SINGAPORE – Singaporeans need to work together as one Team Singapore in order to face a challenging external environment, including the latest US tariffs and China’s reciprocal moves, and their impact on global trade, said Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
“These are all external problems, and what we can do about them is to work together domestically…as one team Singapore, so that we can deal with them as one people, one nation,” said Mr Lee.
“We have the responsibility to protect our home, our future, our countrymen…working together to give Singapore a better tomorrow.”
He was speaking to Ang Mo Kio residents at a community event at the Cheng San Market and Cooked Food Centre on April 12.
China has increased its tariffs on US imports to 125 per cent, in a retaliatory move to US President Donald Trump’s decision to hike duties on Chinese goods to 145 per cent. The US has also imposed baseline tariffs of 10 per cent on most of its imports, including those from Singapore.
This has caused market volatility and will likely impact global supply chains.
SM Lee, who is an Ang Mo Kio GRC MP, thanked the residents for their support over the years, and urged them to continue supporting the Government.
“For people my age, the biggest thing in life is our grandchildren,” he said. “What will happen to them, what world will they grow into when they grow up? What can we do to make sure that they have the best chances?”
He urged the residents to “think about it carefully” and work together to make sure that they have the best chances in life. His comments come as political parties gear up for a general election, widely expected to be held by the middle of the year.
SM Lee said he was happy to see the enhancements made to the neighbourhood. With him was MP Nadia Samdin, who is in charge of the Cheng San-Seletar division of the GRC.
At the event, which was held to celebrate the completion of the neighbourhood renewal programme, SM Lee said it was a special pleasure and privilege that Singapore can keep making things better, improving the neighbourhood and updating facilities, despite upheavals in the world.
Among the enhancements to the ward include upgrades to the Cheng San Market and Cooked Food Centre, and repairs and redecoration at Chong Boon Market and Food Centre. New fans, lights and toilets were installed.
As over 40 per cent of Cheng San-Seletar residents are aged 60 and above, four precincts in Chong Boon will be upgraded with senior friendly amenities such as sheltered linkways, ramps and drop off points. There will also be new and upgraded active ageing centres and seniors’ corners.
Ang Mo Kio remains the largest GRC with 161,235 electors even after a new Jalan Kayu SMC is carved out of the GRC. The new SMC takes in areas that are currently in Ms Ng Ling Ling’s Jalan Kayu ward, and also parts of Mr Gan Thiam Poh’s Fernvale.
Ang Mo Kio GRC is viewed as a PAP stronghold, with the team securing 71.9 per cent of valid votes in the 2020 General Election against a Reform Party (RP) team.
It is poised for a three-cornered fight in the upcoming polls with two opposition parties staking their claims on the ward.
On April 5, People’s Power Party (PPP) secretary-general Goh Meng Seng said the party will field a team in Ang Mo Kio GRC that will be headed by party treasurer William Lim, a 47-year-old who works as a limousine service provider. It has not announced the other members on the team.
The Singapore United Party (SUP) has also said it will contest Ang Mo Kio GRC. SUP secretary-general Andy Zhu and his team, who had contested Ang Mo Kio GRC at GE2020 under the RP banner, polled 28.09 per cent of the votes then.
Mr Zhu told reporters at a walkabout on April 10 that SUP and PPP have so far failed to reach a deal on which party should pull out to avert a three-cornered fight.
- Chin Soo Fang is senior correspondent at The Straits Times covering topics such as community, politics, social issues, consumer, culture and heritage.
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