National Day Rally 2026: A Changed World. A Stronger Singapore.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announces major reset in family support

He says every Singaporean child will get almost $70,000 in direct financial help

By Ng Wei Kai, The Straits Times, 24 Aug 2026

Parents will get more childcare leave, greater financial support and pay lower preschool fees, as the country makes a fundamental shift in how it supports families.

The Government wants to support parents more consistently throughout the journey of raising their children, instead of concentrating help mainly around the birth of a child, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at his third National Day Rally.

Measures to make it easier for Singaporeans who want children to raise a family formed a key plank of PM Wong’s speech, in which he outlined other plans to equip Singapore to deal with rapid changes in technology and the global order.

These include merging several islands south of Jurong Island to create one larger island that can house new power generation infrastructure, putting in place more safeguards for tech use and adoption, and embracing integration to remain open and connected while retaining a Singaporean core.

Addressing about 1,300 guests at ITE College Central in Ang Mo Kio on Aug 23, PM Wong said that across the globe, the rules and norms that underpinned stability and prosperity for decades are being overturned.

One key reason is that the balance of power is shifting. While the US remains the world’s leading power, China has risen rapidly and is now a “peer competitor” with deep capabilities in many areas, he said.

Many middle powers are also asserting their interests more actively, with different centres jostling for influence and competing for markets, technology, and resources, he added.

The world is more contested, unstable and dangerous than before, and this is the new normal that Singapore will have to endure and survive for many years to come, PM Wong said.

The Government’s immediate priority has been to “steady the ship”, he said, citing two support packages totalling almost $2 billion that were announced in April and July to help households and businesses cope with rising costs caused by the conflict in the Middle East.

But Singapore must go beyond that and prepare for deeper changes to come, PM Wong said, as he pledged to give families greater support and confidence for the future.

He announced that every working parent will get 8 to 12 days of childcare leave, depending on the number of children aged 12 and below they have. More details will be given at a later date.

Every Singaporean child will also get nearly $70,000 in direct financial support, while full-day childcare fees will be lowered to $150 a month by 2030.

Turning to housing, PM Wong said the income ceiling for Build-to-Order (BTO) flats will be raised to $16,000, and to $18,000 for executive condominiums.

This is to ensure the vast majority of Singaporean couples will continue to have access to subsidised public housing, he said.

Families applying for their first flat will also get one additional ballot chance for every child they have or are expecting, he added.

These moves are part of the first tranche of recommendations from a workgroup that aims to reset Singapore’s approach to marriage and parenthood, PM Wong said. The workgroup, led by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah, was formed in April after the nation’s total fertility rate (TFR) fell to a new low of 0.87 in 2025.

“We want every family to know: if you choose to have children, the Government will stand with you. We will provide more support, and over more years,” he said.

More measures will be shared in the coming months, including at the Government’s next Budget in 2027, he added.

PM Wong said the Government’s work does not stop with those raising young children, with more to be done for seniors, people with disabilities and singles.

“We are putting real resources behind all of these plans because supporting families and Singaporeans through every stage of life is a national priority,” he said.

Looking longer term, the Prime Minister sketched out plans spanning decades that will create more land and options for future generations of Singaporeans.

Recounting how Jurong Island was created and turned into a global energy and chemicals hub, he said Singapore plans to merge several smaller islands off its southern coast, including Pulau Semakau, Pulau Bukom and Pulau Sudong, into a new western island.

This new island can support a new generation of industries, including advanced manufacturing facilities, and accommodate new power generation infrastructure to meet Singapore’s future needs as well as defence uses, he added.

A new link will be built to connect Jurong Island to the new western island.

The Government will also explore the feasibility of building undersea tunnels to connect Pulau Tekong – which is used mainly for military training – with the mainland, and reclaim land to integrate the resort island Sentosa with nearby Pulau Brani.

PM Wong said these plans will require resources, planning and investment over many terms of government.

“Our pioneers built Jurong Island long before anyone could see what it could become,” he said. “They planned and built for our generation and now we will do so for the generations that follow.”

He also set out how Singapore will deal with accelerating technological change.

The country has to guard against risks that are harder to predict, he said, citing developments like a recent case where an AI agent broke into a company’s systems.

