SINGAPORE, Nov 8 — With the General Election (GE) done and dusted, the People’s Action Party (PAP) Government needs to focus on the dual tasks of keeping Singapore safe from Covid-19 and getting its economy back on track, said its secretary-general Lee Hsien Loong.

Speaking at the party’s 36th ordinary conference today, Lee, who is also Prime Minister, said that the PAP has to rally Singapore together to overcome its most serious challenge since independence.

"This is what Singaporeans elected the PAP to do, and what we will be judged by in the next election. We have to deliver competent government and ensure that the substance of our policies is in order,” he said.

PAP’s ordinary party convention comes almost four months after GE2020 was held amid the Covid-19 pandemic, where PAP won 61 per cent of the popular vote and lost the newly formed Sengkang Group Representation Constituency to the opposition Workers’ Party.

Covid-19 pandemic

On the pandemic, Lee said that the task now is to keep the situation stable and reach a state that would allow for more opening up of the economy.

"We cannot simply relax the current restrictions and hope that Covid-19 cases remain low. The more we open up and resume normal activities, the more likely it is that we will have more new cases… Hence, we have to keep up and refine our safe distancing measures,” he said.

Processes and safeguards will also have to be improved to minimise the danger of major outbreaks.

The Government has been trying to improve its testing and contact tracing capabilities, such as developing test kits and improving the TraceTogether application, said Lee.

This is so that Singapore will be able to progress to Phase Three of its reopening without suffering a second wave of infections.

He said managing the pandemic and keeping the economy is a delicate balancing act, as seen in other countries which are going through a second wave of infections after opening up.

But citizens in those countries have become tired and cynical over plans for a second lockdown. This has caused people to turn against their governments and blame them for the bad outcomes.

Hence, Lee said that Covid-19 is not just a public health problem, but also a political one.

"It takes political leadership to convince people that we need to keep the measures in place, especially when case numbers are low. We still need the measures because without the measures your case numbers would not be low. The danger is not very far away and can pop in and pop up anytime,” he said.

Getting economy on track

Lee said the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is another major political challenge.

While there have been various schemes put in place since the crisis started, he said that the Government cannot save every job and every business.

What is more important is to create more jobs by revitalising the economy.

One major concern arising out of the pandemic is how it affects low-income households disproportionately.

"This would undo the years of progress we have made levelling up low-wage workers, building social cohesion and the sense of hope that in Singapore you may start off poor, but if you work hard and do your best, you have a good chance of doing better in life,” he said.

Lee added that the Government will pay special attention to lower-income households and tackle inequality in Singapore.

"This is fundamental to the PAP’s raison d’être, it’s the purpose of our existence as a party. We began as the party of workers and unions, striving for the uplift of all our people, especially the most vulnerable among us,” he said.

Another worry Singaporeans have is competition from foreign workers, said Lee.

As the Government said it will assure Singaporean workers are treated fairly compared with foreign workers, Lee said it also has to convince them that the best way to help workers keep their jobs is to keep Singapore open for talent and business. — TODAY