Heng Swee Keat
Singapore
“In a world heading towards greater contest and fragmentation, amid rapid advances in science, technology and innovation, Singaporeans can play a valuable part as bridge-builders and connectors, and Singapore can be a trusted and neutral Global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise.”
“The National Quantum Office has identified specific goals under the National Quantum Strategy (NQS), with resources and efforts directed towards specific quantum areas and technologies accordingly.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank Member Ms Denise Phua for her comments because her comments reminded me of the tagline that I always said when I was in MOE – that you can learn from anyone, anytime, anywhere. In fact, peer learning is a very important aspect of that learning.”
“But I have laid out the strong basis for my optimism that a small and open economy like Singapore can continue to thrive and secure our next bound of growth. By serving as a trusted node and connector, we can create value by facilitating connections and building new linkages in today's fractured global landscape.”
“Secondly, one other very important thing the Member must bear in mind is that AI is a very rapidly developing field and it is something which our researchers are working hard on, to look at the different techniques of AI – it is not just GenAI, but the whole range of different AI systems that are being used – and how that can be used in c…”
“Assoc Prof Jamus Lim, you do not need an invitation. You are free to provide your suggestion. After all, are you not from WP? And by the way, let me make it clear that I have heard MPs on both aisles speaking about workers, and we have a very strong presence of our union MPs here and they will be speaking even more on this.”
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“I am grateful to my staff in MOF, many of them young or with young families. They have been working tirelessly for almost 10 weeks now – from Pongal, to Valentine's Day, to Chinese New Year, and over many weekends. It is the first time that MOF officers have had to prepare three Budgets within 48 days. It is not only hectic. It has been emotional. We know what is at stake. Our lives, our livelihoods, our loved ones. Our home and nation. I know people like to call us at MOF bean-counters because we are always counting the costs and benefits of things. We count because you count. We weigh up our reserves of strength, measure out the right actions to help our people and businesses, pace ourselves to go the distance and save for the future. We count to protect our people and our home. I thank my staff and my colleagues for running this race together with me. I could not have asked for a better team. And I thank their families for their understanding. You should be very proud of your loved ones who are giving their everything in the Public Service. I also thank Members of the House who bring their honesty and resilience not only into this Chamber but also into our fight on all fronts against COVID-19. I am especially heartened that fellow Singaporeans and Members of Parliament show strong values and commitment to our future. Let me just share a few examples. After I announced the Resilience Budget, Ms Tan wrote to me, saying that she is touched that we are tapping into the reserves built up by earlier generations. She then went on to urge that we must work to put back what we are going to use so that future generations have emergency funds for the next crisis. Several others also did so.”
“Beyond our financial reserves, I am grateful that we have been able to tap on the deep reserves of strength and resourcefulness of our people. Without the strength, resourcefulness, trust of our people, all the right measures will not be worth the dollar tag on them. But with these, our combined strength is worth so much more. Our healthcare workers, Home Team officers, cleaners and many other unsung heroes have carried out their duties with commitment and courage. They have had a very tough time. They have to stay alert and careful while working long hours and over weekends. It is very moving that our people recognise this and pour out strong support for them. Many Singaporeans have made videos and written letters of appreciation to spur our frontline workers – students and staff from Yew Tee Primary School, who made personalised cards and a video to show support and appreciation for the frontline staff of various hospitals and our Police officers. And there are many others like them. Just last week, applause rang across our heartlands at 8.00 pm on 30 March as Singaporeans came together to give those on the frontline a round of applause as part of our "Clap for #SGUnited" campaign. This applause was also for everyone who has been helping to keep Singapore safe during this tough time. Indeed, our national stock of resilience is made up of all our individual stocks of resilience. Ultimately, the long-drawn fight against the virus will be won by us standing together as one united people. Cases are creeping up and, as Mr Vikram Nair put it, we must each do our part. This is absolutely serious – a matter of life and death. This has been an extremely hectic period for me, Minister Lawrence Wong and Minister Indranee Rajah, and all my Cabinet colleagues.”
“Mr Pritam Singh also asked how we will ensure sustainable finances in the next term of government. He suggested that we review our usage of past reserves in view of the longer term impact of COVID-19. Many have urged us, year after year, to spend more of our reserves to fund our growing expenditure, suggesting that we do not need to save so much or to ever raise taxes. But like Mr Liang Eng Hwa said, we kept the discipline and stuck to our principle of using the returns from our reserves in a prudent manner. We do not view the reserves as a piggy bank to be broken at will, to provide the Government with a convenient source of additional revenue. We avoided running deficits in good years and consistently saved. If we had succumbed to the political pressure to spend more of our reserves in good years, we would not have had the war chest to deal with critical moments, such as now; and to do even more, if necessary, even in the next term of government. But the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak will be with us for a long time and we will need to deal with it on a sustainable basis. If the crisis deepens, our economy and revenues will shrink, and we may have to make use of our past reserves again for a recovery. While we must make plans – and we are – at this hour, let us all focus our minds fully on making the best use of this very unprecedented Budget to build social and economic resilience. And if there is a need, we have the institution of the Government and the Elected President to decide on how best to use our resources to manage a crisis. So, indeed, this crisis has reaffirmed the value of our key institutions and the key tenets of our prudent fiscal policy – to spend prudently, invest wisely and plan consistently for the long term.”
“They provide a key defence for Singapore in times of crisis. I have shared with Members that, during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, the late President SR Nathan approved the provision of $150 billion from our past reserves to guarantee bank deposits in Singapore. This move calmed our depositors and we did not have a single bank run during that very difficult period. All our depositors' monies were safe. In 2009, President Nathan approved a draw of $4.9 billion from the past reserves to fund the Resilience Package then, to help us overcome the crisis. Having our reserves therefore played a key role in helping us emerge stronger from that crisis. In fact, our economy rebounded quickly. Our reserves serve as a strategic defence. It gives us the wherewithal to resolutely defend the Singapore dollar against speculative attacks. This contributes to a stable Singapore dollar, which in turn bolsters the confidence of investor and citizens. Our reserves are thus no different from SAF's arsenal. No country’s armed forces will ever tell you exactly how much ammunition and weaponry they really have. To do so is to betray valuable intelligence to potential adversaries. This is obviously not a wise defence strategy and likewise should not be adopted for our financial reserves. What Members should focus on are the policies and programmes, especially those which may require the use of reserves. Debate the merits of these programmes, including the expenditure required for them. But let us be clear – it is neither in the interest of Singapore or Singaporeans to repeatedly ask about the size of our reserves. We are in the middle of a storm and I am very disappointed that Mr Pritam Singh has used this occasion to raise this question again.”
“The three Budgets make up our largest Budget in any one financial year, in dollar amount and as a percentage of GDP. This is the largest spending in any financial year in our nation’s history. We also incurred the largest deficit ever – $44.3 billion, or 8.9% of our GDP. As Ms Tin Pei Ling observed, this deficit alone is half of our total spending in the preceding financial year. We had to seek the President’s approval to draw on our past reserves, not once, but twice. In total, the President has given her in-principle support for the Government to draw up to $21 billion from our past reserves for the Resilience Budget and the Solidarity Budget. Once again, I thank the President for her deep understanding of the nature of this crisis, and for her support. I also thank the Chairman and members of the Council of Presidential Advisers. As Finance Minister, I am extremely grateful that we have been able to tap on the deep financial reserves – our current and past reserves which have been so carefully built up, invested and managed. This has allowed us to respond to the crisis without having to borrow and without burdening our future generations with repayment obligations. But just exactly how deep are our reserves? Mr Pritam Singh has asked this question time and again in this House. Members would know that our reserves comprise assets invested by MAS, GIC and Temasek. MAS and Temasek publish the size of the funds they invest. It is the size of the funds invested by GIC that is not published. We do not disclose the total size of our reserves for the sake of national security and strategic interests. As a small country without any natural resources and highly dependent on imports, our reserves are vital to our overall economic and financial stability and our well-being.”
