PM Lee's 15th National Day Rally in 2018 lays down road map for next GE

Last GE was held four years after 2011. Next one due by 2021.

Martino Tan | August 20, 2018, 02:32 AM

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong delivered his 15th National Day Rally speech on Aug. 19, 2018.

His father, the late Lee Kuan Yew and first prime minister of Singapore, delivered 25 NDRs in total, while second prime minister Goh Chok Tong managed 13 of them.

In his foreword for National Day Rally Speeches: 50 years of Nationhood in Singapore (2017), PM Lee said that NDR is the most important speech in his annual calendar.

"It is the one occasion that the Prime Minister addresses the nation directly, and where, as a nation, in the words of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, we 'take stock of what we have achieved or failed to achieve in the past year, and define and chart out the course that we must take in the year ahead'."

Bread and butter issues addressed

And it appears that PM Lee has tackled Singaporeans' bread and butter concerns early in preparation for the next General Election future.

Granted, PM Lee only mentioned "General Election" once, in the context of Singapore today, at the end of his NDR:

"These schemes will stretch over 50 years and more. Several generations, and many General Elections."

Despite much speculation about leadership succession in the early part of the year, PM Lee has heeded Singaporeans' concerns by addressing cost of living issues, such as healthcare and housing instead.

In fact, PM Lee's plans to improve healthcare and public housing are huge and long-lasting initiatives that would require popular support from Singaporeans.

He added that the plans are "ambitious endeavours, and will require large expenditures".

How the bread and butter issues are addressed

Healthcare

In terms of healthcare, PM Lee will expand the scope of the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS), the reach of healthcare amenities, and the type of financial support for long-term care (Careshield Life).

CHAS will be extended to Singaporeans with chronic conditions, regardless of income.

CHAS is a scheme that entitles cardholders to generous subsidies, but is currently restricted to lower income Singaporeans (monthly income of S$1,800 and below).

There will be more healthcare facilities in the heartlands by 2023.

In the past year, new polyclinics and medical centres have opened in places such as Punggol, Kampung Admiralty and Ang Mo Kio.

There will be more polyclinics, with four opening in Sembawang, Eunos, Kallang and Bukit Panjang by 2020 and two more by 2023 in Nee Soon Central and Tampines North.

Housing

PM Lee addressed the hot-button HDB 99-year lease issue and explained the justifications for leases to expire.

This is because the government has to redevelop the land, and build new flats for future generations.

This is the only way to recycle the land and ensure that all descendants can buy new BTO flats of their own.

If flats are sold without a lease, the owners would pass their flats down to some of their descendants, many generations into the future.

But those not lucky enough to inherit a property would get nothing.

Importantly, PM Lee launched new housing initiatives, such as Home Improvement Programme (HIP) II and Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS).

With HIP and HIP II, this means that every HDB flat can expect to be upgraded twice during their 99-year lease.

HIP II will cost more than the first HIP, and will help keep the flats safe and liveable when they are 60 to 70 years old.

VERS will allow residents to vote whether the government will buy back all the flats and redevelop the precinct, with residents using their proceeds to help pay for another flat.

VERS will occur from the flat's 70th year onwards.

In other words, a Singaporean would have to consider how his/ her vote would affect the impact of his/ her flat's milestones:

30 birthday: First HDB upgrading;

60th birthday: HIP II;

70th birthday: VERS

Healthcare help for Merdeka Generation

PM Lee said that there are 500,000 individuals from the Merdeka Generation today -- including him.

Therefore, he would come up with a package, not as large as the Pioneer Generation Package, to help them, but it will cover:

- Outpatient subsidies

- MediSave top-ups

- MediShield Life premium subsidies

- Payouts for long-term care

And one last thing...

In case Singaporeans have any doubt whether they should explore an alternative government to handle external developments, such as our increasingly noisy neighbour, PM Lee reassured everyone that "the fundamentals of our relationship with Malaysia have not changed".

Photo by Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI).

PM Lee also stayed above the fray, by not commenting specifically on PM Mahathir Mohamad's frequent remarks about the various Malaysia-Singapore agreements.

On Singapore-Malaysia bilateral relations, PM Lee concluded that if they stay stable and close, both parties "can pursue win-win cooperation and each focus on our own domestic priorities".

In other words, PM Lee understands the need for Mahathir to focus on Malaysia's own internal problems and play to his own gallery.

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In short:

- Healthcare concerns, checked.

- Housing concerns, checked.

- Older Singaporeans' concerns, checked.

- Concerns about Malaysia, checked.

- General Election preparation, checked.