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PAP ND Message – Words are hollow without moral leadership

Nothing new as PM Lee avoids Temasek. Khairulanwar Zaini.

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Khairulanwar Zaini

How do you reassure a jittery nation to remain trusting, mollify an insecure populace that is increasingly vocal while sounding a note of sombre caution of unforeseen valleys ahead?

Bank on truisms and leave much unsaid, as Prime Minster Lee Hsien Loong did in his fourth National Day Message. His awkward hand gestures were probably the most novel element of the speech.

His speech began with an assessment of the local economy ravaged by a global recession, before claiming credit for alleviating the intensity of the downturn.

Not as bad as it could have been

The Job Credit Scheme was mentioned in tandem with other measures taken to mitigate the effects of the crisis. Purported as a novel measure when first introduced, it was designed to keep employees on the payroll by a de facto government wage subsidy.

What Mr Lee avoided to mention was whether the outlay commensurate with the number of jobs saved. It is a truism that spending money can reduce the magnitude of the problem; however, standing at $4.5 billion, the JCS is an expensive truism.

In May, CIMB-GK research head Kenneth Ng described the handout as helpful, ‘but only very marginally’. SATS provides an illustration of the scheme’s efficacy: without the $12.3 million grant, its ‘operating profit would have remained flat’. (

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