Speaking at a closed-door dialogues attended by ruling party supporters, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that Singaporeans should not worry about unemployment because his government is creating “good jobs”.
The dictator also claimed that the current recession is not similar as the one in 2008 and that he has the “medicine”, like the one he had for the 2008 recession:
“The economy is slowing, but Singapore is not in a crisis as it was when the 2008 global financial crisis hit. In 2008, the Government introduced measures that lowered business costs and protected jobs, and the medicine worked. We recovered swiftly.
It is not an infection that can be cured with one course of antibiotics… but taking vitamins daily (and) following a rigorous exercise and training programme. What we need now is not an emergency package, but a consistent longer-term strategy to go for growth.”
The Prime Minister however did not go into the details what “strategy” he had in place. It appears PM Lee Hsien Loong’s emphasis on “longer-term” suggests that Singaporeans should just wait it out for the recession to end and recover by itself, and his government shall claim credit for the subsequent recovery.
PM Lee then boasted that there are a lot of jobs but no takers in Singapore:
“There are 63,000 jobs available at the National Jobs Bank and 13,000 workers have been placed this year, with more ready to be matched in 2017.”
PM Lee then complained that Singaporeans need to do their part “by adapting” and they have to “let old jobs go and get into new jobs.” Again, giving no specifics or references – much to the disappointment of the unemployed.