Concerns about their rice bowl and Covid-19 are foremost on the minds of Singaporeans going into the general election, and politicians should focus on addressing these issues at the hustings, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said yesterday.

People also want to know what the plans are to prevent a new wave of Covid-19 infections and how to ensure the economy pulls through and can take off once the pandemic is over, he told The Straits Times in an interview.

"My own sense is what is important for the electorate now is how are we going to keep this Covid-19 situation under control and... make sure the economy pulls through?" he said.

"For the Government, another question is not just pulling through, but when the world pulls through, how are we placed to really soar ahead of everyone else?"

Mr Shanmugam said the pandemic has put countries around the world under tremendous strain, and has "the power and ability to break apart society".

"Every time there are these kinds of stressors, crazy politicians come to the fore and they will appeal in a very populist way, and they will try and seduce the population that the solution is very simple, and that they have the solution," he noted.

"And it's always got to do with identifying a different grouping - whether it's foreigners or whether it's a different race within the community, or a specific religion, or people of religious persuasion."

While this is already happening in some parts of the world, Singapore should remain determined not to take this path, he said.

"We handle race relations in a very different way, we integrate our societies, we don't allow ghettos to develop," he said. "We provide opportunities across all races, even though it doesn't mean there is no racism."

Fortunately, most Singaporeans take away "a salutary sort of understanding" from what has been happening in other places and support the Government's approach, which places a premium on civility, safety and security, the minister said.

"When you say, I want 500,000 Singaporeans to go on the streets to protest, I don't think many Singaporeans will agree with that."

Covid-19 has created a sober environment in which Singaporeans are thinking very seriously about the economy, "not as a conceptual entity but impacting on them directly - on their jobs, and their children's jobs", he said.

Singaporeans also want to know how the Government will balance reopening the economy with not creating a second wave of infections and overwhelming the country's healthcare capacity, he added.

"As PM (Lee Hsien Loong) said, we are at one of the hinges of history, and I think it behoves the politicians to really focus on this and deal with these issues during the election."

While the Government has put in place four Budgets to support people, Singaporeans know that alone will not help companies to survive, said Mr Shanmugam.

"Who can take them through this period? Who can make sure that companies survive? Who can make sure their jobs continue?

"These are critical questions for them and this is where our focus has been ever since Covid started," he said. "All of us (in the Government) are totally focused on this, and during the campaign, that is what voters will want to hear about."

Mr Shanmugam said the task at hand is to tell people honestly what the issues facing Singapore are, and propose the best solutions.

From speaking to residents, he found there is both "a quiet confidence and a determination" that Singapore can emerge from the pandemic in good shape. "Across all age groups, there is a certain quiet confidence, a trust that has been built up not over one month or three months or one year, but over a period of 60 years... through successive generations," he said.

"We have come through before, we will get through this, the Government knows what it's doing and we will work together," he said.

"With the two combined, and with the good leadership which listens to and works with the people, we will get through," he added.