Tharman Shanmugaratnam approves Budget, says SG is ‘lucky’ to be prepared for future challenges

SINGAPORE: President Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced in a March 19 (Thursday) Facebook post that he has given the approval for this year’s national Budget and noted that, even as Singapore deals with current pressing problems, such as high living costs, it must also keep an eye on the future, foreseeing both the opportunities and problems that may lie ahead.

He added that “the only way to stay optimistic” is “by being prepared for things going wrong”, adding that this matters more than ever.

Like many of Singapore’s top officials, he underlined the challenges across the globe, warning, “Economic and geopolitical disruptions must now be expected in a world of growing disorder.”

As for public health, the President said that while Singaporeans may want to forget the COVID-19 pandemic, the next pandemic might occur sooner than expected. Moreover, he wrote that scientists have said the next widespread outbreak may wreak even more havoc than COVID-19 did.

However, Mr Tharman sounded the loudest alarm bells concerning climate change, which he underlined is reaching unprecedented “tipping points” that, when crossed, would be harder to mitigate. These will bring on more severe weather, higher sea levels, and a faster loss of biodiversity.

“We don’t need to overthink this. We are basically lucky to be prepared. Singapore’s whole approach to government budgets over many years, and the rules that safeguard the reserves that have been built up, may have appeared conservative to many observers as recently as two decades ago. It is now a lifeline to a future of growing insecurity everywhere,” he wrote.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong rolled out the Budget on Feb 18, and it was passed in Parliament on March 10. At S$143 billion, the 2025 Budget is the largest in Singapore’s history.

In his speech, PM Wong acknowledged that many Singaporeans face higher living costs and assured that the government will provide additional support “as long as it’s needed… within our means”.

Mr Wong said the Singapore economy performed beyond expectations in 2024 and grew by 4.4%. However, he noted that the sobering reality is that Singaporeans are still dealing with higher prices of goods largely due to global events and inflation is expected to range from 1.5% to 2.5%.

“Budget 2025 is for all Singaporeans, shaped together with all Singaporeans. We will work with you to tackle cost pressures, advance our growth frontier, equip workers throughout life, build a sustainable city, nurture a caring and inclusive society, and rally as one united people,” he added. /TISG

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