PM Wong said Singapore will do its part to bring countries and companies together, and build coalitions around practical safeguards. It will also take action at home, he added.

To shield young social media users, social media platforms will be required to put in place robust and reliable checks so that the minimum age to use them – 13 for most platforms – is properly set and enforced, PM Wong said.

For teenagers above 13, the Government’s immediate priority is to make social media safer by design, he added.

It will require stronger safeguards for young users against features that keep them endlessly scrolling, clicking and coming back for more.

If a platform’s safeguards remain inadequate, the Government will consider additional restrictions – including raising the minimum age for access to that platform beyond 13, he said.

Turning to immigration and the need for Singapore to remain open, PM Wong gave assurances that the Government will ensure Singaporeans remain the “majority in our own country”.

Even as more is done to support families, Singapore must be realistic that its TFR will still likely fall “far short” of the replacement rate, PM Wong said. The rate, where a population is reproducing enough to replace itself, is around 2.1.

He noted that for many years, Singapore has supplemented its population by welcoming new citizens.

The Government’s aim is to refresh the citizen population at a measured and sustainable pace, he said.

While it welcomes foreign manpower to complement the local workforce and support the economy, it will do so in a careful and controlled way, he added.

This means that Singapore’s overall population and labour force will grow more slowly in the coming years.

While businesses often ask the Government to ease foreign worker policies, especially in the services sector, PM Wong said even a modest easing could lead to a significant increase in the number of workers. “That’s not the path we want to take. So we have to adapt to these realities,” he added.

Going forward, more of Singapore’s growth must come from technology and productivity – and from enabling every Singaporean to realise their full potential, he said.

PM Wong also said the Government will continue to broadly maintain Singapore’s current ethnic balance, even as it stays open.

“Singaporeans must feel that the Singapore we know and cherish will endure,” he said.

At the same time, it will keep working at integration. Newcomers must make every effort to fit in, and Singaporeans must also reach out with open hearts, he added.

Concluding, PM Wong said the years ahead will test the country in new ways, and it can choose how it responds.

“We face challenges with courage and grit. We adapt instead of standing still. We stand together instead of turning on one another. That is who we are.”

SM Lee Hsien Loong at the NUS Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum 2025

National identity has different layers; Singapore has to guard against fault lines: Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong

By Anjali Raguraman, The Straits Times, 10 Sep 2025

Every generation will have its own crisis to overcome, and it is through those challenges that Singapore’s national identity is strengthened, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Sept 9.

The Singaporean identity is stronger than before, with the country having navigated crises such as severe acute respiratory syndrome, the Asian Financial Crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, he said, noting that it is now facing superpower rivalry and geopolitical disruptions.

At the same time, the national identity is multi-layered, he told an audience of about 800 students and academics during the Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum held at the University Cultural Centre in NUS.

“We are one people, but... we are not all identical, and there are fault lines which we have to guard (against),” he added.

Being a Singaporean is not necessarily the most important part of a person’s identity, he said during the wide-ranging dialogue that lasted almost two hours.

He pointed out nuances, saying: “We are also Chinese Singaporean or Malay Singaporean or Indian Singaporean. We are also Christians or Muslims or Buddhists.

“You may also have different political views. You may be pro-government, you may be pro-opposition.

“You may have different sexual orientations and therefore different circles of friends and different perspectives on the world, so these are all different layers to our identity, which are always there.”

For many Singaporeans, particularly Muslims and Christians, he said religion is a very important component of their identity, similar to how vernacular languages are important for older people amid a younger generation that predominantly speaks in English.

During the forum, SM Lee was asked if he viewed globalisation or domestic fault lines as the greater challenge to this sense of national identity.

He said that in the immediate term, Singapore is going to be pulled in very different directions by “powerful external forces”.

Muslims, for instance, are naturally much more upset about the war between Israel and Hamas, he said. Similarly, developments in India or China will have a greater pull on those communities.

“Our job is to resist that and to remember, yes, I am Muslim or I am Chinese or I am Indian, but I am also Singaporean, and I do hold something here, and I belong here, and I should look at the world starting from here,” SM Lee said.

Among the questions posed by students was one about how Singapore can keep its political system exceptional.

