[SINGAPORE] The impact of US tariffs may last for years, with multinational companies telling Singapore’s government that they may have to consider whether to stay or return to the United States, warned Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Thursday (Apr 24) night.
In such a crisis, Singapore needs a good team, he said at the first People’s Action Party (PAP) rally ahead of the May 3 general election.
These companies are in semiconductors and pharmaceuticals – industries where US President Donald Trump has threatened further tariffs, he noted.
“If this happens, the impact will be huge on our economy,” he told the Woodlands Stadium crowd in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, where he is defending his turf. Such companies are a big part of the economy and hire many Singaporeans, he added.
Though opposition politicians have accused the PAP of exaggerating and fearmongering, the threat is real, he said.
“You just speak to any business in Singapore – they are very worried,” he said. “Even those that are not directly exposed are very worried because the rules keep on changing.”
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The growing US-China tensions are another concern, noted PM Wong. If Singapore is forced to choose between hosting US or Chinese high-tech firms, the consequences will be “disastrous for everyone”.
He questioned whether other political parties are truly looking out for voters’ well-being when they downplay the crisis.
Voting for stability
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, who was a guest speaker at the rally, criticised opposition parties for accusing the PAP of scaremongering, even as they call for more health and housing subsidies, alongside higher wealth taxes.
“Just imagine that after the GE, the opposition takes over the government and all these proposals become realities… What would it do to Singapore’s standing?” he asked. “Will people still see Singapore as a prudent, responsible government – or will they think Singapore has gone crazy, turned populist and spendthrift?”
Ong, who faces a three-cornered fight in Sembawang GRC, said this happened in the UK some years ago under former prime minister Liz Truss. Investors “dumped the British pound” because they deemed her policies reckless.
“The PAP government takes this looming crisis seriously – several of the 4G (fourth-generation) ministers who have tackled crises before, we know what to do,” he said, outlining how he and his colleagues tackled the Covid-19 pandemic five years ago.
“Vote to ensure that Singapore remains safe and stable, even if the world is in turmoil,” he added.
A good team for a crisis
In his speech, PM Wong promised to continue to manage Singapore’s economy well and harness its resources effectively to stay ahead of changes.
To do this, he needs a good team, he said. “They say that government is about teamwork, and it is, but the individuals in the team do matter greatly.”
He lauded key ministers, including “right-hand man” Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong; Ong; Education Minister Chan Chun Sing; and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng.
He also paid tribute to retiring politicians Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean and DPM Heng Swee Keat, adding: “We owe them a big debt of gratitude for all that they have done for Singapore.”
Yet, he had to let them step down to make way for new people to rejuvenate the team, he added.
PM Wong highlighted former chief of army David Neo, a candidate for hotly contested Tampines GRC, and East Coast GRC candidate Dinesh Vasu Dash, who oversaw Singapore’s vaccination operations during the pandemic.
“They will help strengthen the PAP team significantly,” he said. If elected, they have the potential to be “more than backbenchers” and take on roles in government.
Uphold multiracial politics
PM Wong urged voters to remember that after the general election, the real contest is not the PAP versus the opposition. “It is Singapore versus the world.”
External forces will pull society in different directions, with differing views on global developments such as the wars in Europe and the Middle East.
“Under normal circumstances, we can discuss them and we can forge a national consensus, but in the heat of an election campaign, it is easy for issues to get stirred up,” he said.
“If we are not careful, this can be exploited, and we will end up pitting Singaporeans one against another. We will end up dividing and weakening us.”
He called on all political parties to always “uphold multiracial politics” and “not inflame sensitive issues”.
“Don’t use domestic politics to divide Singaporeans,” he said. “There must be unity because whatever our differences, at the end of the day, we are all Singaporeans.”
The same point was made earlier in the evening by fellow Marsiling-Yew Tee candidate Zaqy Mohamad, senior minister of state for defence and manpower.
What keeps him up at night, he said, is seeing how politics has become a source of division across the world. With differing views on LGBT rights, abortion and the Gaza war, “families and friendships are torn apart just because of politics”.
“As politicians, we too face personal conflicts, where we have to put national interests first ahead of our own personal grievances and faith – but we must never allow politics to feed into this, to create division among our people,” he said.
He was among eight speakers, including Sembawang West SMC candidate Poh Li San, who is up against Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) secretary-general Chee Soon Juan.
Encouraging voters to back Poh, Ong stressed that though the single-seat ward was carved out for this election, it remains part of the “Sembawang family”.
SDP’s Dr Chee “needs to give a better explanation (on) why he abandoned Bukit Batok to come to Sembawang West”, he added.
Dr Chee contested the former Bukit Batok SMC in the 2016 by-election and the 2020 General Election, before the seat became part of Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC this election.
Ong said that when the new boundaries were released, Dr Chee told Bukit Batok residents that he was “not going anywhere” – yet eventually left.
“To be fair, there is nothing wrong with making a calculated political move and switching constituencies,” said Ong. “It happens in politics. But be upfront with voters.”
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