LOWERING the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is not a viable way to spur demand in the economy, said Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Thursday.

In his Budget round-up speech to Parliament, he rebuffed calls from MPs for a 2 per cent cut in the GST.

THE elected presidency - the so-called 'second key' to the country's reserves - came under intense scrutiny on Thursday as MPs quizzed the Finance Minister on the finer details of the first-ever dip into the kitty.

The draw on the reserves announced in the Budget Statement was a continual topic throughout the three-day debate, but Thurday's session threw up the most pointed questions.

THE Government, which is tapping its past reserves for the first time to fight Singapore's worst recession, cannot rule out a further drawdown in the event of another exceptional situation, said Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Thursday.

'In that scenario, the onus will once again be on the Government to justify its case to the President and the Council of Presidential Advisors to seek Parliament's approval... and to explain to the public its reasons for doing so,' he said when rounding up the debate on the Budget statement in Parliament.

SINGAPORE will be the first country in Asia to get the Google phone.

Telco SingTel announced on Thursday that the cellphone, known as the HTC Dream, will be available 'soon'.

There were no further details on pricing or when exactly the phone would be available to buy.