SINGAPORE - No amount of stockpiling or diversifying of supplies can protect Singapore from unexpected external shocks if its residents do not keep calm and carry on, said Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat.
He made this point on Wednesday (March 4) in response to Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson) and Workers' Party Non-Constitutency MP Leon Perera.
Ms Tin asked about the resilience of Singapore's economy and supply chain in the light of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, while Mr Perera wanted to know if the Government has considered manufacturing critical necessities like medical disposables as part of economic defence.
Mr Chee said the Government retains "some domestic supply of critical necessities to mitigate any overseas supply disruptions".
For example, Singapore stockpiles rice, personal protective equipment and pharmaceuticals during peacetime.
The country also has local manufacturing capabilities for items such as noodles and masks, he noted.
But "if there is panic buying, no amount of stockpile will be enough", he added, reiterating a point made by other political leaders after some residents cleared supermarket shelves of supplies when Singapore raised its disease outbreak response to orange.
Mr Chee also said it is important for Singapore to continue with its key strategy of economic diversification, to mitigate the risks that come with an increasingly globalised world.
Singapore has kept its manufacturing sector at one-fifth of the economy and developed a range of clusters within the sector, he added.
"We have also kept our services sector diversified, growing modern services like information and communications alongside trade-related ones like wholesale trade."
That is why other sectors such as construction and information and communications are projected to grow and support the overall economy, he said, even as the Covid-19 outbreak batters the tourism and transport sectors.
"When something happens in one of the major economies... there will definitely be an impact on Singapore," he said.
But having a sufficiently diversified set of supply sources and markets will help the country "ride through these ups and downs in a more robust and resilient manner", he added.
Correction note: An earlier version of the article used the word "deliberately" when Mr Chee did not use it in his speech in Parliament about keeping Singapore's manufacturing sector at one-fifth of the economy. We are sorry for the error.