“These four weeks of circuit breaking will feel unusual and unnatural. The challenge is to help ourselves and others stay home, and do so purposefully and positively. As we stay home, how might we thrive, by staying healthy and learning? How might we connect with our loved ones and the community? How might we help others? How might we get help? This will be a time for reflection, to learn something new, bond with loved ones, to show care and support for one another, and do something active and constructive for the community. There are existing resources available to all Singaporeans. For example, you can tap on online resources from the National Library Board and the National Heritage Board to learn new things and connect with your loved ones. Some Singaporeans will also be emotionally affected or distressed in this period, as pointed out by Mr Alex Yam, Mr Mohamed Irshad and Ms Anthea Ong. If you need additional help, you can get help from various platforms, such as the National Care Hotline, or from our community partners. We are putting together some resources, and Ministers Desmond and Indranee will speak more about them soon. We are entering uncharted waters in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak and we cannot predict with precision how long this will be. But at this point, let me share some personal reflections with Members on what we need to pull through. I presented the Unity Budget to this Chamber on 18 February. Thirty-seven days later, on 26 March, I presented the Resilience Budget. And 11 days later, yesterday, I presented our Solidarity Budget. Three Budgets, within just 48 days. We are dedicating close to $60 billion, amounting to 12% of our GDP, to deal decisively with the situation at hand.”
“I earlier announced that I would set up an Emerging Stronger Task Force under the ambit of the Future Economy Council, to help our economy bounce back from the crisis. Minister Desmond Lee and Mr Tan Chong Meng, Group CEO of PSA International, will co-chair this task force, to review how Singapore will stay economically resilient and build new sources of dynamism in a post-COVID world. This task force will report to the Future Economy Council and I hope that this can speak to Ms Rahayu Mahzam’s call for a coordinated effort to recover from the crisis. The Singapore Together Movement, led by Ministers Indranee Rajah and Desmond Lee, has been seeking to tap on the creative energies and commitment of Singaporeans, and friends of Singapore, to shape a better future. COVID-19 has reinforced the importance of social and psychological resilience. As President Halimah pointed out at the start of this session, the worst of times can bring out the best in our people. How we respond to it, how our nation comes together, will show much about our values as a people and the principles we hold dear. Let us use this crisis period well. Ministers Indranee and Desmond will mobilise Singaporeans to explore how we can deepen our social fabric and partnerships between Government and people in Singapore, and between Singaporeans and people around the world. This will be a whole-of-nation effort, which will take our collective energies and ideas to do well. To do so, as I have mentioned before, we will have a series of national challenges across different domains to encourage ground-up participation. One of the first challenges we will have is the "Singapore Together Stay Home for Singapore Challenge". I am asking all of us to be a part of it.”
“Under the SGUnited Traineeships Programme, NRF will work with MOM to provide more than 500 traineeships across the RIE eco-system, including our R&D labs, as well as deep-tech start-ups, accelerators and incubators. We will also continue to press on with business transformation and upskilling of our workers, even during this downtime, in fact, especially, during this downtime. As Mr Douglas Foo, Senior Parliamentary Secretary Low Yen Ling and Ms Tin Pei Ling stressed, businesses need to take the opportunity to transform now, as the post-COVID-19 landscape will be vastly different. Indeed, Mr Douglas Foo astutely pointed out that had our businesses been further along the digitalisation curve prior to the outbreak, the transition to remote work arrangements and moving operations online would have been less painful and better executed. Senior Parliamentary Secretary Low Yen Ling has shared what we are doing to support firms with flexible work arrangements. The COVID-19 fight still has a long way to go, and things will get tougher; it will get worse before they improve. But one way or another, eventually it will pass – not next week, not next month, but perhaps within a year or two. As Dr Lim Wee Kiak put it, it is an invisible threat, but it is not invincible. The question we should ask ourselves even now is when that day comes, what sort of world will it be and how ready Singapore will be to march forward again. We should think ahead on how we can deepen economic and social resilience. In this spirit, we will set up two initiatives – an Emerging Stronger Task Force on economic resilience and a new emphasis on social resilience under the Singapore Together Movement.”
“Global and regional businesses will place a higher premium on locations that offer stability, reliability and effective governance in how they had managed this pandemic. Overall, trust will command a higher premium than ever. It has also accelerated digitalisation and the adoption of technology in our daily lives. Many more firms, workers and consumers have had the opportunity to embrace new models of remote working, online learning, telemedicine and e-commerce. They will not automatically switch back to their previous habits. We are in a good position to make the most of these opportunities in a post-COVID world. To do so, we will redouble our efforts to position Singapore as a Global-Asia Node of Technology, Innovation and Enterprise. I am glad that even during this period, companies have continued to engage Singapore on new projects and the development of new capabilities. Just last week, Hyundai announced its opening of an innovation lab in the Jurong Innovation District to develop and test technology across the automotive supply chain and trial electric vehicle manufacturing. In the same week, ExxonMobil also held a virtual foundation laying ceremony to deploy new technology to upgrade its integrated refining and petrochemical complex. This is expected to create 135 new jobs. We will also press on with our Smart Nation and R&D efforts. We will continue building smart towns like our Punggol Digital District and our efforts in deploying Autonomous Vehicles. We are now formulating our next five-year masterplan for Research, Innovation and Enterprise, or RIE 2025. And we will prepare our people for this.”
“There are many other heartwarming examples of individuals stepping forward, such as that of the provision shop giving out free rice to the needy, mentioned by Mr Vikram Nair. Many Singaporeans have also been helping one another, from distributing hand sanitisers, masks, and even meals, to those who need it more. Some even offered their homes to Malaysian workers who were affected by the Movement Control Order. Singaporeans are also taking care of the seniors amongst us, a group that Ms Joan Pereira raised. One such example is Mdm Alice Lee. Alice stays in a mature estate where there are many senior residents who have mobility issues, and these seniors faced trouble collecting their masks and hand sanitisers during the collection exercise in February. Alice helped the residents with their collection and delivered to their homes. Alice also took the opportunity to chat with these residents and checked that they are doing fine during this period. These are spontaneous acts of community support and I hope that they will inspire more to do the same. This is the social cohesion and resilience that we must have. I have touched on the nature of the crisis and how we must build resilience in our economy and our society. Several Members, like Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Ms Jessica Tan, Mr Gan Thiam Poh, Mr Douglas Foo, have raised this and asked how we can position ourselves better for recovery and emerge stronger. And Mr Mohamad Irshad had just spoken of hope. Indeed, COVID-19 will re-shape our world and amplify the global structural shifts already underway. With these shifts come risks as well as opportunities. It will accelerate structural shifts in the global supply chains.”
“Let us commit to making sure that what we do are fiscally sustainable, not just in this term or next term of government, but for our future generations. Our ability to put together a support package for Singaporeans amounting to 12% of GDP, without borrowing against our future, is testament to the optimal fiscal balance we have sought to maintain over the years. We will continue to work hard at this and continue to look at improvements. For example, as Dr Intan Mokhtar suggested, we will study whether self-employed persons should be more systematically included in our social security system. And in the same vein, how artists could self-sustain and be well-prepared for the future, as mentioned by Mr Terence Ho. Minister Grace Fu has also shared more on what the Government will do to support this community. But the Government cannot do this alone. In the spirit of SG Together, I am glad that many are stepping up to help others. The mayors and their five CDCs have stepped up local assistance schemes to support the heartlands and partnering local merchants to do so. These efforts bring warmth and direct assistance to those who need it most. Our charities, IPCs, and Self-Help Groups, have also come forward spontaneously to support Singaporeans in need. I am heartened to see that The Community Foundation of Singapore has launched the Sayang Sayang Fund. The fund aims to boost the morale of frontline healthcare workers with transport vouchers and some cash support. As our schools transition to home-based learning as part of the circuit breaker measures, the Sayang Sayang Fund will also provide disadvantaged students with support for their meals. In just two months, the fund has raised $1.1 million from more than 1,500 donors.”
