Heng Swee Keat , 17 Feb 2020
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We are hours away from the Budget Statement, which I will deliver in Parliament tomorrow.
Usually, we try to settle the details as early as possible. This year, we could not, because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The Ministry of Finance (Singapore) team has been putting in extra hours to track the fast-evolving situation, listening to Singaporeans’ suggestions, and coming up with targeted support measures. We have many young officers at MOF, and I had really hoped that they could have a nice Valentine’s Day with their loved ones last Friday. Instead, they asked for understanding from their partners, and worked with me through the night and over the weekend.
I have also been working closely with Cabinet colleagues involved in managing the various facets of the COVID-19 outbreak. My thanks to all of them, and to Lawrence Wong and Indranee Rajah, who are with me in MOF, and have been contributing to this Budget over the months.
#SGBudget2020 will include measures that were not on the table one month ago. We would not have been able to act quickly and decisively, if not for our deep reserves. I do not mean only our financial reserves — which give us the ability and confidence to respond robustly to unexpected situations. I also mean the reserves of strength, resilience, empathy, and resourcefulness among our public servants and fellow Singaporeans. If we did not possess such qualities, we could not stay united through this crisis and emerge stronger.
Without these reserves, we would have been much worse off — both financially and psychologically. My team and I would not be able to spend the last few weeks working on the stabilisation and support measures. We would instead be lying awake trying to project the negative impact of the outbreak, how much of a hit we are going to suffer, rather than what we can do to stabilise our economy and support our people.
As Finance Minister, I am grateful for the efforts and sacrifices of not just one generation, but of many — going back to my illustrious predecessor Dr Goh Keng Swee, Singapore’s first Finance Minister, and our Pioneer and Merdeka generations.
We must never take for granted our reserves of strength that we have built over the years — these can be squandered easily. I urge all of you, my fellow Singaporeans, to never forget but treasure what we have inherited.
Somebody asked me, “Is the outbreak a disruption to the Budget?” I thought about this. You could look at it as a disruption, or you could see it as a spur and a test for us. It spurs us to do our best for Singaporeans, who are themselves doing their best for their families and those around them. It is a test for us to show that we can rise to the challenge, and be worthy of the generations who came before us, and future generations to come.
I am proud of our public officers, who are working selflessly on the frontline and in the backrooms. I am moved by our people whose acts of kindness and compassion inspire us. I am grateful for the deep reserves we have — of finances, but more importantly of friendship, care, grit. I will do my best to protect and grow these. Let’s advance as One Singapore, and emerge stronger as one people.
Now, it’s back to work on the Budget speech.
You can watch/listen to my speech live on Tuesday 18 February, 3pm, on the following platforms:
1. MOF Budget website (
www.singaporebudget.gov.sg)
2. CNA TV
3. CNA YouTube (
www.youtube.com/channelnewsasia)
4. CNA website (
www.channelnewsasia.com)
5. CNA938
6. Mediacorp MeWatch (
www.mewatch.sg)
7. Ch8 News website (
www.8world.com)
8. Mediacorp CAPITAL 958 城市频道
9. ST website (
www.straitstimes.com)
10. MONEY FM 89.3
11. Lianhe Zaobao (
www.zaobao.com.sg)
(MCI Photo by Chwee)
