After controversy surrounding his ruling party, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong pledged to assist residents in adjusting to homeownership and retirement.
Lee stated in his yearly policy speech on Sunday night that the city-state’s political succession plans are also back on track following the epidemic and that recent controversies won’t derail them. Only a few lines of the premier’s hour-long speech in English were devoted to discussing the “controversial issues.”
Let me promise you that my timetable for renewal won’t be affected by these situations, said 71-year-old Lee.
He said, alluding to the so-called fourth generation of leaders, “More and more, my duty is to assist the 4G team and their agenda. “I want to start them off as successfully as I can.”
As Lee gets ready to hand the reins to new leaders, a string of scandals, including a corruption investigation involving a minister and the resignation of two parliamentarians due to an affair, are putting Singapore’s reputation for good governance to the test.
Voters are struggling with rising living expenses and worries about widening inequality. Resale prices for public housing are consistently breaking records and frequently selling for more than $1 million ($740,000).
In order to increase retirement savings for people 50 and older, Lee also announced a S$7 billion pension fund top-up, which will include contributions to cover medical costs and insurance fees.
The assistance will be available to about 1.4 million Singaporeans, primarily those with lower salaries and less wealth.
He came up with the term “young seniors” to describe people in their 50s and early 60s who are in a sandwiched stage of life and are often responsible for both their parents and their children.
The young seniors, according to Lee, “know that retirement is creeping up on you beyond the daily cost of living pressures.” You won’t be forgotten, I promise.
Additionally, he promised to maintain public housing costs at an acceptable level by offering additional grants, creating new flat categories with more alternatives for singles, and tightening regulations to create a more egalitarian system.
According to Christine Sun of the real estate consulting firm OrangeTee & Tie, “The change will reinforce the message that public housing is primarily meant to serve as a home for the long term and not to be used for speculative investments or treated as short-term assets.”
Addressing housing prices is essential for Singapore’s ruling party to avoid it becoming a major electoral issue in the 2025 general election.
Rising housing prices, fueled by an infusion of foreign cash into Singapore as the world’s wealthiest seek refuge in the city-state, are raising concerns.
The new policies are added to existing ones, such as boosting the private property taxes that mostly affect foreign buyers.
A home has always meant more to Lee and her family than just a roof over their heads. To fit any budget, there will always be a HDB flat, he continued, referring to the houses constructed by the Housing & Development Board.
With the prime minister referring to it as a “temporary safety net,” authorities also intend to provide financial assistance to laid-off individuals who are in the process of improving their skills to secure future employment.
Lee also issued a warning about volatile geopolitical tensions and a collapsing international economic order. While the impact of extreme weather on food production and prices hasn’t been fully felt in Singapore, “it is coming,” he said.
According to Lee, Singapore is maintaining its economic momentum and will hopefully escape a recession.
In an increasingly unstable environment, “our nation must navigate carefully,” he warned. “There is no pre-written playbook or sample response.”
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