Economic transition critical for S'pore: Lim Swee Say
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SINGAPORE: As Singapore celebrates its 50th birthday, the journey ahead looks set to get harder, making the economic transition that the Government has embarked on critical for the Republic, said Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say on Tuesday (Aug 4).
Speaking at his ministry’s National Day Observance Ceremony held at the Lifelong Learning Institute, Mr Lim reiterated that Singapore - as an economy with a small and limited domestic market - will be affected more than other nations, with greater volatility and growing uncertainty in the global economy.
“As we progress up the global economic ladder, we will have to compete more and more with countries and cities that are bigger, stronger and hungrier than us for good investments and good jobs,” he said. “That is why the economic transition we are going through is so important.”
To stay ahead of the curve, the Republic has to step up its productivity so as to reduce reliance on manpower, with a stronger Singaporean core and better quality of foreign manpower, added Mr Lim.
While acknowledging that the Republic is in a better position than most other countries, Mr Lim cautioned: “The more we have today, the more we stand to lose tomorrow if we are not good enough and fast enough.”
Pointing out that the role of tripartism is an important one as Singapore readies itself for the future, he called upon partners at the national and sectoral levels to work in tandem to ensure that Singapore tripartisim will remain the nation’s biggest asset.
-TODAY/xk
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