SINGAPORE: Although the rollout of the national Budget is still some weeks away, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong already touched on it on Tuesday (Jan 27). He said in a video that he and other officials who are crafting the Budget have been engaging Singaporeans from all walks of life in the past few months to talk about it.
“We’ve heard your aspirations and also your concerns about the uncertain external environment, the impact of technology and AI on jobs, and also on cost pressures that you face. We will take in your feedback and views as we put together this year‘s Budget. I look forward to sharing our plans with you very soon,” said PM Wong.
He captioned his video with, “We’ve heard you. Your voices shape #SGBudget2026.”
@lawrencewongst We’ve heard you. Your voices shape #SGBudget2026 @Ministry of Finance
His video featured different officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who is also Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry; Second Minister of Finance Indranee Rajah; acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow, among others.
Budget Statement
On Dec 29, the Finance Ministry announced that the Prime Minister, who is also the Minister for Finance, would deliver the Budget Statement on Feb 12.
The rollout will be broadcast live on radio and tv, and will also be available for live streaming on the Singapore Budget website. After the statement is delivered, it will be published on the site as well.
“For real-time updates of key Budget announcements, the public can follow the Ministry of Finance (MOF)’s Facebook (www.facebook.com/MOFsg), Instagram (www.instagram.com/mof_sg), WhatsApp channel (go.gov.sg/mofwhatsapp), LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/company/mofsingapore) and X account (www.x.com/MOFsg),” MOF added.
What netizens are saying
Singaporeans had been given a chance to share their suggestions and views for the Budget through various feedback channels until Jan 12.
There were also opportunities through activities held by REACH, the Singapore Government’s feedback and engagement unit, as well as the People’s Association, earlier this month.
On PM Wong’s social media accounts, where the video had been posted, some continued to voice their concerns, including one who wrote, “Hope that your budgets could help the lower and middle classes again, it could offset some of the costs incurred daily, same for businesses too, the rental price of the dormitories is a bit too high.”
“Could you consider a Silver Scheme for the elderly staying in a 5-room flat too?” another asked.
A third said they hoped persons with disabilities would receive more benefits and help, while another brought up jobs, especially for the youth.
Of late, there appear to be some who have felt that cost-of-living concerns have taken a back seat to politics.
Earlier this month, a local Reddit user weighed in on the issues discussed in Parliament, saying that they felt these were “really divorced from bread-and-butter issues.”
Another opined that the debate about Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh, who had been removed from his position as Leader of the Opposition, had been “a massive waste of time and energy which could have been spent debating issues like public transport, cost of living, employment crisis, etc.” /TISG
Read also: Netizens say cost-of-living concerns are taking a back seat to politics
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