handy and helpful during difficult times.

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