SINGAPORE: The Republic will face challenges such as income inequality and social cohesion as it moves into the future, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said on Thursday (Apr 21).
ESM Goh, who is advisor to the Social Service Research Centre (SSR) at the National University of Singapore (NUS), said this during a keynote address at the SSR annual conference.
He said that as Singapore's economy has reached a matured stage, growth will be at a more subdued rates of under 3 per cent per year, less than half of the more than 6 per cent rate in the past. As a result, this will translate into stagnant wages and greater income inequality.
He echoed the urgent need to restructure the Singapore economy to meet the challenges of the future - a point that was previously raised by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat's Budget speech recently.
"Restructuring is like taking bitter medicine: Beneficial for us in the long term well-being, but not without pain and dislocation in the short term," ESM Goh said.
"In the next lap, our social cohesion will be stretched and our national identity, tested. We must endeavour to pull through as one people," he added. "There's no other choice."
ESM Goh also stressed the need for joint efforts among the Government, community partners and academia to work together to find solutions to social issues.
The SSR, through research studies that are practicable, is one way academia can help provide valuable information to Government agencies and voluntary welfare organisations, which can then shape evidence-based policies and programmes to help vulnerable Singaporeans, he said.
- CNA/av