A strong defence is necessary for economic development to take place in peace and stability.

A strong defence is necessary for economic development to take place in peace and stability. That's the simple truth.

What we cannot defend is not ours.

We worked hard to achieve racial and religious harmony. It is not a given.

We worked hard to achieve racial and religious harmony. It is not a given. We didn't have it in the beginning.

We achieve this pleasant state of affairs through provisions, interventions and regulations - the ethnic quota for HDB flats, the GRC system, laws against hate speech and a rotation of the head of state to reflect our multiracial composition and to signal to the world that we are a multiracial society.

This is a state of affairs not to be taken for granted, but to be maintained through constant efforts.

Every free trade agreement is a judgement call

We are an open economy by necessity. We are a small country by physical reality.

A small country highly dependent on trade makes us vulnerable to anti-trade measures like tariffs. As a small country, our negotiating power is small and being small, we do not have many weapons in our disposal to retaliate in a trade war.

This is why Singapore adopts a rules-based approach to trade and international affairs and support multilateral institutions.

Post-Covid world is a changed world

A changed world. For people who spend their time complaining about foreign talents taking away their jobs, here's the new reality.

The old world that had allowed Singapore to prosper for the last 50 years will not come back.

COVID-19 has shown that remote working and automation are possible.

What this means for Singaporeans is that you can now seize global opportunities outside of Singapore.

The converse is also true. The foreign talents need not be physically here to compete with you for jobs.

Through tools like the Fair Consideration Framework, the government will ensure a Singaporean core in local businesses and businesses based here.

But with remote workiong, you can expand your imagination and possibilities by improving and upgrading yourself and compete for jobs that are out of Singapore.

Once-in-a-lifetime changes. We need to move forward together.

Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said:

We are seeing major once-in-a-lifetime changes. The sino-US relationship, technology, Covid-19, generational shifts in Singapore - converging at one point in time.

So change is a must for Singapore and for the Government. It is not just about spending more money here and there, although some of that will always be necessary, but how to do things differently.

For example, in my last role (as education minister), reducing exams and phasing out streaming were not major-expenditure projects.

Neither is reopening Singapore in order to rebuild our aviation hub and therefore our economy. I believe every MP can contribute to this discussion and I look forward to hearing their views next week.

This is the PAP Government's commitment to Singaporeans.

This is the PAP Government's commitment to Singaporeans. We will not just survive. We will stay exceptional. 

Grow a new generation of companies: Chan Chun Sing

More support for start-ups. 

They play a critical role in our economy.- as catalysts for innovation, and in spurring new developments and opportunities. In doing so, they create a pipeline not just of products and services, but of jobs and ideas, Trade & Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said.

"As we build a new economy in a COVID-19 world, we are determined to grow a new generation of companies from Singapore. Every crisis presents opportunities for us to do so. This crisis is no different."