“For our little red dot, we must have the courage and wisdom to do what is right for us – and not rely on simple ideology or fad or fashion of the day. Focus on our people’s well-being, and design systems and support around that core purpose. For this Government, it has never been a question of whether we “want to spend”. Rather, it is a question of “how do we make the best use of resources to achieve the best outcome for our people”. As I said in my Round-up speech 39 days ago – and some Members might have forgotten – let me repeat: “There must be a role for the Government to redistribute resources, in the right way, so that everyone shares in the fruits of progress. One way is to do this through schemes that enhance the capability of our people – through investments in education, health and the provision of housing, as well as schemes to mitigate inequality, like Workfare and Silver Support." I also said, "It is not just how much we spend, but how well we spend". I showed various charts showing the outcomes we achieved, in comparison with other countries. If we stay adaptable, we can keep adjusting our social security system according to the needs of the day. For example, the recent wave of digitalisation has brought great rewards to the innovators, but also put pressures on employment and wages for older workers. We have responded with social support schemes like the Workfare Income Supplement. To help our people tide through immediate challenges in this crisis, we have been adaptable and introduced schemes like SIRS and the COVID-19 Support Grant. So, let me urge all Members in this House to remain rigorous and clear-headed, and to focus on outcomes for our people.”
“He went on to say, "the comparison with the New Deal is nonetheless thought provoking". Indeed, we should think hard about this. While the New Deal was meant to bring the United States out of the Great Depression, its ideas have now polarised American society. We still see this schism today – between liberals who support it for its comprehensive relief and reform programmes, and conservatives who oppose it for being hostile to business and growth. The United Kingdom went through a similar phase, with their government swinging between the left and right of the political spectrum. I was a student in the United Kingdom in the early 1980s, when Mrs Margaret Thatcher rode to electoral victory when ordinary Britons got fed up with the "Winter of Discontent" in 1978-1979 where there were widespread strikes in the public sector, including the NHS. As a first-year student of Economics, we had to study economic history, and wrote essays on why the Industrial Revolution started in England. At the same time, I had to do macroeconomics and wrote essays on why the British economy was then de-industrialising, and how economic growth was important for the welfare of workers, and did papers on sociology on class warfare in Britain then. It is important that in any policy making, we pay attention to the subtle but significant changes in the tone of society, in the attitudes of people and in relationships which will take years to show and which are not easy to reverse. So, let me caution that in making good public policy, we should be rigorous and clear-headed and not rely on some ideological short-cuts or labels, without thinking deeply about interactions and longer term effects.”
“They currently do not benefit from the cash payouts under the Care and Support Package, but are supporting the family in different ways, through this difficult period. To support these Singaporean families, adult Permanent Residents with Singaporean parents, spouses or children, may apply for a one-off Solidarity Payment of $300. I will also extend this to LTVP+ holders, who are spouses of Singaporeans. More details will be available later. With this set of schemes, we balance between targeting our support for those who need it more and flowing support quickly to large groups. It is not an easy balance and we will do our best to calibrate this. That said, I fully support the spirit of Assoc Prof Walter Theseira’s suggestion. Those who have more, should support those who have less. Such solidarity is especially needed in these difficult times. As I mentioned in my Ministerial Statement, some of our support have to be broad-based, so that we can flow the support to our people quickly. I encourage those who do not need the cash payouts to share it with those who need it more, by donating to Giving.sg or the Community Chest’s Courage Fund, or to directly share it with others. Mr Pritam Singh noted that the Resilience and Solidarity Budgets have features of the New Deal in the US, and went on to ask if we can provide continued support beyond nine months, even after the pandemic subsides. He made a comparison to the “New Deal”, and asked if we should have a "living wage" for our essential services workers, including cleaners. As Mr Singh himself pointed out, the "New Deal took more than six years and secured the US as a welfare state with a strong federal government and a perennial national debt problem".”
“This year’s Budgets also provide direct support for families, with more for the lower income. This is how we support a resilient society. Additional support is available through the Self-Help Groups and Community Development Councils. I thank Members for the various suggestions to do more for our families and households, after listening to the feedback of Singaporeans. Assoc Prof Walter Theseira, Dr Lim Wee Kiak, Ms Foo Mee Har, Mr Louis Ng and Mr Faisal Manap have requested to provide more cash in hand for different groups of Singaporeans and their families to tide through this period. In fact, we will already be providing more than what the Members have proposed. A 50-year old couple with a child aged 20 years old and below will receive up to $3,200 in cash. This is from the Solidarity Payment, Care and Support Package and PAssion card top-up in cash. Low-wage workers on Workfare will receive an additional $3,000 in cash to help them with their expenses over this period. Singaporeans who become unemployed can receive the COVID-19 Support Grant of $2,400 over three months. In the interim, those who require urgent help with basic living expenses can apply for cash assistance of $500 under the Temporary Relief Fund. MSF and HDB are also exercising greater flexibility under ComCare and for mortgage repayments respectively to provide stronger support. In addition, under the Job Support Scheme, employers will receive up to $31,000 in wage offsets over nine months, for each local worker retained. Eligible self-employed persons will receive $9,000 over the same period under SIRS. I share Ms Foo Mee Har’s concern that some Singaporean families may have non-citizen members.”
“It uses an advanced 3D camera system to scan the dimensions and contents of incoming cargo, before optimising and packing them using a robotic arm system. This is being piloted at Changi Airfreight Terminal. The aviation sector, including Singapore Airlines, is one of the hardest hit sectors. Minister Khaw Boon Wan spoke on the strategic value of the aviation centre to our position as a Global-Asia Node. Despite being hit so hard, it has found strength, retained staff and pressed on with training and innovation, and volunteered to help others. This is resilience in action. The Resilience Budget also provides support to increasing resilience in our supply chains. Mr Ang Wei Neng, Mr Saktiandi Supaat, Mr Gan Thiam Poh and Mr Murali Pillai have rightly pointed out that COVID-19 has underscored the importance of further strengthening our supply chain resilience and food security. They have urged us to press on, including on our ambitious “30 by 30” goal to develop our own food production capabilities. Last Wednesday, I visited Apollo Aquaculture Group and Max Koi Farm, saw what they had achieved and learnt about their plans. Indeed, let us devote attention to this. In my Ministerial Statement on the Resilience Budget, I spoke about our efforts to deal with the immediate challenges, by having a robust, multi-pronged strategy to ensure a stable supply of safe food and essential items. We have been working on this for years and will continue to do so. Minister Masagos will provide details later this week. I also thank Mr Seah Kian Peng and his staff of the NTUC group, who have been working hard to keep shelves stocked. Your hard work and that of other distributors instil confidence in the adequacy of our food supplies.”
“This is made possible by the strong tripartite partnership, that can be a "viable flexible companion to the rigidity of law", as mentioned by Mr Douglas Foo. This model has worked well for our society thus far, and has laid the foundation for good outcomes and trust between the Government, firms and workers over the years. In supporting our economy, we have sought to provide holistic, integrated support, while keeping an eye on the long term. Beyond subsidising wages, we gave firms the resources to re-engineer their business operations, digitalise, retrain workers and even temporarily redeploy workers in their downtime. This is so that they can emerge stronger once the economy recovers. Firms have responded well to this. SATS, Changi Airport's biggest ground handling and airline catering operator, is one good example. When I visited Changi Airport last week, I met several SATS employees who will be redeployed to the public and healthcare sectors. One of them is Ms Neo Xin Yin, a Customer Service Agent, who will become an SG Clean Ambassador with the National Environment Agency. Duty Manager Mr Yazid Izkhairol will be deployed to a public hospital as a care concierge. They are not the only ones. SATS is temporarily redeploying up to 500 workers who will be retrained to support our pandemic response, as part of the SG United Jobs initiative. This is our attempt at "making the perfect match", as called for by Mr Ang Wei Neng, Mr Christopher de Souza and Mr Henry Kwek, who also raised the idea of short-term job creation. The firm is also pushing ahead with R&D to improve its operations. In collaboration with TUM-CREATE, SATS is trialling AI-powered solutions for cargo handling through the SpeedCargo system.”
