Singapore — President Halimah Yacob sounded an upbeat note in her year-end message, which she shared on Facebook on Wednesday (Dec 29).
While acknowledging the “great uncertainty” all face, especially with the Omicron variant, she underlined that there are reasons to “look forward to 2022 with optimism,” as not all is “gloom and doom.”
“As 2021 draws to a close, we can look back with satisfaction on the work done,” including the management of financial resources,” President Halimah said.
“We did not have to borrow in order to help our people and businesses. In this way, we do not saddle our future generations with a debt burden, the situation faced by many countries,” she observed.
She also highlighted the country’s vaccination rate, one of the highest in the world – vaccination against Covid-19 is now being offered to children as young as five – and she praised the solidarity that Singaporeans have shown.
Madam Halimah also noted: “Businesses and individuals have been affected by the pandemic, and we have learnt to adapt quickly to new restrictions.
Later in her speech, she also cautioned: “We should expect that there will be significant spread of the coronavirus, including new variants, and be prepared to deal with it.”
However, many netizens commenting on her speech seemed less than optimistic, especially with what is perceived to be a flip-flop in the country’s reopening.
“Why are our lives still being restricted by all those measurements?” asked one commenter.
“Stick to the opening plan and quit with the unnecessary drama,” wrote another, who asked for the sale of VTL tickets to be resumed.
Others seemed unconvinced that the situation is improving.
One commenter appealed to Madam Halimah to “please talk to the various heads and task forces directly about a clear national plan to return to normalcy”.
/TISG
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