Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will deliver his inaugural National Day Rally (NDR) speech at the Institute of Technical Education College Central on August 18.
The National Day Rally is Singapore’s most important political address of the year where the Prime Minister outlines key policies to the nation.
Mr Wong, 51, became Singapore’s fourth Prime Minister on May 15, marking the country’s first leadership transition in 20 years.
Mr Wong is expected to speak on how the government will enhance support for families, and help Singaporeans bounce back stronger from employment setbacks. He had said in his National Day message that he would share details at the National Day Rally.
In his National Day message, Mr Wong reiterated that the government would work with Singaporeans to build a better Singapore. This includes creating new opportunities for citizens, keeping the cost of living stable, and strengthening Singapore’s social support system.
Looking ahead to Mr Wong’s Sunday speech, here are five key policies from past rallies that have helped and continue to help Singaporeans:
Here are five important policies from past rallies that benefit Singaporeans:
1. Caring for the Pioneer Generation, Merdeka Generation, and younger seniors
Helping seniors to meet basic retirement needs remains a top priority for the PAP Government.
Then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the Pioneer Generation Package during the NDR in 2013 to honour and thank Singaporeans born in 1949 or earlier for their hard work and dedication in building Singapore.
The package included initiatives aimed at making healthcare affordable for the Pioneer Generation for life like MediSave top-ups and outpatient care subsidies.
In 2018, the Government granted benefits to Singaporeans born from 1950 to 1959, known as the Merdeka Generation. The package recognised their contributions during Singapore’s early independence years.
Some 500,000 Singaporeans aged around 60 benefitted through subsidies for medical expenses like outpatient care, MediSave top-ups, MediShield Life premium subsidies, and long-term care payouts.
In his 2023 National Day Rally speech, Prime Minister Lee announced an $8.2 billion Majulah package to help approximately 1.6 million Singaporeans born in 1973 or earlier to boost retirement and healthcare needs.
The package includes an Earn and Save Bonus providing lower- and middle-income workers with a Central Provident Fund (CPF) bonus ranging from $400 to $1,000 yearly.
Those whose CPF balances did not reach the Basic Retirement Sum received a one-time bonus of between $1,000 and $1,500 credited to their CPF Retirement Account or Special Account.
In addition, all seniors received a one-time bonus ranging from $750 to $1,500 for their CPF MediSave Account.
The government also enhanced existing schemes like Silver Support, Workfare, and the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme.
Then-PM Lee said: “These improvements will help seniors to meet basic retirement needs, especially for lower- and middle-income Singaporeans so that you can have greater peace of mind in your golden years.”
2. Extending paternal leave, supporting young families
As Singapore celebrated its golden jubilee in 2015, Mr Lee announced several family-friendly measures during the NDR to help families raise children and encourage young couples to have more children.
The government provided a Proximity Housing Grant to help couples buying a resale flat near their parents.
The Baby Bonus was enhanced, increasing the amount to cover more costs during infancy. The bonus, initially for the first four children, would now apply to all children.
The government also increased the Medisave grant for newborns to help couples with child-rearing costs. The grant would cover MediShield Life premiums until age 21 and help with healthcare costs like recommended vaccinations.
The government also increased paternity leave from one to two weeks, covering the pay for the extra week.
PM Lee said then: “The baby bonus, Medisave grant, and paternity leave changes will take effect January 1, 2015, because this is a Jubilee year. I think we should give all the Jubilee babies this little ‘Hong Bao.'”
3. Uplifting lower-wage workers
The PAP government has made a concerted effort for years to uplift lower-wage workers through policies like the Workfare Income Supplement Scheme.
Workfare, introduced in 2007, provides cash top-ups and CPF contributions to help lower-wage workers save for retirement. Nearly half a million workers benefit from the programme.
In his 2021 National Day Rally speech, Mr Lee announced the government would increase annual Workfare spending from $850 million to $1.1 billion within two years. This meant higher payouts for recipients. The qualifying age was lowered from 35 to 30 to assist younger workers.
PM Lee also announced that the Progressive Wage Model, which helps lower-wage workers, would be extended to cover sectors like retail, food services and waste management. It would also cover specific roles like administrative assistants and drivers across all sectors simultaneously.
4. Pledged $100 billion over the next 100 years to defend S’pore’s coastlines
During the 2019 National Day Rally, Mr Lee announced that the Government would commit $100 billion or more, over the next 100 years, to invest in the engineering solutions needed to defend Singapore’s coastlines and protect its infrastructure and people from the effects of rising sea levels.
“We should treat climate change defences like we treat the SAF – with utmost seriousness… Both the SAF and climate change defences are existential for Singapore. These are life and death matters. Everything else must bend at the knee to safeguard the existence of our island nation,” he stressed.
The $100 billion will mainly be spent on coastal defences, Mr Lee said, because large areas of Singapore are 4m above mean sea level or lower, putting them at risk of flooding as sea levels rise.
To protect the city, Mr Lee said another pump house will need to be built at the opposite end of the Marina Barrage.
For the eastern coastline, Singapore will explore options like those used in the Netherlands which combines reclaimed land, dykes and barriers to keep floods out, he added.
Another potential solution is to reclaim a series of islands offshore from Marina East to Changi, connect them with barriers, and create a reservoir similar to Marina Reservoir, Mr Lee noted.
Singapore is carefully studying the choices and will decide on a plan when the time is right, he said.
5. The repeal of S377A
In his 2022 National Day Rally speech, Prime Minister Lee announced that the government would repeal Section 377A.
He said, “I believe this is the right thing to do, and something most Singaporeans will now accept.” However, he added that “most Singaporeans do not want the repeal to trigger a drastic shift in our societal norms across the board, including how we define marriage, what we teach children in schools, what is shown on free to air television and in cinemas, or what is generally acceptable conduct in public.”
Therefore, the government decided to amend the Constitution to protect the legal definition of marriage from being challenged in courts.
Mr Lee explained, “The legal definition is contained in the Interpretation Act and the Women’s Charter…This will help us repeal Section 377A in a controlled and considered way.”
