PM Wong Delivering His First National Day Message as PM in English on 8 Aug

The Prime Minister’s Office has announced that Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (PM Wong) will be giving his National Day Message in English on 8 August 2024.

His speech will be broadcast on CNA and CNA938 at 6:45 pm.

According to the National Archives of Singapore, these speeches are intended to “examine domestic and global developments, review economic performance and outlook, and outline national priorities and government plans as they inspire Singaporeans to move forward with a unified sense of purpose”.

No Magic Cup Required

Unlike his predecessor, now-Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong (SM Lee), PM Wong will not be calling on the linguistic powers of SM Lee’s “magic cup”, which supposedly allowed him to switch languages when delivering his speeches.

This is because it is typical for a different minister to deliver the National Day Message in each language.

Instead, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong will deliver the message in Mandarin at 8:45 pm on Channel 8 and Capital 958

As was the case last year, Minister for Social and Family Development and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli will deliver the message in Malay at 8:30pm on Suria, and Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam will deliver the message in Tamil at 9:00pm on Vasantham and Oli 968.

The National Day Message in all four languages will also be available on the PMO website and the PMO YouTube channel after the first broadcasts.