9 Things Mentioned By President Halimah Yesterday That S’poreans Should Know

If you haven’t been paying attention, President Halimah made her speech at the opening of the second session of the Parliament yesterday, 7 May.

Not sure about you, but my phone has tons of notifications from various news apps for almost every single point she has said.

And here’s why you should be excited about it.

PM Lee said that the 4G leaders were tasked with drafting the speech out, and the speech will outline the thoughts of the new leadership and their vision for the future.

Curious about what life will be like for Singaporeans in the near future?

Here are 9 things in the speech our President Halimah made yesterday Singaporeans should know.

1. The right to lead “cannot be inherited”

In the speech, it was emphasised that the right to govern the people isn’t something like an heirloom.

4G leaders have to lead based on their effectiveness and a proven track record, instead of depending on what the previous generations of leaders have done for the country.

The leaders have to be open to the words and opinions of other Singaporeans and show that they have heard their words.

However, that doesn’t mean the leaders will bend over backwards for the people.

2. They won’t be afraid of implementing unpopular decisions

When we say unpopular decisions, we meant things like a GST hike coming next year or the decision to elect a Malay president.

In case you’ve forgotten about the impending GST hike, here’s a video we’ve done on this very unpopular topic:

(Since you’re here, subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more informative videos lah)

The leaders should “never fear to lead and mobilise public opinion to support difficult policies in the long-term interest of Singapore”.

In other words, as long as the leaders think that a certain direction or policy is good for Singapore, they’ll do it.

They’re not afraid of paying the “political price”, as PAP Party Whip Chan Chun Sing once said.

In other words, it’s doing the right things instead of doing the popular (and easy) things.

3. The world is a chaotic place right now

At the beginning of her speech, she emphasised that the world is unstable and chaotic right now.

The United States had a change in President (and his choice of allies), ISIS is becoming a significant threat and Britain left the European Union.

As a small country who is vulnerable to external changes in the world, Singapore is in a very unstable and dangerous position.

Despite all that, the government have managed to increase real wages for all income groups and grow the economy.

But moving forward, there’s still a lot of work for the 4G leadership team.

4. The 4G leaders will engage with younger Singaporeans

Gone are those days where younger Singaporeans are apathetic to the politics of Singaporeans.

Today, we are all too committed to it. Or at least, committed to complaining about it.

And we often feel like our words are not heard.

President Halimah Yacob said that the 4G leaders will engage with young Singaporeans.

These people have their own dreams, hopes and fears, and the leaders must learn to work together with them to achieve their dreams.

And how do they do that?

5. Making Singapore the city of dreams

Singapore must become a nation of opportunities where Singaporeans can pursue their dreams and lead meaningful lives.

And in order to do that, Singapore must continue investing in its people, be open to changing economic conditions and embrace technology.

Singapore will be building up local companies to be able to compete both overseas and in Singapore.

Singapore is also determined to secure a place for itself in this volatile world. President Halimah said that Singapore is shoring up its capabilities to defend its national interests.

But that doesn’t mean we’re going all gung-ho against the world. Singapore is also looking to be good friends with as many countries as possible.

6. But Singaporeans must answer the Government’s investment

The government will continue investing in the people and make them ready for global competition.

They’ll also shift the focus away from academic results to practical skills.

SkillsFuture will be the anchor for the national culture of lifelong learning. Their new Adapt and Grow programme helps match Singaporeans to jobs, as well as let them keep their jobs despite rapid change in the industries.

But, there’s a catch to it.

It takes two hands to clap. And even if the government is willing to invest in their people, the people must be willing to invest their time and energy into succeeding.

They must be flexible, willing to learn and be brave enough to take the first step. Even if it’s to go overseas.

7. Singapore is looking to deal with inequality

For those who feel that Singapore has inequality issues, don’t worry because the leaders know about it as well.

And they’re doing something about it too.

Law Minister Shanmugam once said that more money will be funnelled into the preschool sector to tackle the problem of inequality.

President Halimah Yacob mentioned the same thing yesterday.

The government is looking to increase the quality of preschools in Singapore and give every child a good start in life, regardless of their family background.

The right support in terms of housing, education, training and employment will be provided to the people so that meritocracy can work well.

In other words, instead of penalising people who did well, they’ll be giving less fortunate people the chance to rise up the system instead.

8. Prepared to help the elderly grow old with dignity

In addition, the government is tackling the problem of an ageing population by helping them to age with dignity.

They’ll help older workers stay employed, be paid fairly and give them the means to save more.

Also, elderly friendly infrastructure, including new housing options, healthcare and fitness facilities will be made available to every elderly in Singapore.

9. The government will be making bold, new changes

If you were to look at the policy changes recently, the government has been making pretty bold and drastic moves.

Sometimes, even unpopular ones.

Guess what? Expect this to be the norm.

President Halimah said that the 4G leaders cannot rest on the laurels of their predecessors.

Noting that the centre of the economic action is now in Asia, this is not the time for Singapore to just tweak small little things.

Instead, they have to be prepared to make drastic, bold changes to answer to the challenge of their times.

They need to be driven to do better than the previous generation.

So there you go, 9 things you need to know about the new vision for the future.

And given how the 4G leaders are the main people behind the speech, it’s pretty much confirmed that this is how they’ll want their reign to go.

You can watch the full video below:

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