S'pore Way To Fight Rising Cost Of Living Works: PM

Source : The Straits Times, Nov 12, 2007

THE cost of living is rising, and the Government is helping Singaporeans cope with it, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday.

While many people elsewhere would look to their governments to keep prices low, Singapore's approach is different, and Mr Lee believes it is one that works.

Its aim is to get the basics right - housing, jobs and affordable necessities.

'We help, we do a lot, but we don't help by keeping the prices individually controlled,' he said at a dialogue at the People's Action Party (PAP) annual convention. 'We help by making sure that the low income are able to pay for their necessities, able to earn a living, able to have a roof over their heads.'

While Singapore has gone through years with a stable cost of living and very low inflation, he acknowledged it might be tough to maintain such stability going forward.

Prices of flour, food, energy and even chicken are going up, and people are understandably worried, he said.

Following a jump in flour prices, bread prices here went up by up to 20 per cent, and noodles increased by 20 cents to 30 cents per kilogramme.

While there are calls on the Government to control prices, he said, Singapore will not head the way of countries such as Malaysia, China and India by keeping fuel and electricity prices down.

Instead, the Government helps the people with subsidies in education and HDB flats, through the Workfare Income Supplement scheme and periodic CPF top-ups when there are Budget surpluses.

'So, with the house, the HDB flat which we help you to buy... nearly everybody has a home, which is a big relief. So when rentals go up, you are not affected because you have your house, and you have something for your old age to retire by,' he said in response to concerns raised by a cadre on the rising cost of living.

There is also Workfare, he added, which sees the Government topping up the wages of low-income workers.

For example, those who earn $1,000 a month would get $1,000 plus of 'hongbao' from the Government a year in cash, CPF and Medisave, and this goes on continually.

But while these policies are important and helpful to the people, he believed the Government can do a better job in explaining them to Singaporeans.

He said that while the fine print of policies can be complicated, the principle behind them is not.

'The principle is to help yourself - you work, the Government will help you. But you must make the effort, and that is how Singapore will succeed. That is how you will succeed,' he said.

'And I think that is an approach that has worked for the economy, for the country, and we must keep that.'

Mr Lee was on a nine-member panel in the 90-minute dialogue at the meeting for cadres to speak on issues and challenges the party has to tackle.

Flanked by PAP chairman Lim Boon Heng, five MPs and a pair of activists, the PM tackled concerns that centred on the convention's catchy theme, 'Young and old, high and low', which refers to Singapore's ageing society and the growing income gap.

Mr Lee noted that Singapore's approach to battle the wealth divide has attracted the attention of other countries.

Referring to his recent interview with Chosun Ilbo, he said the South Korean top daily printed almost everything he said and displayed it over two pages.

Major newspapers and magazines in the West such as the Economist have also written about Singapore's changes, he said.

Urging the party to continue to serve Singaporeans so that it can win their support, he said: 'You are wearing white because it is a symbol that you care...and you are not just sitting there and letting somebody else take charge of the train.'