“Get good people into politics. Vote for good people to be your MPs and to be your ministers and work with them to make the country better. I think it is as simple as that,” SM Lee said.

“If good people cannot get elected, they cannot get things done... then I think the country cannot function the way it has done,” he said, citing the rapidly changing political situation in the region and beyond, including changes in prime ministers.

“When leaders change over rapidly, it is very difficult for you to have the time to make big changes or important policies... leave a lasting mark... and because you haven’t had time to leave a lasting mark, then the next person comes in, and he has a hard time,” he said.

People should not take advantage of getting elected and view it as their opportunity to “be the boss”, SM Lee added. “It is your opportunity to be the chief slave, to help look after the country so that you can hand it over and it is better.”

He also noted that an exceptional political system also requires “exceptionally sensible voters and responsible voters”.

“In Singapore, we have made it work like that for quite long, and I think we should try and keep it like that for as long as possible.”

Asked about the elected presidency, SM Lee said he did not think there was any likelihood that Singapore would revert to having a ceremonial presidency.

Currently, the president serves as a safeguard, including as the “second key” to the nation’s reserves.

While the scheme will likely continue evolving, SM Lee said the shape of the elected presidency is now “more or less what it needs to be”.

“I do not think there will ever be an end state, because as the world changes, Singapore changes, and you have to keep on adjusting, adapting, evolving,” he added.

On how Singapore should balance growth and social equity, SM Lee said he does not see the two as contradictory, and that growth is the initial step to benefiting a wider swathe of Singaporeans, so their lives can improve.

“If you do not have growth...the only way to make people who are not doing well do better is to take resources from people who are doing better than them,” he said.

“In other words, it is a zero-sum game – what I give to one person I must take from another person, (and) it becomes a very unhappy exercise.”

When the economy grows, the government can take some of the resources generated to help those who need more aid, he said.

“And as lives improve, as opportunities are created, Singaporeans can help themselves seize those opportunities and move ahead,” he said.

SM Lee added: “It is hard enough to get the growth we can. Don’t ask ourselves, maybe less growth will be better. I don’t believe that. Go for what we can and make the most of what we have.”

He made the point that resources are needed to provide good housing, healthcare and education.

“Singapore’s great good fortune is that for many years, we have grown very rapidly, and today we have vastly more resources than we did 60 years ago, and we have made good use of it, and we benefited a lot of Singaporeans, very broadly,” he said.

“I think that is how we have to continue to do it.”

Government looking into cost-of-living concerns, taking better care of seniors: Prime Minister Lawrence Wong

100 days as PM: Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's press conference with local media on 23 August 2024

Govt studying how to tackle cost-of-living concerns, take better care of seniors: PM Wong

More help for larger families, needs of sandwiched group being explored

By Wong Pei Ting, Correspondent, The Straits Times, 24 Aug 2024

Tackling cost-of-living concerns and taking better care of seniors are two key areas of focus for the Government, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Aug 23.

In a press conference five days after his maiden National Day Rally speech, PM Wong said he is looking into longer-term care for seniors and their housing needs. This is a big issue that will continue to grow as more people age, he noted while outlining what Singaporeans can expect in the months ahead.

Besides helping older seniors who are in their 70s or 80s, there will also be support for their children – younger seniors who are entering or in their 50s and feel “sandwiched” with both ageing parents and children to look after, he said.

On cost-of-living concerns, PM Wong said his Government is looking at doling out more help to specific segments of the population, including those with larger families and more young children, where “costs add up quite quickly”.

Such additional support will add to broad-based schemes such as CDC vouchers, and cost-of-living payouts and U-Save rebates that target the lower- and middle-income groups.

During the press conference at the National Press Centre in Hill Street – PM Wong’s first after he took office as Singapore’s fourth prime minister on May 15 – he said there are different aspects to the cost-of-living issue, which is a major concern.

There are day-to-day expenses such as groceries, food and daily essentials, as well as big-ticket items like housing, he noted.

Asked if the Government will provide more CDC vouchers, given that the $300 in vouchers to be disbursed in January 2025 is less than the $800 given to each Singaporean household in 2024, PM Wong replied: “We haven’t had the 2025 Budget yet. That’s next year.”

