Stronger in a 'win-lose' world

Talking about the Johor-Singapore SEZ. In Johor, companies can go there, they can have favourable terms and Singapore companies can prosper.

- 

Malaysian business will benefit, Malaysia will benefit, and foreign companies can be there and be in Singapore and therefore they also can benefit. And in the process, Singapore and Malaysia, we work closer together, that is good.

When that happened, there were reports in the Indonesian newspapers to say, "Well, Singapore and Malaysia are doing an SEZ, what is Singapore doing with Indonesia?" And the answer is, we are doing things with Indonesia but I think there is a certain amount of competition, because they see us as being able to add value. And I hope that with this pressure within Asean, we will do more.

So internationally, globally, with WTO - try and keep the system intact. Big partners between trading groups can come together and form bigger blocs. Within Asean, try to make Asean stronger, more relevant. And Singapore, we are small, but our trade is not small. I think we have some contribution to make.

SINGAPORE'S RESPONSE DOMESTIC We have to respond to the new situation domestically. And I will say it in three ways. First in terms of practical support, second in terms of psychological preparation and third, politically.

In terms of practical support, we need to help households, we need to help businesses, and we need to keep the economy growing. Typical households this year would be getting around $4,000 in various forms of assistance. We are helping workers who are displaced, for example with the Jobseeker Support Scheme. Overall, I would say the Budget package we have is enough for now, but if the situation gets a lot worse, we will do more and I can assure you, we are able to do more.

We have to help the businesses, too. We have set up the Economic Resilience Taskforce under DPM Gan Kim Yong in order to navigate the uncertainties; and to help businesses transform themselves. So it is not just to deal with immediate problems, it is also to deal with the longer term.