http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_269308.html
Rising costs: Govt's helping
By Jeremy Au Yong
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ST PHOTO: TERENCE TAN
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SINGAPOREANS are receiving more help this year to deal with rising costs, said the Prime Minister last night, as he reassured the people that the Government is on top of the problem.
To give people a better grasp of the total amount going to them, in rebates and direct cash, PM Lee Hsien Loong cited as an example what a family living in a three-room HDB stands to benefit by.
RELATED LINKS
CLICK FOR THE ENGLISH TEXT OF SPEECH IN MALAY
CLICK FOR ENGLISH TEXT OF SPEECH IN CHINESE
It is $5,000 - a 'considerable amount,' he said yesterday.
However, the help given appears to be lost on Singaporeans and Mr Lee suspects it is because the Government does not make a big show of it. Also, the help is indirect and people do not connect these measures with the prices of daily necessities that they see going up.
Mr Lee Hsien Loong put inflation on top of the agenda of his Chinese speech at the National Day Rally, alongside talk of tackling the low birth rate plus the need for foreign workers and new immigrants.
Earlier, in his Malay address, he described a new role for an old fund.
He suggested that the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund be channelled to upgrading old mosques as well giving more help to dysfunctional Malay families.
These were the only two speeches telecast live on TV yesterday, as Mr Lee had postponed the broadcast of the main English speech to tonight.
He explained the unprecedented move to the audience of 1,700, which included opposition MP Chiam See Tong, as well as Nominated MPs Thio Li-Ann and Siew Kum Hong.
'This is my most challenging National Day Rally - because it coincides with the women's table tennis finals at the Olympic team event in Beijing. Let us start by wishing all the best to Team Singapore,' he said, to loud applause.
It was a light-hearted start to a night that saw PM Lee delving into the country's most pressing issues.
Speaking on inflation in Mandarin, he said that while he does not claim to have rescued the people in their hour of need, the Government is doing its best.
For instance, Singaporeans were given Growth Dividends cash in April, following the large Budget surplus, as well as GST credits to offset last July's two-point hike in the Goods and Services Tax. More Growth Dividends will be given in October.
In all, the Government is splashing out $3 billion to ease cost-of-living woes, with the low-income getting special attention.
'Of course, the Government cannot give hongbao every year. We are not the God of Fortune,' he said.
In addition to the hongbao, Mr Lee also highlighted the work of community organisations.
Grassroots organisations, for instance, have been giving more hampers, food and other aid to needy families.
The Community Development Councils are also working hard. The PM singled out some of them for fitting energy-saving lightbulbs for poor families to help cut their power bills, among other measures.
Despite the help given, PM Lee noted that some feel that the Government is still not doing enough.
Some even felt that the Government was contributing to inflation with fee increases, and should hold the latter back whenever possible.
'I am sympathetic to this view,' he said, and pointed out that the Government had indeed held back on increasing some fees.
For example: service and conservancy charges in town councils run by People's Action Party MPs, and the price of water.
Some increases, he conceded, are inevitable like health-care costs. He assured Singaporeans the Government will keep the increases as small as possible.
Although Mr Lee dwelt at length on inflation, he ended his Mandarin speech by putting the issue in perspective.
Singapore, he said, cannot focus on the short-term problem of rising costs while neglecting long-term issues like the low birth rate and the challenges posed by the Internet.
'We have to deal with these problems and achieve a balance between short-term and long-term issues. This is a unique model for Spore. If we can maintain this model, then we can ride out the storms and overcome challenges time and again,' he said.
Log on to The Straits Times RazorTV at www.razor.tv for the Malay and Chinese speeches the Prime Minister gave at the National Day Rally. The speech in English will be webcast at 8pm.
See commentary on Prime Page A2
Rising costs: Govt's helping
By Jeremy Au Yong
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
ST PHOTO: TERENCE TAN
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
SINGAPOREANS are receiving more help this year to deal with rising costs, said the Prime Minister last night, as he reassured the people that the Government is on top of the problem.
To give people a better grasp of the total amount going to them, in rebates and direct cash, PM Lee Hsien Loong cited as an example what a family living in a three-room HDB stands to benefit by.
RELATED LINKS
CLICK FOR THE ENGLISH TEXT OF SPEECH IN MALAY
CLICK FOR ENGLISH TEXT OF SPEECH IN CHINESE
It is $5,000 - a 'considerable amount,' he said yesterday.
However, the help given appears to be lost on Singaporeans and Mr Lee suspects it is because the Government does not make a big show of it. Also, the help is indirect and people do not connect these measures with the prices of daily necessities that they see going up.
Mr Lee Hsien Loong put inflation on top of the agenda of his Chinese speech at the National Day Rally, alongside talk of tackling the low birth rate plus the need for foreign workers and new immigrants.
Earlier, in his Malay address, he described a new role for an old fund.
He suggested that the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund be channelled to upgrading old mosques as well giving more help to dysfunctional Malay families.
These were the only two speeches telecast live on TV yesterday, as Mr Lee had postponed the broadcast of the main English speech to tonight.
He explained the unprecedented move to the audience of 1,700, which included opposition MP Chiam See Tong, as well as Nominated MPs Thio Li-Ann and Siew Kum Hong.
'This is my most challenging National Day Rally - because it coincides with the women's table tennis finals at the Olympic team event in Beijing. Let us start by wishing all the best to Team Singapore,' he said, to loud applause.
It was a light-hearted start to a night that saw PM Lee delving into the country's most pressing issues.
Speaking on inflation in Mandarin, he said that while he does not claim to have rescued the people in their hour of need, the Government is doing its best.
For instance, Singaporeans were given Growth Dividends cash in April, following the large Budget surplus, as well as GST credits to offset last July's two-point hike in the Goods and Services Tax. More Growth Dividends will be given in October.
In all, the Government is splashing out $3 billion to ease cost-of-living woes, with the low-income getting special attention.
'Of course, the Government cannot give hongbao every year. We are not the God of Fortune,' he said.
In addition to the hongbao, Mr Lee also highlighted the work of community organisations.
Grassroots organisations, for instance, have been giving more hampers, food and other aid to needy families.
The Community Development Councils are also working hard. The PM singled out some of them for fitting energy-saving lightbulbs for poor families to help cut their power bills, among other measures.
Despite the help given, PM Lee noted that some feel that the Government is still not doing enough.
Some even felt that the Government was contributing to inflation with fee increases, and should hold the latter back whenever possible.
'I am sympathetic to this view,' he said, and pointed out that the Government had indeed held back on increasing some fees.
For example: service and conservancy charges in town councils run by People's Action Party MPs, and the price of water.
Some increases, he conceded, are inevitable like health-care costs. He assured Singaporeans the Government will keep the increases as small as possible.
Although Mr Lee dwelt at length on inflation, he ended his Mandarin speech by putting the issue in perspective.
Singapore, he said, cannot focus on the short-term problem of rising costs while neglecting long-term issues like the low birth rate and the challenges posed by the Internet.
'We have to deal with these problems and achieve a balance between short-term and long-term issues. This is a unique model for Spore. If we can maintain this model, then we can ride out the storms and overcome challenges time and again,' he said.
Log on to The Straits Times RazorTV at www.razor.tv for the Malay and Chinese speeches the Prime Minister gave at the National Day Rally. The speech in English will be webcast at 8pm.
See commentary on Prime Page A2
