We live in a world of strained relationships that threatens a more fractured and bifurcated world order. Domestically, Singapore must also wrestle with other issues such as a rapidly ageing population and more diverse society.
No one can guarantee that Singapore will do well in this more uncertain and volatile future, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said in his May Day address. What gives him confidence is what we have been through in the last 2 years dealing with the covid pandemic, he said.
The ability to adapt and to adjust quickly, keeping faith with one another, and maintaining our solidarity and trust in each other have helped us to attain good outcomes.
“We’ve kept Covid-19 deaths at one of the lowest rates in the world, and enabled employment and incomes to recover quickly to pre-Covid-19 levels already,” Mr Wong said.
What Lawrence Wong wants to do: to enable the next generation to do better than us...
“Our pioneers have enabled my generation and I to do better than our parents,” said Mr Wong. “Likewise, for me and my 4G team, we want to ensure the same for the next generation, for our children and grandchildren. We want those who come after us to also benefit from inclusion, from opportunities, from many more expanding pathways to success and fulfilment,” he added.
How did the previous generations do it? How did they enable us to do better than them?
Can the 4G Team ensures that future generations will also benefit from inclusion, from opportunities, from many more expanding pathways to success and fulfilment?
We can achieve this if we stand together united as one people, as the pandemic has shown.
Referring to the challenges and disruptions faced in much of the developed world caused by the pandemic and the strained US-China relationship, which have created anxieties and strains, Mr Wong said that people have responded with a ‘us versus them’ mentality.
I don’t know if the PAP will win the next General Election but I give you my word...
Forward Singapore. 4G Team will refresh social compact, develop roadmap for next decade and beyond
There is no ready blueprint for the Singapore of tomorrow. Over the decades, Singapore’s progress was by no means guaranteed. It took persistence, hard work and the cultivation of shared values and aspirations. What is clear is that the Labour Movement and Tripartims have been the bedrock of success. This has been proven time and time again through the many crises we have weathered together.
Mr Wong said the 4G Team will lead an exercise to refresh our social compact.
This exercise will be formally launched soon. It will be a major undertaking of the 4G team. The “Forward Singapore” agenda, which will set out the roadmap for the next decade and beyond.
"I would like to see a fairer, greener, and more inclusive Singapore that we will always be proud to call home. A home where everyone is accepted and valued, and treated equally and with respect, no matter their background or station in life. A home where everyone can live with dignity, and flourish in their own way, and at their own pace, regardless of their starting points."
