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SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
We will create a social and political milieu which is conducive
to our efforts to create an enterprising and innovative society.
This means having the freedom to make personal choices, and
to be different. Young people especially, often want to be
non-conformist. We can accept that, within limits of decency
and decorum. We do not expect every Singaporean to dress and
behave the same.
Beyond dressing differently, many Singaporeans, in particular,
the young, want to have more say in the way Singapore is run.
We have allowed freer expression of divergent political
views, so long as this does not compromise law and order,
national security and national interests. We have set up a
Speakers Corner. Singaporeans have formed discussion groups
like The Round Table and Think Centre to discuss political
issues. In the spirit of discussion, the Government will from
time to time disagree publicly with their views. It surely
cannot automatically accept everything that they say, nor
should it simply ignore what they say. If the Government thinks
that something they said will hurt Singapore, it has to rebut
them, if necessary, forcefully.
But this should not be seen as the Government smothering
free expression. The Government will not regard you as an
opponent unless you choose to be one. The Round Table is not
an opponent. But the Think Centre is openly critical of the
Government. It is one-sided in its presentation of articles
and views, and the Government cannot ignore this.
I know some people want even greater freedom. But where
politics is concerned, I prefer to ease up slowly rather than
open up with a big bang. When Gorbachev opened up the Soviet
Union with his 'Glasnost', the Soviet Union collapsed with
a big bang. We should, therefore, pump the air into the political
balloon slowly. I don't intend to change my name to 'Goh Ba
Chev'!
NEW SOCIAL COMPACT
In the New Economy, competition will become increasingly fierce.
The pace of change can be unsettling.
The social framework we have developed to help those who
cannot keep up is generally sound. But we need to improve
it, so that we will hold together as a nation despite the
more intense pace of life and the widening income gap. I want
to outline here a new social compact for Singapore.
First, we will continue to subsidise heavily the three basic
services of housing, education and healthcare. No Singaporean
will be deprived of these three services no matter how poor
he is.
Secondly, in years of good economic growth, we will distribute
part of the budget surpluses back to Singaporeans, to enhance
their assets as well as to help them defray essential expenses,
such as their S&C and utility charges.
Thirdly, we will pay particular attention to the needs of
lower-income Singaporeans. This is already being done for
subsidies for basic services such as healthcare and housing.
Also, last year, when we topped up your CPF, we gave lower-income
Singaporeans more.
This policy of giving more to lower-income Singaporeans is
right. The higher-income Singaporeans owe their success in
part to the others who support our social compact. They must,
therefore, be prepared to lend a helping hand to those among
us who are not so well off. Only then can we remain a cohesive
and stable society. It cannot be every man for himself. For
a person to succeed, he needs a launch-pad from society.
In turn, lower-income Singaporeans must support the enterprise
and efforts of those who have the ability. We must not resent
those who create wealth, for themselves and for Singapore.
The Government, on its part, will ensure that every Singaporean
has equal and maximum opportunity to advance himself, while
providing a social safety net to prevent the minority who
cannot cope, from falling through.
This way, we can have an enduring social compact where the
able can do very well, and we can use some of the wealth generated
by them to subsidise and help the less able.
CHARITY, PHILANTHROPY AND VOLUNTEERISM
But Singaporeans must not leave the task of helping the weak
entirely to the Government. If we are to build a cohesive
society, individuals must form lasting ties with their larger
community. To feel passionately about Singapore is to care
about more than just those things that directly affect our
families, our friends, and ourselves. It is to be strongly
committed to the well-being of our fellow Singaporeans, and
to show compassion to those who are weaker than ourselves.
The Government will create an even more favourable environment
for the involvement of the people and corporate sectors in
charity, philanthropy and volunteerism. Among other initiatives,
the Government will grant Institution of Public Character
(IPC) status to private foundations that support charitable
activities. I have also asked Richard Hu to consider giving
increased tax deduction for donations to IPCs, if possible,
double tax deduction.
PRESERVING OUR RESERVES
Let me stress that my Government will carry out this social
compact using budget surpluses that this Government has accumulated.
I have no intention of dipping into our reserves, as Chiam
See Tong has suggested the Government should do. Rather, my
policy is to ensure that our reserves continue to grow year
after year.
When some countries run into economic difficulty, they can
pump more oil from their oil fields, or cut down more timber.
We have no oil fields, no timber, no natural resources to
fall back on. We can only depend on our reserves. They are
our equivalent of "natural resources". As such,
we must guard them zealously for use only in a severe and
prolonged crisis.
While our reserves are locked up, a proportion of the income
from investing our reserves goes into our budget surplus.
It is because we have protected these reserves in the past
that we enjoy a comfortable budget surplus even during this
current slowdown, which we can use to help Singaporeans cope
with the slowdown.
Chiam See Tong argues that Singapore will not go bankrupt
by using "a tiny fraction" of our reserves. This
is a very seductive line. Seductive, but extremely dangerous
for the people being seduced.
What he is arguing for is for us to slowly kill the goose
which gives us golden eggs. First, pluck off some of its feathers
to keep us warm. Next, since this does not kill the goose,
Mr Chiam will suggest that we should slice off just one drumstick
to ease our hunger.
My Government's philosophy, on the other hand, is to protect
the precious goose - our reserves - and fatten it. It will
then lay golden eggs, some of which can be used to help Singaporeans
during difficult times, and some kept for hatching more geese.
If we had followed Mr Chiam's advice to nibble at our goose
every time there is an economic downturn, we would have cooked
our own goose by now. So I do not intend to dip into our reserves
to tackle this current downturn.
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