PM Wong, who is also Finance Minister, added: “So whether or not there will be more CDC vouchers, I think everyone should just wait and see what is in the Budget announcement.”

The Government will continue to review how best to provide appropriate support, whether through broad-based or targeted measures, he added. “And we will do so in the Budget in 2025.”

At the rally on Aug 18, PM Wong had set out a major reset of policies, which included granting more paid leave for new parents, giving temporary financial help to lower- and middle-income workers who lose their jobs, and updating the Gifted Education Programme.

PM Wong said he had sought to flesh out, in more concrete terms, the aspirations and hopes that Singaporeans have shared during the Forward Singapore engagement exercise.

These are underpinned by two key pillars, he said – a renewed social compact and a refreshed Singapore Dream.

The renewed social compact relates to how all Singaporeans will get support despite their setbacks in life and get a fair shot in life, said PM Wong.

“At the same time, everyone has to do their part, work hard, make the effort to excel and uplift their families,” he said.

“If they do that, the Government will be there to support them every step of the way and help them to get ahead,” he added.

PM Wong said the refreshed Singapore Dream relates to how Singaporeans can find their own paths and not have to compare with one another.

“We can all be the best possible versions of ourselves,” he said. “In other words, we can thrive and flourish on our own terms and in ways that are less prescribed and more open.”

Realising these two shared goals requires a “major reset” of certain policies, attitudes and mindsets, he said.

Besides studying measures to help seniors and to address cost-of-living concerns, PM Wong said, his Government is also looking out for other issues that Singaporeans care about.

This is why regular engagement with Singaporeans is a very important aspect of his work, he added.

Since taking office, he has embarked on visits to several districts across the island. These are “very good opportunities for me to meet residents and to hear first-hand their perspectives and feedback”, he said.

PM Wong noted that he had previously committed to hold press conferences from time to time to share his thoughts with Singaporeans through the media.

He said he thought it useful to hold a press conference at this juncture, to take stock of what his Government has done and what is next on the agenda.

He also said he will continue to hold dialogues with different segments of society, and engage Singaporeans through social media and press conferences such as this one.

These engagements can help everyone see a common picture of why the Government is embarking on certain plans, where the nation is heading towards, and what everyone can do in big and small ways to realise a shared vision, he added.

“This is the commitment from me and my team,” he said.

“We are here to listen to you, understand first-hand your concerns, hopes and dreams, and build a stronger, more meaningful connection with every Singaporean.”

Asked if he had met his priorities after 100 days in office, PM Wong said his key priority after taking over was to think about the new directions that his Government would set to take Singapore forward in its next lap, and what that would mean for Singaporeans.

He took reference from the Forward Singapore exercise, and the rally was where he sought to “crystallise” these shared ambitions in clearer and more concrete terms, he added.

On the foreign policy front, PM Wong said he will, in the months ahead, visit more Asean countries before making trips to the country’s key partners outside of South-east Asia.

He is also set to attend a few international summits, including the Asean Summit in Laos from Oct 6 to 11, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru in November, and the Group of 20 summit in Brazil from Nov 18 to 19.

PM Wong said it is important for him to meet leaders of other countries in his new capacity to establish good personal relations with them, as this will set the tone for Singapore’s overall relationship with those countries.

PM Wong also said he will find future occasions to elaborate on Singapore’s foreign policy and the external environment.

“It’s important for me to engage Singaporeans on these issues because I think everyone needs to understand what’s at stake, especially on critical issues where our collective security and fundamental interests are involved,” he said.

“We must be able to come together as one people, despite our differences and perspectives, and take a common, pro-Singapore position to advance our national interest together.”

Dialogue with SM Lee Hsien Loong at the HarmonyWorks! Conference 2024 on 3 August 2024

‘Generally, we’ve got things right’: SM Lee addresses issues like race at dialogue with youth

By Elisha Tushara, Correspondent, The Straits Times, 4 Aug 2024

In Singapore, one can expect to be respected as an individual and treated equally regardless of race, language and religion, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Aug 3 at a dialogue with youth.

That is the starting point, he said in response to a question about how there remain concerns about incidents of casual racism here, and whether the situation will improve.

“Generally, we have got things right,” he said, adding that at a personal level, people have to treat each other with respect, understand the sensitivities and not cause offence.

