Singapore Government Press Release
Media Division, Ministry of Information and The Arts,
MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2^nd Storey, Singapore 179369
Tel: 837-9666

My Parliamentary colleague Dr Ho Tat Kin

Grassroots leaders

Residents

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am happy to be here with you tonight to celebrate the completion of the Main Upgrading Programme (MUP) for Kim Keat Ville. I am sure all the residents of the upgraded blocks in Kim Keat Ville are proud of their upgraded precinct.

The MUP was started some 10 years ago to systematically upgrade older HDB estates. Through this programme, Singaporeans living in the older estates will enjoy a better quality of housing at only a small cost to them. It improves the beauty of your living environment and increases the value of your home. For many of you, it also means being able to enjoy better facilities without having to move away from your friends and familiar surroundings.

The housing upgrading programme is one way the Government shares the wealth of the country with its citizens. We have prospered because of our strong fundamentals – clean and honest government, sound economic policies and the social cohesion in multiracial Singapore. We must strengthen these essential characteristics to see us through the challenging times ahead of us.

As a small country, we are vulnerable to the external environment. Once again, we are seeing dark clouds on the economic horizon because of the slowdown in the US economy. Our economic growth forecast for this year has been revised downwards to between 3.5 and 5.5 per cent. The final outcome will depend on how soon and how strongly the US economy rebounds. If it recovers in the second half of this year, it should be good news for us. If the US economy slides down further against expectations, we need to brace ourselves for more unemployment and reduced earnings.

Without having to worry about the state of the US economy, we are already facing intense competition from the countries around us for foreign investments and trade. Many of these countries including China, India and Vietnam are attractive to foreign investors because of their low wages and big markets. Besides its comparative advantage in labour-intensive goods, China is also producing more technological and capita-intensive goods for the world market. For example, its share of the US electronics market jumped from 2% in 1990 to almost 10% in 2000. Once China is in the WTO, it will pose an even greater challenge to Singapore and the ASEAN economies.

What do we do in the face of this economic uncertainty? First and foremost, we must stay united as Singaporeans. Our experience in the past economic difficulties shows that so long as we remain united and cohesive, we can overcome any temporary setback and emerge better positioned to prosper again. We were able to recover quickly because Singaporeans co-operated fully with the government in making the necessary sacrifices to overcome any economic crisis.

Our workers must also cultivate the ability to adapt to the highly competitive and changing economic environment. They must embrace the new mindset of life-long learning and take on the responsibility of upgrading their skills to remain relevant and employable. We will have a better chance to stay ahead of the competition if we keep on improving the capabilities of our workforce.

Finally, I would like to thank the RC Chairman and members for their hard work and assistance during the upgrading exercise. I also congratulate the residents of Kim Keat Ville for owning new and better homes within their MUP. I wish all of you an enjoyable evening.

__________________________