Parliament voted in favour of the Budget 2024 on Feb. 28, 2024, after a three-day debate.

Here's a round-up of what happened:

DPM Lawrence Wong's round-up speech

In his round-up speech, DPM Lawrence Wong addressed all the issues raised by Members of Parliament (MPs) during the debate and talked about how the government is committed to helping Singaporeans with the rising cost of living pressures and the new "Singaporean Dream".

DPM Heng Swee Keat's Speech

DPM Heng Swee Keat also spoke on the second day of the debates on Feb. 27, 2024, noting how Singapore is almost a "mature economy" and as resource constraints are becoming "biting", there needs to be structural changes and structural policies that can transform Singapore's economy to grow "for the long-term".

60 MPs spoke

Other than the two DPMs, a total of 60 Members of Parliament (MPs) spoke during the debates.

Day one:

Day two:

And here are the four MPs who spoke on the last day:

Nadia Ahmad Samdin

Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Nadia Ahmad Samdin rose in support of the budget.

She said that the budget set out various measures focused on mitigating the immediate impact of rising costs on household finances.

She also expressed appreciation for the measures put forth to build a "stronger culture of giving that encourages collaboration".

"We must work with philanthropic foundations, individuals and corporates to be strategic, complementary and catalytic in how we deploy capital towards social needs."

Razwana Begum Abdul Rahim

NMP Razwana Begum Abdul Rahim also voiced her support for the budget.

She said it is a "fiscally responsible strategy and future-focused".

"This budget makes it clear that Singapore is a city for everyone and that Singapore's future belongs to everyone," she said.

She later gave some suggestions relating to healthcare, including considering doing more to support and encourage young people to "adopt and maintain a lifelong healthy lifestyle".

Carrie Tan

During her speech, Nee Soon GRC MP Carrie Tan touched on the topic of mental health and wellbeing.

"Wellbeing is not simply an existence of happiness or satisfaction," she stated. "It is also the absence of disease or dysfunctionality within our collective system."

She explained that we also need to monitor figures, such as the rate and incidences of mental health conditions, suicide rates, and chronic disease rates.

She said the government should "factor all these into a set of indicators that makes sense".

"We need to be accountable for all the strategies they have been announced by the national mental wellbeing task force and make the outcomes visible and trackable. "

Louis Ng

Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng wished for more attention to be paid to the quality of life and work of migrant workers.

He urged the government to improve the living standards for migrant workers and ensure that food catered for migrant workers complies with existing food safety standards.

He also suggested recognising and treating kickbacks as a form of corruption by ensuring there are equivalent penalties and whistleblowing protection.

He said that it's "the least we can do".

Committee of Supply debates

The Committee of Supply debate commenced on the same day and is scheduled to run until Mar. 7, 2024.

It is a yearly affair wherein each ministry presents its plans and the funds it'll need to carry them out.

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Top images via MCI