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Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong will deliver his first annual Budget Statement later today, Feb. 18, at 3:30pm.
In a Facebook post about the affair, Wong shared his thoughts about preparing for Budget 2022, and what the public can expect from the statement to be announced later in Parliament.
"Charting our New Way Forward Together"
Wong shared that the Singapore Budget 2022 will be named "Charting our New Way Forward Together" — to "give Singaporeans the confidence to embrace our journey forward".
He noted that Covid-19 has changed and impacted the way we live — our "working lifestyle, jobs, social fabric, and most importantly, health" – and in dealing with the evolving challenges of Covid-19, Singapore must also prepare for a post-pandemic future.
Wong added:
"This Budget is for our people, our families, and our future generations. It will set out how we can better position Singapore for future challenges and opportunities, and strengthen our social compact. As one united people, we will chart our new way forward together."
Not to forget MOF's annual pre-Budget porridge
Naturally, the annual Budget would not be the same without the Ministry of Finance's (MOF) "Porridge Aunty", Auntie Mei Jok, who once again prepared porridge for the team.
Leader of the House and Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah shared affectionately about the tradition:
"The Porridge that Powers the Budget
Putting together a national budget is not easy. It takes a lot of effort and energy.
For the last 40 years, the Budgets delivered by successive Finance Ministers have been powered by porridge prepared by Aunty Mei Jok for our Ministry of Finance (Singapore) colleagues.
Starting with simple rice porridge, she adds a whole variety of ingredients to give it delicious flavour, texture and healthy goodness.
Just as these many different ingredients blend to make a nourishing pot of porridge, Budget 2022 is a culmination of many different ideas and feedback, all put together to bring Singapore forward, allowing us to meet needs and achieve our aspirations while keeping Singapore fiscally healthy.
Many thanks to Aunty Mei Jok and the MOF team for keeping our Budgets going!"
Here's the powerful bowl of porridge in question:
Via Indranee Rajah Facebook
Via Indranee Rajah Facebook
Wong himself shared his memories of the tradition a few days earlier, on Feb. 15.
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Top images via Lawrence Wong and Indranee Rajah Facebook