SINGAPORE - A road map towards a more equitable and thriving Singapore has been put forth by the fourth-generation (4G) leadership, fleshing out the moves the Republic will make in the coming years to stay cohesive amid a time of change.
These include a greater helping hand for groups such as the less well-off, mid-career workers and seniors, through means such as additional financial support and improved infrastructure.
And there will be more done to ensure that Singaporeans’ basic needs at every life stage will be met, such as in education, retirement, healthcare and housing.
These moves come as Singapore has reached a key inflection point where there will be more disruptions, workplace churn and impact on people’s lives, and the Government recognises that more must be done to provide assurance for the people, said Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at a press conference to launch the Forward Singapore report.
The 180-page report unveiled on Friday also articulated the mindset shifts required for Singapore to achieve the goals set out, such as for wider definitions of success and a stronger sense of collective responsibility towards one another.
“It will not be possible for the Government alone to do everything through policy changes, nor is it possible for any individual to succeed on his or her own efforts alone,” DPM Wong said later at the launch of the Forward Singapore Festival, where the public can learn more about the report’s initiatives.
Instead, it will be up to everyone, including employers, community groups, families and individuals, to keep the Singapore miracle going, he added.
The report caps off a nationwide engagement exercise headed by Mr Wong that has involved more than 200,000 Singaporeans since it kicked off in June 2022.
The exercise sought to refresh Singapore’s social compact – the glue that holds society together – given the challenges facing the island, which range from a more fraught external environment to a rapidly ageing population to greater job insecurity due to rapid technological change.
One key move the 4G team intends to make to take the country forward is to create more opportunities for all Singaporeans to chart their own paths in life. This includes increasing salaries and respect for a wider range of vocations, better social support for those who face career hurdles, and nudging those who succeed to give back to society.
On the jobs and education front, the report unveiled plans to provide a “substantial top-up” of SkillsFuture Credit, as well as a “significant package” to help mature and mid-career workers reskill and upskill.
Institute of Technical Education graduates will get support to upgrade their skills early in their work life to close wage gaps, while more will be done to recognise those in jobs involving “hands” or “heart”, such as electricians and nurses.
“If society is more supportive of individuals pursuing these careers, we can create a virtuous cycle, where society in turn benefits from better and more reliable services,” it said.
Among efforts to help ageing seniors is the nationwide expansion of a pilot announced in March that will result in wider footpaths and longer green-man timings at traffic crossings.
There will be more senior care centres and home care options, and by 2025, eight in 10 seniors should have access to active ageing centre activities near their homes under the Age Well SG programme.
Programmes that support retirement adequacy for those with lower incomes, such as the Silver Support Scheme and the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme, will be updated.
Young parents will also get more help, as the report recognised a need to better support families.
This includes a commitment to studying the feasibility of increasing paid parental leave, and to increase centre-based infantcare places by 70 per cent – or 9,000 spots – by 2030.
On the timeline to implement these changes, Mr Wong said the 4G team will prioritise issues that are more salient and of greater concern for Singaporeans. For instance, policy shifts have already been made or announced in the areas of housing and retirement. These include changing the housing classification system to the Standard, Plus and Prime model, and the $7 billion Majulah Package to help citizens aged 50 and over, that were announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the National Day Rally in August.
Other items, where specific recommendations have been set out, will be implemented in Budget 2024 and over the coming year, said Mr Wong.
Also at the press conference on Friday were other ministers including Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, and Social and Family Development Minister Masagos Zulkifli.
The Forward Singapore report took in people’s ideas for the country’s future, which were contributed at 275 dialogue sessions, as well as through surveys and roadshows. It noted that one topic that constantly emerged at discussions was how the idea of a “good life” had evolved, especially among the younger generation who desire meaning and purpose in life, besides a good salary. The Singapore Dream, which used to be measured by the five Cs of condominium, car, cash, credit card and country club, had fallen out of favour, but there was still a tendency for society to measure success by old yardsticks such as the size of one’s pay cheque or home, the report noted.
Mr Wong said Singaporeans today still want a good life, but it is clear from the engagements that the Singapore Dream has evolved to be about more than just material success. “It’s also about fulfilment, meaning, and purpose in what we do,” he said.
“That’s why I firmly believe the refreshed Singapore Dream is less about I, me, and mine; it’s more about we, us, and ours. It’s recognising that we are not left to fend for ourselves; but that we are all in this together.”
Besides encouraging Singaporeans to tap the range of existing programmes to give back to society, a new Singapore Government Partnerships Office will be set up for agencies to work more closely with citizens.
In sum, the report represents a vision to guide the next bound of development for the Republic, where various groups come together to build a better Singapore, it said.
Mr Wong said: “We have a full agenda ahead of us, and we look forward to working with all Singaporeans to write our next chapter of the Singapore Story,” he said.