“For self-employed persons, we will provide direct cash assistance through the Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme, or SIRS. In implementing this new scheme, we have heard many suggestions such as that from Ms Joan Pereira and Mr Dennis Tan, to improve its auto-inclusion criteria. With the revised eligibility criteria I announced in my Ministerial Statement, a total of about 100,000 self-employed persons will benefit. I also encourage all self-employed persons to make full use of the SEP Training Support Scheme to train and upskill, during this period. Several Members like Mr Png Eng Huat, Mr Pritam Singh and Assoc Prof Walter Theseira have asked for the Government to relook our approach for support for our low-wage workers, especially during this period. Our union Members of Parliament too, have been consistently championing the needs of our low-wage workers and actively working with the Government to uplift them. This is the right approach, because we need a combination of policies which work together, to shift the entire landscape of support for workers. The Progressive Wage Model and Workfare, which then-Labour Chief Lim Swee Say is a strong proponent of, have uplifted low-wage workers while keeping unemployment low. Every worker is assured that he can earn more wages through skills upgrading. We continue to believe strongly in that, and have strengthened our SkillsFuture and Next Bound of SkillsFuture movements to allow for this continual progression. I have also heard Mr Henry Kwek's suggestions on sharpening this effort. We also ensure that our workers are treated fairly by their employers, through the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP).”
“I am glad that MAS, together with financial institutions, has introduced a package of measures to help SMEs with temporary cash flow difficulties. This is a concern raised by a number of Members, including Mr Murali Pillai, Mr Saktiandi Supaat, Ms Foo Mee Har and Prof Lim Sun Sun. I spoke about these measures in my Ministerial Statement yesterday. I am glad to see the industry step up and come together to support their customers through this difficult time. I urge businesses to use this support on the 3Cs – Cash, Cost and Credit, to keep things going, while they do a stock-take and make adjustments for what could be a prolonged downturn ahead. I also urge businesses to use the support wisely and responsibly, even as we provide many forms of help in a broad-based manner. Let me now touch on resilient workers. Our Resilience Budget also focuses on building resilience in our workers. The best form of support is continued employment, both in the immediate and long term. But if your livelihood is affected, we are here to help you through difficult times, to bounce back when conditions improve. For employees, beyond subsidising wages through the Jobs Support Scheme, we have also provided direct help for workers' training and upskilling, by enhancing course fee subsidies and absentee payroll. For those who lose their jobs, we have stepped up our efforts to help workers find new jobs especially where there are emerging trends, such as through the SGUnited Jobs initiative, which Minister Josephine Teo spoke about yesterday. For those who experience hardship, we also provide strong social support through new schemes such as the Temporary Relief Fund and COVID-19 Support Grant, as well as through existing schemes like ComCare.”
“Some property owners, such as Mapletree Commercial Trust, have even gone further, by giving their tenants more than the Property Tax Rebate that they receive, to share the burden during this time of uncertainty. Despite these commendable moves, I have received feedback from tenants that some property owners have yet to pass on the Property Tax Rebate to them. This is why we are imposing a legal obligation on property owners to unconditionally pass on to their tenants the full amount of Property Tax Rebate that is attributable to the tenanted properties. Some property owners commented that such an obligation penalises them. But this move does not make property owners worse-off – in fact it staves off rental terminations and keeps their premises rented out. With a Property Tax Rebate of up to 100%, property owners pay less or even no property tax for the year. Property owners should pass the full tax savings on to their tenants, as the Property Tax Rebate is intended to benefit the tenants. As Chef Willin Low put it, "Landlords and tenants need each other, like a garden and its plants. When times are good, the garden flourishes with flowers. It is now time for landlords to help tenants so we can wait together for the sunshine to come again." With this move, I trust that all property owners will do your part, support your tenants and give additional help to tenants who need it. The Government is leading by example, by giving a rental waiver of up to three months for Government-owned properties. This helps about 36,000 tenants. On the credit front, I enhanced financing support for enterprises in our Resilience Budget and introduced further enhancements yesterday to manage the uncertainty in April, as part of the Solidarity Budget.”
“MOM and the tripartite partners have released an advisory yesterday to guide employers on salary and leave arrangements that takes into consideration the substantial support from JSS. We will continue to monitor the situation closely with our tripartite partners and take action where needed. NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng and Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked if we can flow the assistance to firms even more quickly. Let me assure you that we are trying our best. Agencies like CPF Board and IRAS have redoubled their efforts, working through nights and weekends, to expedite the payouts. Firms on GIRO and PayNow will now start receiving the first JSS payout next week, while those on cheques will start receiving a week later. Mr Speaker, Sir, may I draw Members' attention to the handouts which describe when businesses and households will receive payouts, please. There will be support flowing every month for the next six months. The Public Service is also working towards making faster payments to businesses supplying goods and services to the Government. We have brought forward the scheduled due date of more than 1,000 payment vouchers, by an average of 11 days. This amounts to more than $600 million, benefiting close to 300 businesses, mostly SMEs. I encourage businesses that are in better financial positions, to consider making similar gestures for their suppliers, many of which are SMEs. By keeping your supply chain intact, your company will also benefit. On the cost front, I am heartened to see some property owners passing on the 100% Property Tax Rebate fully to their tenants, by reducing rentals.”
“To help viable firms stay resilient, we have provided support for their cashflow, cost and credit. For this support to work well, it is crucial that all do their part and I am glad many have done so. On the cash flow front, the Government can provide the support through schemes such as the Jobs Support Scheme. However, the Jobs Support Scheme will fail if firms take a short-term view, pocket the payouts in one month and retrench their workers the next month. I urge businesses to take a longer term view – retain and upskill your workers to accelerate your transformation for the future economy. In the same vein, the National Wages Council with the support of the tripartite partners, has called for firms to reduce non-wage costs and tap Government support, before resorting to retrenchments. As Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng and his union leaders emphasised repeatedly – firms should cut costs to save jobs and not cut jobs to save costs. Otherwise, firms would have to start from scratch in re-hiring and retraining and may not be able to seize opportunities once the economy recovers. Ms Jessica Tan and Ms Sylvia Lim asked how we ensure employers receiving JSS payouts continue to retain workers. By design, employers who reduce their employees' wages or put their employees on no-pay leave during this period will have their JSS payouts reduced correspondingly. Conversely, employers who had already done so before the announcements can still bring their workers back onto the payroll. As long as you pay your employees wages and make the necessary CPF contributions, you will receive the corresponding JSS payouts for the relevant months.”
“For our economy, we build resilience by ensuring that viable businesses are not permanently damaged, but instead, are able to preserve their capabilities to recover. We support businesses with costs, cash flow and credit. We also help affected workers bounce back and to make the best use of this downtime. For our society, we support our people by saving jobs, providing cash support and easing their cash flow needs, especially of the most vulnerable. As Mr Ong Teng Koon mentioned, we are seeking to ensure that all of us pull through this together and that we leave no one behind. To this end, while saving lives is our topmost priority, saving jobs comes next. When many people are out of a job, there is a major cost to our individual lives and to society. For individuals, this means depriving them of the chance to gain experience and grow. Minister Josephine Teo set this out well, when she shared why we started the SGUnited Traineeship Scheme for first time job-seekers and students who are graduating from our ITEs, Polytechnics and Universities as well as those returning from overseas. For companies, if workers are laid off, it means they will become less competitive. Across the economy, the failures of many firms will disrupt the supply chain and drag down the broader economy later. Hence, we have provided high support for wages, by enhancing and extending the Jobs Support Scheme in the Resilience Budget, with a further significant enhancement for the month of April in the Solidarity Budget. Some Members have also asked if we can do more to help, such as Ms Yip Pin Xiu, for the sports sector. Rest assured that we will continue to monitor the situation closely and do more, as and when we need to, to save jobs. We can save more jobs, if we have more resilient firms.”
