Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam spoke at an Academy of Medicine event, following PM Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally last Sunday.

DPM Tharman set out the government's new way forward in its approach to nation-building. He highlighted five priorities for a fair and just society, so that policies are good for the generations ahead.

Here are 3 key points of his speech:

1. Government to play a more active role in redistribution: It will preserve and build on a progressive system of taxes and benefits. But the key question is the form of redistribution that will ensure a fair society without reducing its dynamism.

2. Income inequality in Singapore: Inequality has always been high since the 1980s. The Gini ratio, a method of measuring inequality, was already 0.44 in 1980. Income inequality here is exacerbated by S'pore being a hub economy; an increase in standards of living for most of the population; and the transformation in educational standards that resulted in a divide between the younger more educated workforce and the older less educated workers.

3. Five priorities for a fair and just Singapore in future:

1) Target subsidies at those who need them the most, instead of committing to benefits for all.

2) Design spending & subsidies in ways that reinforce individual effort and responsibility for the family: values that keep our society strong.

3) Government to find ways to catalyse and support community initiative for a fair and just society.

4) Maintain a progressive system of taxes and benefits.

5) Allow people access to quality living in public spaces; Provide

opportunities for life-long learning; Inculcate a workplace culture that treats all employees with respect; Allow Singaporeans to pursue causes which lead to a better society.

Full Speech on Ministry of Finance website

Speech By DPM Tharman Shanmugaratnam on a Fair and Just Society