SM Lee was addressing about 300 youth at a dialogue session at ITE College East held by OnePeople.sg, an organisation that promotes racial and religious harmony.

During the hour-long session, participants from post-secondary institutions, madrasahs, Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools, as well as community and religious groups, asked SM Lee questions on topics ranging from casual racism and influence of social media to integration between locals and new migrants.

“We have to express disapproval and if it is done with ill intent, we have to be quite firm to come down and put it down,” he said, referring to conflicts that arise over race or religion. “At the same time, we have to respond in a measured way, and we have to see what the situation is.”

Singaporeans should not become hypersensitive, said SM Lee. “If you look at what is happening in Western countries, there is a mood now where you are so careful about not doing anything which may cause offence to anybody,” he said.

“Sometimes, they even say I am going to say something which you may be unhappy (about). So, if you don’t want to hear me, please leave the room before I say it. And then life becomes very tiring.”

This is not a mature or practical way of getting along with each other, he said, which requires “give and take”, understanding, tolerance and respect. “And I am able to get on together because, fundamentally, we believe that we are Singaporeans. I think we should take that kind of an approach.”

SM Lee also noted that in Singapore, Chinese guests may turn up wearing saris or an Indian costume for Deepavali, while non-Malay guests will wear Malay baju for Hari Raya. The intent is to honour one’s friends by dressing up.

But in America, for example, doing so can be seen as cultural appropriation, he said.

“I do not think we should go in that direction,” he said, adding that young people will have to find their own norms and their own way forward.

“I hope we will find one which is practical, which is robust, and which enables us to get on together and go out into the world. And when we go into another society where people are not so nice and sensitive and used to dealing with you, you will not suddenly faint from shock.”

CECA and FTAs: Ministerial statement and debate in Parliament, 6 July 2021

CECA does not affect Singapore's ability to regulate immigration: Health Minister Ong Ye Kung

CECA does not allow unconditional entry of Indian PMEs

Ministerial statement adds that FTAs in fact play key role in ensuring Republic's survival

FTAs and CECA made 'political scapegoats', falsehoods need to be corrected

PSP 'fully supports' FTAs, but disagrees that CECA offers net benefits to Singaporeans

By Grace Ho, Senior Political Correspondent, The Straits Times, 7 Jul 2021

Far from leading to an unfettered inflow of foreign professionals, free trade agreements (FTAs) play a key role in ensuring the survival of small countries like Singapore, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.

Nor is the Republic's ability to regulate immigration and foreign manpower affected by an FTA like the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), he told the House yesterday.

Singapore signed the bilateral agreement with India in 2005.

In two ministerial statements, Mr Ong and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng laid out the importance of free trade pacts and debunked falsehoods about Ceca, whose immigration-related elements have come under fire on social media and by the opposition.

They also stressed that changes in foreign workforce numbers over time are to be expected, given that policies, as well as countries' industry needs, change over time.

Mr Ong said: "I emphasise and underline and highlight this: Nothing in the agreement implies Singapore must unconditionally let in professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) from India.

"Contrary to Progress Singapore Party's (PSP) claim, our ability to impose requirements for immigration and work passes has never been in question in Ceca or any other FTA that we have signed."

The minister was referring to allegations by the PSP, going back to before last year's general election, about how Ceca allows professionals from India "a free hand" to come and work in Singapore.

FTAs had enabled Singapore to ramp up investments from overseas and create thousands of jobs in Singapore, he said.

"When you attack FTAs, and worse, if your attack succeeds, you are undermining the fundamentals of our existence, all the sectors FTAs support, and the hundreds of thousands of Singaporean jobs created in these sectors," said Mr Ong, a former trade negotiator who worked on several FTAs.

Dr Tan acknowledged that 25 per cent of Employment Pass (EP) holders last year were from India, compared with 14 per cent in 2005. This was driven by the rapid growth of Singapore's digital economy, which attracted technology talent from India, rather than any favourable treatment for Indian EP holders, he said.

But Singapore is not worse off, he said.

From 2005 to last year, the total number of EPs increased by about 112,000; over this period, the number of local PMEs grew by more than 380,000.

Dr Tan pointed out that if Singapore tightened controls too much, businesses might simply move their functions offshore, costing Singaporeans their jobs.