“It is difficult to predict when this crisis will be over. This means that we have to plan for the worst and work towards the best. I shall now turn to the Government's priorities in tackling this crisis. In this fight against COVID-19, our top priority is saving lives, to protect Singaporeans and our families. We have to keep the rate of infection and transmission low. This is absolutely critical. If we fail in this, our healthcare system will be overwhelmed. If overwhelmed, we will lose more lives, not just from COVID-19, but from other treatable conditions. We must do all we can to support our frontline healthcare workers. But the more stringent the measures we put in place to keep the number of cases down, the bigger the impact on our economy, as several of you have pointed out. In the immediate term, this is a trade-off between protecting lives and protecting the economy we must all accept – not just in Singapore, but around the world. The alternative of allowing the virus to spread widely enough so that community develop herd immunity will cost too many lives and much more destruction. So let us act decisively now, accept the pain, protect lives, so that we have the strength and vitality to recover faster and thrive in the long-term. The economy is hit on so many fronts that it is not possible to just restore the status quo. Moreover, as the most open economy in the world, injecting funds cannot counter the extensive global supply and demand shocks. Our best response now is to build resilience – in our economy and society. That is the approach to the economic and social support in our Resilience Budget and the Solidarity Budget announced yesterday.”
“The effect of the outbreak is a sharp reduction in global aggregate demand and a widespread disruption to the global supply chain, and this is sending shock waves across the world. Furthermore, the political consensus in many advanced economies is fraying, making decisive responses and coordinated action much harder. Globally, the situation will get worse before it gets better. But do not get me wrong – I am not a pessimist. There is hope that as the crisis deepens, people around the world will find the need to come together and be single-minded about winning this battle. As Mr Murali Pillai and Mr Ong Teng Koon indicated yesterday, this is a global crisis that demands global cooperation. I am glad that multilateral institutions – the WHO, IMF, World Bank, as well as the G20, have stepped up to coordinate and manage the multiple dimensions of this crisis. The world must come together and do its utmost to avert catastrophic consequences. For Singapore, we have to contribute our views and do our part. We are not be a superpower with immense resources, but we should support multilateral institutions in their mission, help build global consensus and do what we can to get through this crisis collectively. Singapore is feeling the full effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. As an open and globally connected economy, we are deeply impacted by global economic shocks and the effects of border closures. Our aviation industry, for example, is entirely international. Extensive border closures has effectively brought the whole aviation sector to a standstill. The circuit breaker measures that kick in today will have a severe impact across the whole economy. Until an effective vaccine or treatment is developed, our policies can only seek to mitigate the fall-out.”
“It expects a recession at least as bad as during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. The reality is that no one really knows how badly economies will be hurt and how long they will take to recover. I was serving as Principal Private Secretary (PPS) to then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew during the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 and learnt much about the root and nature of the crisis from the many discussions that Senior Minister Lee and also at that time Prime Minister Goh had with global experts. And during the Global Financial Crisis, I was the Managing Director of MAS, at the frontline of a very severe meltdown in global financial markets. This Global Financial Crisis was different from the Asian Financial Crisis, as it originated from the financial system of the most advanced economies – in the US and EU. It was so severe, and the financial system so interconnected that it brought down century-old banks in the US and Europe. Both crises were severe but the root causes were largely financial mismanagement, which were then amplified through an interconnected financial plumbing and the real economy. But targeted solutions subsequently restored confidence. This time round, the problem is much more complex. Almost every country’s most urgent priority is to slow the outbreak of the virus. To achieve that, half of humanity are now in lockdown. In the Asian and Global Crises, airlines were still flying, and many activities continued. The sharp fall in aggregate demand this time is severe. Financial markets and the global economy today are far more integrated and interdependent than they were a decade ago. The global supply chain is much more integrated. Action by one country to contain the outbreak disrupts the global supply chain.”
“Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked what is the nature of this current crisis that we are facing now and how different it is from the past crises which Singapore has faced. These are very important questions. Almost everyone in this House described the current crisis as “unprecedented”. Indeed, COVID-19 has been unparalleled in its spread and impact on the medical, economic, financial and other fronts. It is astounding how a microscopic, single-stranded RNA virus, of less than 200 nanometres in diameter, has wreaked such devastation around the world. Medical experts are divided on how long this crisis will last. Some hope that the distribution of COVID-19 outbreaks are displaying seasonal patterns, and that warmer weather could suppress the virus. Or new ways are found to enable the quick detection of infection, minimise its spread and effect. Others have cautioned that the virus could be cyclical. Even if its spread was slowed in the next few months, it could return in the form of a stronger variant when temperatures fall in autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. The global scientific community is racing to find a vaccine. Even at its swiftest the World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned that we are at least 12 to 18 months away from a viable vaccine. We must therefore do our utmost now – take our circuit breaker measures very seriously, and minimise physical contact among ourselves. On the economic front, even the most skilful and experienced forecasters have had to repeatedly revise their economic forecasts. The IMF has downgraded its 2020 global growth forecast three times since January 2019. The IMF is releasing a new World Economic Outlook this month and has flagged that a further downgrade is imminent.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank Members of this House for your strong encouragement and helpful suggestions at this Debate on our Solidarity Budget. Beyond this House, I thank fellow Singaporeans for supporting our frontline workers and the many thoughtful perspectives shared with me and my team. The battle against COVID-19 is entering a critical phase. Today, we begin a period of tough pre-emptive restrictions to break the transmission chain and to head off the possibility of the outbreak escalating. Our livelihoods and our economy will be disrupted for a while, but we have to do this for our health, and the well-being of our people. Many Members have told me how the last two months have felt like a year. So much has been happening so fast. The latest circuit breaker measures have dominated our discussions so much. It is useful for us to reinforce the importance of adhering strictly to the circuit breaker measures, but this Budget debate was originally scheduled to debate the Resilience Budget, as some Members reminded us. So, let us remind everyone that we should look at all three Budgets – Unity, Resilience and Solidarity, and the total allocation of $160 billion. With that as a backdrop, I will round up the debate by sharing my thoughts on this crisis. First, the nature of this crisis, and how it differs from past crises faced by Singapore and the world. Second, what we must do now, even as we speak, to stay united and stay resilient. Third, how our people and our nation, can emerge stronger when the storm passes. Lastly, I will conclude with some reflections on the critical importance of good governance. First, the nature of this crisis.”
“With the circuit breaker in place for the next one month, everyone will have to adjust and adapt not just our physical routines, but our mindsets and habits. As Minister Lawrence Wong said, every person is, in fact, on the frontline. Every Singaporean can make a difference in slowing down the spread of the virus today. To keep out the virus, every one of us must play our part. Be socially responsible by staying home, staying safe and staying healthy. Each and every one of us must do our best to stem the escalating infections to prevent our healthcare system from being overwhelmed. As we do so, we must keep our spirits up and look out for each other, especially our seniors and the more vulnerable. Our Government agencies as well as many volunteers are contributing their best to care for our vulnerable groups. We may not be able to physically visit our extended families and close friends but we can stay in touch and connect through phone or video. I am confident that we can and will pull close together as a nation even as we physically distance ourselves to save lives. Let us unite, demonstrate our resilience, stay united and press on in solidarity. Together, we will emerge stronger from this! [Applause.]”
“We must pay attention to our health, personal hygiene and cultivate good habits. So long as we stay united, stay healthy, while continuing to protect jobs, enterprises and secure our future, Singapore will eventually come out of the difficult situation, overcome the pandemic and emerge stronger. (In English): Mr Speaker, Sir, I will now conclude in English. This is a generational crisis with no precedent. We have brought all our resources and administrative capacity to bear, to mount a national effort for our workers, businesses and families, to protect both lives and livelihoods. We have the plans and the financial resources to carry out these plans without burdening future generations with the bill. We are grateful to our founding generation for their foresight and discipline. The key now is how we can pull together, in solidarity, as a nation, to implement these plans and make adjustments as the situation continues to evolve. COVID-19 is testing nations worldwide and revealing more about government, about each society, our identity and the values that hold us together. Though the pandemic is global, the impact on each country depends greatly on the different actions and responses of each government and their people. Trust and confidence of our people in the government are critical. Our people must understand what we are facing and support what we are doing. This is why we have been forthcoming and transparent with Singaporeans. We are honest about the uncertainties and challenges ahead and honest about the price we need to pay for what we need to do. We have been able to take bold and swift actions because we have the trust of Singaporeans, painstakingly built up over the years by delivering for Singaporeans.”
