PM Lee to deliver National Day Rally speech on Sunday

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will deliver his National Day Rally speech on Sunday evening at the Institute of Technical Education headquarters in Ang Mo Kio.

He will speak in Malay from 6.45pm, Mandarin from 7pm and English from 8pm, the Prime Minister's Office said yesterday.

The Rally is seen as the most important political speech of the year. It traditionally involves policy changes and a charting of Singapore's future direction.

In his National Day message on Aug 8, PM Lee highlighted how the geopolitical environment - including United States-China relations - could have implications for Singapore.

He also gave an indication of two other topics he may address in his Rally speech - economic challenges and long-term planning for economic progress and social resilience.

He said that although Singapore's economy has emerged strongly from the Covid-19 pandemic, the outlook has clouded considerably, with Russia's invasion of Ukraine aggravating supply chain disruptions and inflation.

He noted that, in response, the Government had announced multiple support packages, tightened the exchange rate policy and strengthened the Singapore dollar.

On long-term planning, PM Lee said it is also about investing in people to reach their full potential, taking care of the elderly and vulnerable, fostering a common identity and building a brighter future for the younger generation.

He said Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and the fourth-generation - or 4G - team have launched the Forward Singapore exercise to involve citizens in refreshing the social compact.

The National Day Rally will be broadcast on local television channels and radio stations, and live-streamed on the Prime Minister's Office's YouTube channel as well as the Facebook pages of PM Lee and government feedback unit Reach.

The Straits Times will live-stream the Rally on its website, Facebook page and YouTube channel. Follow live coverage on the website and get updates on the live blog.