President Tharman approves record Budget, says S'pore must keep looking far ahead

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam has approved 2025's bumper Budget, he said in a Facebook post on March 19.

- Sue-Ann Tan

The record $143.1 billion spending plan is the last Budget of the current term of government.

The President added: "A habit we must never lose in Singapore: looking far ahead. So even as we deal with today's problems like the cost of living, we also protect ourselves against future problems - and build opportunities for Singaporeans to do well, come what may."

In fact, he said, the only way to stay optimistic is to be prepared for things going wrong.

This matters more than ever before, he added in his post.

"Economic and geopolitical disruptions must now be expected, in a world of growing disorder," he said.

President Tharman also warned that the next pandemic might "come sooner than we hope".