“In addition, we will take further steps to help businesses obtain credit through the Enterprise Financing Scheme and Temporary Bridging Loan Programme so that they can continue to operate. We will also broaden the eligibility criteria for the Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme to include self-employed persons who earn some salary from part-time employment and those who reside in property with Annual Value not more than $21,000. During this period, many businesses who employ foreign workers are not able to operate. To help these businesses cope with labour cost and make sure that they continue to look after their foreign workers, we will waive the Foreign Worker Levy for the month of April, and provide additional Foreign Worker Levy Rebate. For each work permit or S pass holder, the employer will receive a rebate of $750. At the same time, in order to lighten the burden for families, all adult Singaporeans will receive a one-off Solidarity Payment of $600. I announced earlier that Singaporeans would receive a cash payout under the Care and Support Package. Now, under the Solidarity Payment, I will first disburse $300 from the Care and Support Package and add an additional $300. In other words, every adult Singaporean will receive a Solidarity payment of $600 in cash early. I mentioned before that, if necessary, we would draw more from the past reserves to fund new measures. I have received in-principle support from President Halimah to draw on past reserves to fund the new measures announced today. To many businesses, this coming month will be very difficult. I hope that these new measures will help them tide over this difficult period. In these extraordinary times, we must continue to care for one another, particularly the elderly and the vulnerable.”
“] In order to stop the spread of the virus, we will adopt enhanced safe distancing measures for one month. Apart from those providing essential services and industries in the key economic sectors, all other workplaces will be closed starting from tomorrow. With rising local transmission cases, if we do not further enhance our precautionary measures, the situation will quickly worsen, causing our healthcare system to be overwhelmed. Our immediate task is to protect the safety of our people. Money lost can be earned later on. However, if we lose our health or even our lives, what remains will only be regrets. As such, to protect the safety and health of Singaporeans, everyone must strictly observe these precautionary measures. These measures will seriously impact the operations of our enterprises and people’s daily lives. In order to provide more assistance to our people, apart from the previously announced two Budgets, I will present a $5.1 billion Solidarity Budget. This is the third Budget announced by the Government within a short span of two months. It is unprecedented. The main purpose is to keep enterprises afloat, help them retain their workers’, so that everyone can tide over this extraordinary period and persevere. For this, I will raise the wage subsidy of the Job Support Scheme in April from 25% to 75%. This revision will cover all sectors. We will also legislate that the property owners must pass on the property tax rebate in full to their tenants. We will increase the rental waiver for industrial, office and agricultural tenants of Government agencies, from half month to one month.”
“These measures will impact our workers and businesses severely; additional support will be required to save jobs, preserve capabilities and provide immediate direct assistance to Singaporeans to help them tide through this exceptional and difficult period. Therefore, I have sought and obtained the President's in-principle support to draw on an additional $4 billion from past reserves. Specifically, this will be used to fund the enhanced Job Support Scheme, the Temporary Bridging Loan Programme and Enterprise Financing Scheme, and the Solidarity Payment to Singaporeans. Details are in the Annex. [Please refer to Annex C-1.] The remaining $1.1 billion will be funded from the fiscal space of this term of Government. To effect the additional spending for the measures that I have announced today, I intend to seek Parliament's approval at the Committee of Supply to increase the supplementary estimates that were presented to Parliament on 26 March this year. I will subsequently seek Parliament's approval to introduce a Revised Supplementary Supply Bill, on a Certificate of Urgency, that caters for the additional sums required. Taken together, the Government's response to COVID-19 will total $59.9 billion, or about 12% of GDP. The Overall Budget Deficit for FY2020 will increase to $44.3 billion or 8.9% of GDP. Details are in the Annex. [Please refer to Annex C-2.] This is an unprecedented Budget, for extraordinary times. The situation remains highly fluid and uncertain. The Government stands ready to provide further support, should it become necessary. Mr Speaker, Sir, before I conclude, allow me to say a few words in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.”
“sg website or the Community Chest's Courage Fund, or to directly share it with others. For those who still need more support, please approach our Social Service Offices and Community Centres to apply for new schemes such as the Temporary Relief Fund and the upcoming COVID-19 Support Grant, which is available from May 2020, as well as existing ComCare schemes. Some Singaporeans will also be emotionally affected or distressed in this period. So, besides financial support, let us provide emotional and mental health support to our people. Our community mental health support services will continue to provide care and support for clients through phone consultations, or home visits for those who may need more support. Over the weekend, MSF announced that we will set up a 24/7 National Care Hotline. In this time of need, I am glad that mental health professionals and trained volunteers have stepped forward to offer their help in setting up the new hotline. Thank you. These additional measures will cost $5.1 billion, with $4 billion for the additional support for businesses and workers, and $1.1 billion for the Solidarity Payment. The President had earlier given her in-principle support for the Government to draw up to $17 billion from past reserves to fund some of the measures in the Resilience Budget, to save jobs and businesses. I also told Members then that I was prepared to propose to the President further draws on past reserves should it be necessary. With the significantly stricter pre-emptive measures needed to protect Singaporeans and our families, it is now necessary for us to propose a further draw on past reserves.”
“But done right, together, we can help many self-employed persons who are hard-hit. MOM will work closely with NTUC, to start processing appeals for SIRS as soon as possible. I have spoken about our support for firms and workers. I will also provide timely support for households to ensure that no household stands alone during this difficult period. All adult Singaporeans will receive a one-off Solidarity Payment of $600 in cash. I will bring forward $300 from the Care and Support – Cash payout that I announced earlier. On top of this, I will provide an additional $300, bringing the total to $600 for every adult Singaporean, aged 21 and above. For the majority of Singaporeans who have provided their bank account details to the Government, the Solidarity Payment will be credited directly into their bank accounts by 14 April 2020. The rest will receive the payment by cheque, to be issued in stages later, starting from 30 April 2020. Other cash payouts under the Care and Support Package, which were earlier announced, will be brought forward to June 2020, instead of August 2020. These include the remaining $300 or $600 from the higher tiers of the Care and Support – Cash payout; the additional $300 payout for each parent with at least one child aged 20 and below, and the $100 PAssion Card top-up, which will be given in cash, for Singaporeans aged 50 and above. [Please refer to Annex B-2.] Not everyone will need these cash payouts. I am very encouraged that many have written to me, my Ministerial colleagues and Members of Parliament, that they do not need the cash payouts and suggest that we give these to those who need the cash more. I thank fellow Singaporeans for your thoughtfulness. I urge those who can, to donate to charities on the Giving.”
“First, I will extend SIRS to automatically include self-employed persons who also earn a small income from employment work. Second, I will raise the current Annual Value threshold up from $13,000 to up to $21,000, to include those who live in some condominiums and other private properties. The other criteria remain unchanged. With these enhancements, a total of about 100,000 self-employed persons will automatically be eligible for the scheme and will receive three payments of $3,000 each, starting from May 2020. On the other hand, many have shared their views that SIRS is overly generous. Some have asked – why do we allow self-employed persons with annual Net Trade Income of up to $100,000 to qualify. As I explained earlier, self-employed persons are a very diverse group. Some are own account workers, like taxi drivers, who engage in a trade or business but do not employ any paid workers. Others are sole proprietors, who own small businesses that have employees and a network of business relations. In these extraordinary times, many such self-employed persons are hard-hit. I hope that by our helping them, they too can help others in their networks and their workers, and we keep the spirit of enterprise alive. In the spirit of tripartism, NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng has also agreed to step up and help administer the application and appeals for SIRS and support self-employed persons in need. Our approach now is to build up a network of support for as many as possible, as quickly as possible. Let me reiterate that those who do not need this and do not qualify, should not come forward to appeal for and abuse the support – otherwise, you will undermine public confidence and take up unnecessary resources.”
