PM LEE LISTS THREE PRIORITIES FOR SINGAPORE

By Zakaria Abdul Wahab

SINGAPORE, Jan 25 (Bernama) -- Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said
Monday restructuring of the economy, dealing with population shortfall and
updating the political system were the three priorities for the city-state.

Speaking at the annual conference of the Institute of Policy Studies
entitled Singapore Perspectives 2010, he said updating the political system
would be the most difficult one to achieve.

Economic restructuring was necessary to maximise Singapore's growth capacity
and it had been made more urgent by the global crisis, he said at the meeting
attended by close to 900 participants from academia, business, civil society and
government sectors.

He added that the way forward lay in qualitative growth and that Singapore
must improve its productivity growth from the current 1.0 per cent to two to
three per cent.

Lee also cautioned that the 5.0 per cent growth rate average over the past
decade would be difficult to sustain in the future.

He said the Economic Strategies Committee would recommend a more realistic
growth rate next week and the government would respond to it in the forthcoming
budget.

Pointing out that despite the government's best efforts to boost birth rates
the total fertility rate in Singapore has not improved, Lee said topping up the
population with immigration was necessary.

However, because immigration had become a sensitive issue to Singaporeans,
the immigration would be done in a "measured and calibrated manner," he said.

Lee pointed out that the most important factor in managing all the changes
that Singapore was undergoing was a good political system.

Acknowledging that updating the political system would be the most difficult
challenge, he said the government was making changes to the system in good time
for the general election which was due within the next two years.
-- BERNAMA