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SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he is worried over the thinking among some Singaporeans that since the country was rich, it could afford to give away more.
He said one dominant question in this year's Budget debate was "how much" - as people zoomed in on the giveaways. And he felt this was a dangerous way of thinking.
Mr Lee said Singapore is a country that has gotten to where it is because it has been frugal, with Singaporeans working hard and living within their means.
He said he gets worried when people talk about more and more giveaways and place much less focus on the longer-term investments in the country's future to make Singapore grow and prepare the city-state for the challenges ahead.
While the country will continue to help its people, the prime minister said it must never forget that it has to keep itself strong to be in the position to give away those surpluses in the first place.
"If you change your mindset - we used to save, now that we have money, we don't need to save anymore, then the growth will stop. Singapore will go down and we will all be in serious trouble. We must maintain our basic philosophy - work together to grow the economy, to grow the pie so that everybody gets a lager slice instead of just redistributing a smaller pie," he said at the opening of the new Anchorvale Community Club (CC) on Sunday.
The first community club to be co-located with a sports and recreation centre, the Anchorvale CC provides more facilities for residents, including four swimming pools, indoor sports hall, football field, shops and riverfront cafe.
Mr Lee mentioned that some CCs which can serve a whole new town can replicate the Anchorvale model. And the People's Association said it is studying the idea.
One feature that will make the Anchorvale CC stand out is a floating island on the Punggol River, which will be dammed up by next year to turn it into a freshwater reservoir.
When ready, the floating island, which is about half the size of a football field, will also have a wetland - a natural habitat for fishes and birds.
A footbridge and floating board walk will also connect the CC to the new Sengkang Park.
The S$7.13 million project is part of PUB's long-term initiative known as the Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters (or ABC Waters) programme which aims to transform bodies of water into beautiful streams, rivers and lakes.
It is expected to be completed by 2010. - CNA/ac
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