“If they do so, they must commit to pass on the savings to their borrowers. The economy needs support and intervention in many different forms to go through this rough patch. I urge all businesses, landlords, financial institutions and industry players to do your part, in channelling the Government’s support measures to firms, workers and households. The enhancements I have just announced are to help workers who are employed by businesses to stay employed. For self-employed persons, we have put in place the Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme, or SIRS, to provide direct cash assistance. This is the first time that we are providing direct cash support to self-employed persons on such a large scale. They are a very diverse group, with different working hours and work arrangements. Some do this as full-time jobs, while others do this as part-time, to supplement their income. Some have been contributing CPF, while others have not. Since the announcement on 26 March, the Minister for Manpower, NTUC Secretary-General and I, as well as our Government agencies, have received feedback from various self-employed persons whose livelihoods have been affected. During this circuit breaker period, more will see a further drop in income. For instance, there are self-employed persons who are engaged in some employment work to supplement their incomes. Another group of self-employed persons bought an Executive Condominium some years ago. Their income is now severely affected by the pandemic and they still have to support multiple family members' daily needs or medical bills. After considering the appeals, we will broaden the support for self-employed persons. I will make two enhancements.”
“This Bill will also ensure that property owners pass on the Property Tax Rebate in full, to tenants, as the Prime Minister mentioned in his address. The Government will also continue to lead by example in supporting tenants. I will increase the rental waiver for industrial, office and agricultural tenants of Government agencies to one month, up from the 0.5 month’s rental waiver I announced at the Resilience Budget. Stallholders in hawker centres managed by NEA or NEA-appointed operators will continue to enjoy three months of rental waivers, while commercial tenants will continue to receive two months of rental waivers. I have touched on the first two Cs – cost and cash flow. The third C is credit. To provide additional support on credit, I will further enhance financing support for enterprises so that viable businesses can continue to have access to credit despite the uncertainty. I will increase Government’s risk share of loans made under the Temporary Bridging Loan Programme; the Enterprise Financing Scheme – SME Working Capital Loan; and Enterprise Financing Scheme – Trade Loan from 80% to 90% for loans initiated from 8 April 2020 till 31 March 2021. Last week, MAS, together with the financial institutions, also introduced a package of measures to help SMEs with temporary cashflow difficulties. For example, SMEs can now opt to defer principal payments on their secured term loans till the end of the year. More than $40 billion of SMEs’ existing loans are likely to qualify for this relief. Banks and finance companies may also apply for low-cost funding through a new MAS Singapore Dollar facility, for new loans granted under the Enterprise Financing Scheme SME Working Capital Loan and Temporary Bridging Loan Programme.”
“In the same spirit, employers should take care of these workers who will also face difficulties during this circuit breaker period. By taking care of their workers, our firms can resume operations quickly once the heightened measures are lifted. To ease the labour costs of such firms during these four weeks I will waive the monthly Foreign Worker Levy due in April. This will reduce their cost, and relieve the pressures on their cash flow. To help them preserve their business structure and quickly resume operations, we will also provide employers with a Foreign Worker Levy Rebate of $750 for each work permit or S Pass holder, based on previous levies paid in 2020. This will help employers pay and take care of the upkeep of their workers, and prepare their workforce to restart when the circuit breaker is lifted. Employers will receive the rebate as early as 21 April 2020. The Government recognises that firms have been paying Foreign Worker Levies in normal times. So, in these exceptional times, we are temporarily redirecting resources back to the firms, to enable them to provide support for their foreign workers. The Minister for Manpower will share more details. To further support businesses with costs, we are taking additional steps to make sure that our measures flow down to businesses. I earlier announced a Property Tax Rebate of up to 100% for non-residential properties, for the tax payable in 2020. This rebate is to help businesses deal with the impact of COVID-19. For most properties, the 100% Property Tax Rebate works out to slightly more than one month of rent. The Minister for Law will introduce a Bill tomorrow to let businesses and individuals defer certain contractual obligations, such as paying rent, repaying loans, or completing work, for a period.”
“I will therefore enhance the Jobs Support Scheme for the month of April. In this Solidarity Budget, I will raise the wage subsidy for all firms to 75% of gross monthly wages, for the first $4,600 of wages paid in April 2020, for each local employee. [Please refer to Annex B-1.] Let me take this opportunity to clarify that for this, and for the earlier Resilience Budget, the wage cap of $4,600 does not mean that workers earning more than $4,600 do not qualify. Rather, it means that this wage subsidy applies to every one of our over 1.9 million local employees. But regardless of how much they earn, the maximum subsidy to the firms will be 75% of $4,600 per person, which is $3,450. The salary limit of $4,600 is based on our median wage level of full-time employed residents. I understand the cash needs of businesses are very pressing in this difficult period. Hence, our agencies have been working very hard, to now bring forward the first Jobs Support Scheme payout from May to April 2020. The enhanced payout for April wages will be paid in this tranche. Firms on GIRO and PayNow will start receiving the first Jobs Support Scheme payout next week. Firms which are not on GIRO or PayNow will receive their payouts by cheque, starting about a week later. The aim of this strong support is to directly reduce firms’ wage costs, to help them retain their workers. I expect firms to make use of this Job Support Scheme to continue paying your workers and refrain from putting workers on no-pay leave during this period, or worse, retrenching them. We will monitor the situation carefully together with our tripartite partners and take action where needed. Many employers also hire foreign workers on work permits and S Passes.”
“They have helped us to better understand the situation and quickly shape the support we now need. The primary aim of this Solidarity Budget is to take further steps to save jobs and protect the livelihoods of our people during this temporary period of heightened measures. We will also help businesses preserve their capacity and capabilities, to resume activities when the circuit breaker is lifted. I will also provide direct cash in hand for households, to help tide families through this difficult period. All of us will be affected by these necessary circuit breaker measures – some more than others. To reach as many as we can, as fast as possible, the enhanced measures in the Solidarity Budget are broad-based. First, we will support our businesses to retain their workers and to stay viable. In my Ministerial Statement on 26 March in this House, I mentioned the three Cs of support for firms’ immediate needs – cash, cost and credit. I will increase support in all three areas. Many firms cannot operate at all, or can only operate at a much reduced level in the coming weeks. But they should still retain and pay their workers. I will enhance the Jobs Support Scheme to support them in doing so. This will help our workers keep their jobs and enable businesses to resume operations quickly when the circuit breaker is lifted. I announced earlier in the Resilience Budget that the Jobs Support Scheme will subsidise 25% of the first $4,600 of gross monthly wages for all local employees. I provided higher levels of wage subsidy for sectors that are more directly hit by the outbreak – 50% for firms in the food services sector and 75% for the aviation and tourism sectors. With the latest developments, almost every business and worker will be directly affected in the coming weeks.”
