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SINGAPORE: Singapore's economy may have shaken off the recession and is booming with a double-digit growth forecast, but the country cannot expect such spectacular growth in the long term.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, highlighted key areas to ensure Singapore remains competitive.
He said firstly, workers must upgrade their knowledge and skills, to be able to do a wider range of tasks and become more valuable to their firms.
Secondly, companies must find promising business opportunities, develop expertise, create value and grow a competitive and profitable business.
Mr Lee highlighted Keppel and SembCorp Marine as good examples. They have developed deep specialist knowledge and skills.
He said: "I was in Houston in Texas recently, which is near where the (Gulf of Mexico) oil spill happened and I met a Keppel executive there. So I asked him, 'Did we build that oil rig that exploded?' He said, 'No, but we built the rig from which they are mounting the rescue operations'.
Using a diagram to explain, Mr Lee went on to say: "Let me show you, Q4000, this is the rescue platform. And in the background you can see DD3 which is also the Keppel one, it's called Development Driller 3. And on the other side you can see the DD2, the white one. So, not bad for a country which has no oil."
Thirdly, the public sector must also improve productivity. One example is the IPPT for NSmen. Once a manual process, it is now highly automated.
PM Lee said: "Static stations have sensors to count the number of chin-ups and sit-ups completed. NS personnel run 2.4 km with RFIDs which automatically log their times. In the past, it took 14 trainers (PTIs) to conduct the test for 300 NSmen. But now six trainers can handle 600 NSmen."
Mr Lee said that despite all the preparations and precautions, there will be future crises, and Singapore should be ready for them. He also said that it is important for us to learn how Singapore managed to overcome the downturn.
Prime Minister Lee also said the government will spend some S$400 million giving away WIS or Workfare Income Supplement to 400,000 Singaporeans.
- CNA/ir
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