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SINGAPORE: Members of Parliament expect Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to address issues of current concern like the state of the Singapore economy during the National Day Rally on Sunday.
They also hope that PM Lee will use his annual address to rally citizens to play their part in the nation's future and long-term development.
Singapore's economy has gone through turbulence this year. Even though the country's economic performance has improved in the second quarter, job security is still uppermost in the minds of most Singaporeans.
Lam Pin Min, chairman of GPC (Health) and MP of Ang Mo Kio GRC, said: "It is heartening to know my residents feel that the government has done an excellent job in trying to curb retrenchment during this financial crisis. One concern is whether withdrawing assistance schemes such as the Jobs Credit Scheme will cause retrenchment rates to go up subsequently."
When the economy recovers, labour MPs said attention must be paid to areas like innovation and productivity improvement. For now, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) said the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR) has been useful.
Heng Chee How, deputy secretary-general of NTUC & MP of Jalan Besar GRC, said: "You have excess capacity, if you have nothing to do and becomes pure holding costs for companies, companies would have to retrench a lot more.
"With SPUR coming in, the holding costs of excess labour go down and the excess labour is turned into an investment in capability, so the company has a better skilled worker and workforce at the end of SPUR."
Signs of improvement in the Singapore economy are also reflected in the decrease in number of Singaporeans asking for social and job assistance, particularly in the second quarter.
Amy Khor, chairman of REACH & Mayor of South West District, said: "The average monthly application for social assistance in the second quarter is about 12 per cent lower than the first quarter. But having said that, the numbers are still above those that we have seen before the crisis and added to that, of course, is that the recovery is still tentative."
MPs emphasised that a cohesive society is critical for Singapore's survival and so there should be continued emphasis on national integration amongst citizens and permanent residents.
"Recent episodes such as the AWARE incident and the nominations of NMPs, for instance, show that social fault lines lie beneath the surface of calm, but this can erupt anytime. Hence, we need to jealously guard and protect the peace and harmony we have been enjoying for the last four decades," said Dr Khor.
"A moment of folly and carelessness can destroy the peace and harmony we have built up so painstakingly over the years. In this respect, the work of the grassroots organisations, the CDCs, the IRCCs in fostering and nurturing social bonds and fostering community ties among the different races and religions, as well as social economic groups remains ever important."
MPs also want programmes to be created to help bond the people here following the results of a recent survey by government feedback agency, REACH.
The survey showed that while eight in ten were satisfied with the government's efforts to integrate new citizens, one in four was dissatisfied with employment policies for foreigners here.
Dr Khor said: "Integration – getting foreigners and locals to accept one another, as well as develop mutual trust and understanding among the different races and religions – is really a matter of the heart and the head. So we need to create programmes that will help to motivate each other to come together and develop bonds. I don't think it is a question of monetary benefits."
MPs also hope that the prime minister will address another concern of Singaporeans which is the cost of living in the country.
- CNA/so
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