“YOU ARE Singapore’s ‘Task Force Man!’,” said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong about Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong. “Wear it as a badge of honour!”
PM Wong was riffing on Internet memes which embrace DPM Gan as the hero which Singapore needs for these difficult global times — and which Singaporeans deserve.
To name just two, DPM Gan kept Singapore’s lives and jobs safe as Co-chair of the Multi-Ministry Task Force against COVID-19; it was one of the world’s best responses to the pandemic.
Now, he has stepped up again, battling for Singaporean jobs and our economic future as leader of the Singapore Economic Resilience Task Force.
Even during elections, DPM Gan is still working hard, negotiating with America. He has been speaking with the US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick about Singapore-US exports, specifically AI chips and pharmaceuticals.
“Secretary Lutnick has emphasised several times that he’s prepared to start this discussion with us, because we are a friend, an important trading partner, and because the US trusts Singapore,” he told reporters at One Punggol.
“He actually wanted for us to speed up our discussion and negotiation between the two countries, because … America has many countries to negotiate with, and if each country takes a long time, I think it’s not going to be productive,” said DPM Gan.
DPM Gan added that Singapore can “move very quickly and we’re also very nimble”
“We also have a very strong team of officials who are able to negotiate the details, guided by all the political office holders who provide guidance and direction,” he detailed.
The elections may end this week, but Singapore’s challenges in this difficult world still remain.
DPM Gan is a good man, doing a difficult job, and doing it for Singaporeans. Both at the international level, and back home at Punggol GRC.