PSP's Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai crossed swords with the two ministers.

Mr Ong pressed Mr Leong on whether PSP agreed FTAs, including Ceca, are fundamental to Singapore's economic survival; and that Ceca does not allow a free flow of PMEs from India into Singapore.

Mr Leong said that while FTAs are important to Singapore, it remains to be studied whether Ceca has contributed to the influx of foreign nationals from India.

"We don't agree that Ceca is net beneficial to Singapore at this stage," he said.

Mr Ong called Mr Leong's conclusion "regrettable".

"Generations of FTA negotiators worked very hard to make sure our interests are protected," he said.

"This is not a back door, this is not an avenue for any professional from any country to enter Singapore with a free hand and unfettered.

"But I take it that this is PSP's position, notwithstanding hearing all our explanations."

Census 2020: Singapore population growth at slowest pace since 1965

More staying single while those who marry are having fewer babies, latest census shows

By Grace Ho, Senior Political Correspondent, The Straits Times, 17 Jun 2021

Singapore's population grew at its slowest pace since independence, with more residents staying single and even those who marry having fewer babies.

The nation's sixth census since independence in 1965 also found other key trends set in motion decades ago to have solidified further. Singapore residents of all ages and races are now better educated and more do not consider themselves as having a religion.

Conducted once every 10 years, the census is the largest national survey undertaken here on key characteristics of the population such as demographic, social, economic and employment trends.

More findings from the Census of Population 2020 will be released tomorrow.

Over the past 10 years, Singapore's total population grew by 1.1 per cent each year - the lowest decade of growth since independence.

The number of citizens grew from 3.23 million to 3.52 million, while the number of permanent residents held steady at around half a million.

The population is ageing. Those aged 65 years and older formed 15.2 per cent of the resident population last year, a marked rise from 9 per cent in 2010.

In a trend that has implications for continued population growth, the proportion of singles rose across all age groups over the past 10 years, with the sharpest increase among younger Singaporeans aged 25 to 34 years.

Less-educated men were more likely to stay single, whereas the opposite was true of women.

Women, especially if they were more educated, had fewer children. The average number of children born per resident woman aged 40 to 49 years who had ever been married fell from 2.02 in 2010 to 1.76 last year.

Within this age group, women who were university graduates had an average of 1.66 children last year - marking a steady decline from 1.74 children 10 years ago and 1.95 in 2000.

Singaporeans are also better educated. Among residents aged 25 years and over, almost six in 10 (58.3 per cent) attained post-secondary or higher qualifications, up from less than half (46.5 per cent) in 2010. The Chinese, Malay and Indian communities all saw improvements.

Women closed the educational gap with men in each successive cohort. When it came to those aged 25 to 34 years, the proportion of women (90.2 per cent) with post-secondary or higher qualifications exceeded men (90 per cent).

English was the language most frequently spoken at home for 48.3 per cent of residents aged five years and over last year, up from 32.3 per cent in 2010. Most of them also spoke a vernacular language at home.

There are growing numbers of Singaporeans who cite no religious affiliation.

The proportion was 20 per cent last year, up 3 percentage points from a decade ago. This number was 15 per cent in 2000.

The increase took place across all age groups and most types of educational qualifications.

At a media briefing on Monday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah said the census data showed Singaporeans had enjoyed significant progress over the past 10 years, and that the country remains multiracial, multi-religious and multilingual.

Observing that Singapore citizens account for a greater proportion of population growth in this decade, she said: "Singaporeans who wish to start and raise families remain a priority because we want to grow the Singapore population, the Singapore core. At the same time, we have to supplement our population with some immigration, because we also need to support our economy. But that has to be very carefully calibrated."

The virus of racism must not spread in Singapore

Linking race to the COVID-19 virus is against the social DNA of our multicultural society.

By Asad Latif, The Straits Times, 22 May 2021

A vicious attack on an Indian Singaporean woman, because she was not wearing her mask properly (she was brisk-walking), reveals the nefarious relationship between race, fear and violence that has been generated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The incident is the most egregious of several instances of unsavoury behaviour involving ethnicity and disease in the wake of a new strain of Covid-19, rampant in India, which threatens to stigmatise Indians, whatever their nationality.