“The circuit breaker is essential, but we are acutely aware that it will be painful. It will disrupt businesses and impact workers severely. We will miss face-to-face interactions with our friends and family. Familiar routines will be put on hold. Many will be anxious about their jobs and families. As the pandemic sweeps through the world, restrictions put in place in our trading partners will reduce demand for our exports even more. We must expect our overall GDP growth to take a further hit. But we must take these hard decisions, make the difficult adjustments, and do all that we can in the next few months, to protect the lives of our people. Otherwise, if the outbreak escalates, the impact on lives and livelihood will be even worse. We must take short-term pains, to avoid even sharper pain later. Let us all bear these immediate pains with fortitude and stay strong. In the Resilience Budget, the Government committed $48 billion to support workers, protect livelihoods, and help enterprises overcome immediate challenges. We obtained the President’s in-principle support for a draw of up to $17 billion from our past reserves towards this. To further support our people and businesses during these extraordinary four weeks, when the circuit breaker measures are in place, I will bolster the Resilience Budget with a supplementary Solidarity Budget. The Unity, Resilience and Solidarity Budgets all build upon and reinforce each other. Together, they represent our strong and decisive response to the economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. I thank the Labour Movement, the Singapore Business Federation, as well as citizens from all walks of life for your valuable feedback. Your inputs matter.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we are sailing in uncharted waters. Since I delivered my Ministerial Statement on 26 March, 11 days ago, the pandemic has exploded. As of 5 April 2020, COVID-19 has spread to more than 200 countries and territories, infecting over 1 million people and taken more than 60,000 lives. Today, to control the spread of the virus, more than 3.9 billion people, or half of humanity, are on lockdown. In Singapore, we have progressively ratcheted up our measures, as the situation develops and the medical evidence comes in. To minimise the risk of import of cases, we have severely restricted incoming flights and Singapore Airlines mounted dedicated flights to bring back Singaporeans who were overseas. To limit local transmission, we have implemented comprehensive and complementary measures – safe-distancing, early identification and isolation of cases, and quarantine of close contacts. These have kept the number of infections manageable, but in recent days, the numbers have been rising. Local transmission has increased, and continues to grow. As of yesterday, we have a total of 1,309 infection cases. Six have succumbed to the virus. These individuals mostly became infected when they were in close contact with infected persons at the social, workplace and family settings. Some clusters have emerged in our foreign worker dormitories. To stay on top of the situation, the Government has taken a decisive step to pre-empt escalating infections. It is critical that every one of us keeps physical contact with others to a minimum. The Prime Minister addressed the nation last Friday. The Multi-Ministry Task Force announced an elevated set of safe distancing measures immediately after that. These circuit breaker measures begin tomorrow and will last for four weeks.”
“Mr Speaker, to give Members some time to consider my Statement, I would like to adjourn the debate. Mr Speaker, I beg to move, "That the debate be now adjourned." [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)]”
“Mr Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order No 44, I beg to move, "That the Ministerial Statement made by me be considered by Parliament." [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]”
“We will do our best to anticipate and respond to developments, make decisions based on facts and evidence, and exercise judgement when there are trade-offs. While we attend to the immediate and urgent tasks, we will set our sights on the long term so that Singapore comes out of this crisis stronger as a nation. We will protect and advance the well-being and livelihoods of Singaporeans. We will take care of our people. We will leave no one behind. And we will stand with Singaporeans from all walks of life to battle this crisis together. We will stand with our dedicated and courageous frontline workers – healthcare workers, cleaning staff, immigration officers, public transport workers – who keep Singapore going, despite the risks they face on the job. We will stand with our workers and businesses to ride through this economic storm together and overcome this challenge to our growth and prosperity. We will stand with our fellow Singaporeans to look out and care for one another at a time of fear and anxiety. We will work with our people and institutions around the world to combat this global threat. This is the essence of who we are as a nation. This is the essence of who we are as a people. This is SG United. This is SG Together. I am confident that, together, we will ride through this storm and emerge even stronger. [Applause.]”
“These include foreigners who live amongst us and who care deeply about Singapore. Many have also had to make sacrifices in this time. Families have had to make difficult adjustments to their lives, some having to undergo quarantine, cancel celebrations or put off long-awaited plans, including wedding plans. And despite our best efforts to work with businesses and unions to save jobs, some workers have suffered a loss of income or jobs. The Government and the political leadership are in this with Singaporeans. We share the worries and anxieties of Singaporeans, and we will do our best for you. We will walk with every Singaporean, through every up and down. To show solidarity with Singaporeans, I announced at the Budget Debate last month that the political leadership will take a one-month pay cut. With the deteriorating situation, we will go further. All Political Office Holders will take an additional pay cut of two months – altogether a three-month cut in their salary. The President, Speaker and both Deputy Speakers have informed me that they will join in and take a similar three-month pay cut in total. Mr Speaker, Sir, it is in times of crisis that the true character of a nation can be seen. We are all in this together. And we must all look after one another in these trying times. We will stand with one another, through thick and thin. This is what it means to be SG United. This is what it means to be Singapore Together. The months ahead will not be easy as the situation continues to evolve dynamically and unpredictably. We must continue to be on high vigilance, mentally and psychologically prepared for every scenario. The Government will lead the way.”
“Your selflessness and professionalism is critical in helping us keep the COVID-19 situation under control. We will continue to uphold the spirit of SG Together, to turn this crisis into opportunities, and emerge even stronger. (In English): Mr Speaker, Sir, I will now conclude in English. The COVID-19 pandemic is the most serious crisis we have faced in a generation. It has put all countries around the world to the test – on the medical, economic and social fronts. We have been able to respond boldly and decisively to the outbreak in Singapore because we have forged a cohesive, resilient society. The whole nation has come together in response. Our healthcare and frontline workers are working tirelessly to care for the infected. Our cleaners are doing humble but heroic work to keep our environment clean. Thousands of public officers are working round the clock to respond to the threat of COVID-19. Private sector and corporations, too, have stepped forward. Keppel has put together a $4.2 million package to support communities most affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. These include healthcare workers and patients, lower income families and SMEs. This amount was funded by voluntary contributions from Keppel's directors and staff, and dollar-for-dollar matching by Keppel. Our local aviation firms, such as SIA, Jetstar Asia and SATS have also leaned forward to facilitate interested workers to help out in public services that require surge capacity during this period. Individuals are doing their part. Vloggers and bloggers are helping to share public messages. Others are volunteering, giving support and encouragement and, crucially, by complying with health advisories and practising safe distancing.”
“For industries badly hit by COVID-19 such as the aviation and tourism industry, we will also provide targeted assistance to help them tide over this difficult period. Third, securing our future. The pandemic may have serious impacts, it may also bring about new opportunities in the longer term. Enterprises should make use of this lull period to upskill their workforce. Singaporeans should also upgrade their skills and prepare for the economic recovery. But we understand that many Singaporeans are worried that they will not be able to cope with living expenses for the next few months. I will enhance the Care and Support Package introduced earlier. The enhanced package will be worth $4.6 billion. This supplementary budget is timely and bold. We do not know when this pandemic will end, nor the scope and scale of its impact. Therefore, we hope to save jobs, help enterprises and secure our future. We are able to do so because we have our national reserves to serve as our bulwark against shocks. These are extraordinary times. After serious considerations, we have decided to draw on our reserves. The government has obtained in-principal support from President Halimah Yacob to draw on our reserves to fund the series of measures. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the President. We are able to do this because of our fiscal discipline and we have been preparing for rainy days through the years. COVID-19 is challenging our unity and resilience. However, if we remain vigilant and calm, and continue to work together as one nation, Singapore can definitely overcome the difficulties, and emerge with confidence. At this point, I would like to thank our frontline workers, healthcare workers, public servants, enterprises, unions, community organizations and volunteers.”
“To avoid losing control of the situation, many countries have announced unprecedented measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. These measures have battered the global economy and financial markets, disrupted supply chains and led to a slump in consumer demand. Singapore is an open economy. As a result, we have also been badly hit. The pandemic is also a test of our society’s cohesiveness. We must be prepared psychologically and work together to overcome COVID-19. To help Singaporeans tide over this difficult period, we have drawn up a $55 billion budget aimed at saving jobs, help enterprises and securing our future. This includes the Supplementary Budget that was just announced today and the Budget announced in February. First, our immediate task is to save jobs and protect Singaporeans' livelihood. Hence, we have extended the Jobs Support Scheme by six months. We will also raise the Government's co-funding of wages from 8% to 25%. This is to prevent companies from retrenching local workers due to a lack of funds. In addition, we will assist self-employed persons. We will introduce a $1.2-billlion dollar Self-Employed Persons Income Relief Scheme. Qualified Singaporeans will receive cash payout of $1,000 per month for nine months. We will disburse these subsidies as soon as possible. Many graduates are worried about job prospect. We have therefore introduced the SGUnited Traineeships, to provide opportunities for young Singaporeans to accumulate work experience in different industries. Second, to help our enterprises, we will support viable enterprises to continue to operate. We will provide more property tax rebates and rental rebates. I strongly urge property owners to reduce rents to provide relief for tenants who may be facing cash flow problems.”