Of course, race is not the only variable in this unseemly equation. Some employees at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, which is at the forefront of efforts to fight Covid-19, have faced discrimination from members of the public.

Not all of the hospital's employees are Indians.

Here, then, is the first variable: Fear. An infectious disease socialises the individual fear of death that exists anywhere, all the time. A contagion broadcasts the fear of untimely and unwarranted death.

It amplifies the fictive distinction between "soft death" and "hard death" which the American writer Susan Sontag demystifies in her 1989 book Aids And Its Metaphors. Soft death supposedly comes easily; hard death is hard to bear.

"The metaphorised illnesses that haunt the collective imagination are all hard deaths or envisaged as such," she writes.

Thus, the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (Aids), seen as leading to a hard death, became a "mythological menace".

Attack on nativist collectivity

Mythology nests in threatened territory. Territoriality is the second variable. Sontag suggests that a disease becomes a metaphor when sufficient members of a society view it as an external attack on their nativist collectivity.

The sexual promiscuity associated with the provenance of Aids in Africa was viewed as an attack on the moral and biological integrity of Western society, which imported the supposed curse because of its openness to the rest of the world.

Black Africa became the Aids-producing continent, while the white West became the geographical victim of a foreign disease. Aids was stigmatised in racialised terms.

Something very similar has occurred with Covid-19. Its origins led to it being called the Wuhan virus and even the Chinese virus, terms that signalled the identification of a disease with a place and even an ethnicity.

No wonder Chinese were insulted, harassed or attacked in several countries. They did not have to be from Wuhan or even the rest of China: All that they had to do was to look Chinese.

That was sufficient to rationalise their racist victimisation.

Now it is India's turn.

The Indian strain is seen as an Indian product, as if any country specialises in the creation and export of a virus.

Just as the suffering of the Chinese in Wuhan and other cities was ignored by racists in the West, who were interested only in apportioning ethnic blame, the epic struggles of Indians to fight the scourge today are ignored by those who see every Indian, or "Indian-looking" person, as a potential carrier to be shunned.

Singapore's social DNA

It is unacceptable that such sentiments should have any place in multiracial Singapore. The social DNA of this nation is multicultural.

Emerging Stronger Taskforce proposes how Singapore can emerge stronger in a post-COVID-19 world

It seeks to break new ground in digital space, collaborate closely with businesses, people

By Grace Ho, Senior Political Correspondent, The Straits Times, 18 May 2021

A post-Covid-19 Singapore is one that breaks new ground in the digital space to offer unlimited opportunities for its businesses and people, and collaborates closely with them to be sustainable and stronger together.

This is the vision put forward by the Emerging Stronger Taskforce (EST), a year after it was launched last May to chart Singapore's post-pandemic economy.

In a 118-page report released yesterday, it makes five recommendations to drive the Republic's transformation as a node for technology, innovation and enterprise.

They are: Creating new virtual frontiers; seizing growth opportunities from sustainability; enabling global champions and growing an agile and strong Singapore core; institutionalising private-public partnerships through Alliances for Action (AfAs); and strengthening international partnerships, especially in South-east Asia.

Speaking at a media conference yesterday, National Development Minister Desmond Lee, who co-chairs the task force with PSA International group chief executive Tan Chong Meng, said the ongoing crisis reinforces the importance of working closely together. "The crisis (is) affecting countries that initially overcame infections but are now facing a new wave," he said, adding that the technology and capabilities which Singapore now has to overcome Covid-19 challenges would not have existed 10 years ago.

"And so that drive and initiative, that will to survive, to find opportunities - that remains absolutely relevant."

Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Heng Swee Keat, who chairs the Future Economy Council (FEC), said Covid-19 has created the "burning platform" for change.

The EST's recommendations were made in the collaborative spirit of the Singapore Together movement launched two years ago, where Singaporeans partner with the Government to shape their shared future, he said.

The 23-member task force was set up under the FEC to give recommendations on how Singapore could refresh its economic strategies.

The recommendations come amid shifts such as growing geopolitical tensions and accelerating digital transformation.

It acknowledged the need to do things differently from previous review committees on the economy, and "pivot towards action". This meant identifying areas of opportunity for Singapore to invest in, and test-bedding new, creative ideas.

Views were sought from about 2,000 individuals across 900 organisations.

The nine AfAs, which involve businesses, unions, government agencies and other experts, and cover areas ranging from supply chain digitalisation to sustainability, helped explore some of the ideas. They also quickly prototyped and executed minimum viable products or pilots which can be scaled up if successful. The task force has recommended that this approach be institutionalised under the FEC.

Mr Lee said: "The AfA approach is valuable in tackling challenges across not just the economic realm, but also in the social space... This collaborative approach also makes for more sustainable and more impactful actions and outcomes."

Mr Heng said the FEC will incorporate the EST recommendations into its current update of the Industry Transformation Maps, or ITM 2025.

It will scale up the AfAs as a more agile and nimble way to undertake industry transformation.

COVID-19: Singapore cannot afford to close borders for long duration, says Lawrence Wong

By Salma Khalik, Senior Health Correspondent, The Straits Times, 5 May 2021

As a small country that is not resource-rich, Singapore cannot afford to shut its borders for a long time, said Education Minister Lawrence Wong yesterday.

Mr Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19, was explaining why Singapore did not close its borders to India earlier, given the raging outbreak there.

Singapore stopped entry to all long-term pass holders and short-term visitors with recent travel history to India within the past fortnight from April 24.

"We are small… We need migrant workers to build our homes," he said. Foreign workers are also needed for other essential services, including caring for the elderly.

"It's really very hard for us to close our borders permanently," he said. "Instead, we've always taken a risk-based approach in managing our borders from the start."

This involves controlling the number of arrivals. He said the overall number coming in has been going down, even before curbs on arrivals from India kicked in.

"We've already become very tight, to the point that the backlog of applications has been growing… Many projects have been suffering from delays, as all of us know."

He added: "Some of our housing projects may now be delayed by up to a year or more.

"So it does come at a considerable cost to Singaporeans."

Migrant workers who come in are isolated and "we've been progressively tightening that regime over the past few months". They are also tested more regularly.

In spite of all measures, Mr Wong said there will be leaks into the community from time to time.

This can happen even in a country like China with its very tight border measures, he added.

So there cannot be sole reliance on border measures, he said.

"We have to make use of other tools at our disposal," he said.

"If we do all of these well, then we can control the spread of the infection in our community."

As for visitors who tested negative, but later test positive when they want to leave the country, Mr Wong said there are two possibilities. One is they could have been infected in the community while in Singapore.

The other is that the cases involve an older infection and they are "intermittent shedders" of virus particles. If so, they are less likely to be infectious.

Return to Phase 2: Stricter rules on social gatherings to curb virus from 8 May through 30 May 2021

Measures kick in from May 8, but Minister Lawrence Wong urges all to scale back activities from now

By Linette Lai, Political Correspondent, The Straits Times, 5 May 2021

Singapore will impose stricter rules on social gatherings and require more people to work from home starting Saturday, 8 May, in what Education Minister Lawrence Wong yesterday described as a return to phase two of the country's reopening.

These tighter measures mean people will be allowed to gather in only groups of up to five, down from eight currently. In addition, they will be able to receive only five distinct guests at home each day.

And no more than 50 per cent of employees who are able to work from home should be in the office at any one time, down from 75 per cent at present.

Employers should also continue to stagger the start times of returning staff, and implement flexible working hours. Social gatherings at work should be avoided.

Large events - such as worship services, weddings, funerals and live performances - will see more restrictions in place, including pre-event testing and reduced sizes. Higher-risk settings such as indoor gyms and fitness studios will be closed, as people are often unmasked and in close proximity for extended periods in a small enclosed space.

The measures, aimed at stopping the spread of Covid-19 in the wider community, will kick in on May 8 and be in place until May 30.

Addressing reporters at a press conference yesterday, Mr Wong, who co-chairs the task force tackling the pandemic, said the measures harked back to phase two of Singapore's gradual reopening after the circuit breaker.

"We certainly hope not to have to invoke another circuit breaker," he said. "But we have proposed quite a stringent and very tight set of measures, so that we can respond robustly and pre-emptively to the latest outbreak of clusters and do our best to snuff them out early, and reduce the likelihood of having to impose more drastic measures down the road."