OP-ED: Crisis is a lesson

Parliament has passed a law to allow special arrangements to be made should Singapore have to go to the polls before the coronavirus pandemic ends. The constitutional imperative is clear, as is the epidemiological one. A general election must be held by April 14 next year, but there is no way of telling how long the pandemic will take to play out. The challenge lies in coming up with careful contingency plans that uphold the democratic process while keeping citizens safe. The Parliamentary Elections (Covid-19 Special Arrangements) Act makes it possible to hold elections while seeking to ensure the safety of voters, candidates and election officials. It is an example of the need to plan ahead in unprecedented times.

A similar effort is apparent in making Parliament itself function amid this crisis. Indeed, Parliament is a critically essential service because it has to legislate and hold the Government to account at a time when emergency measures, such as the Resilience and Solidarity Budgets, need to be discussed thoroughly in the interests of all Singaporeans during an overwhelming exigency. Business continuity plans increase the survivability of companies by separating staff physically and restricting intermingling to the extent possible. It is unimaginable that Parliament could continue to gather as usual, to the point where infection could spread to all Members. Now, Parliament will be able to meet in multiple locations if necessary, after the House passed a constitutional amendment to provide for this legally.

In the same future-looking spirit, but this time with a particular focus on the economy, a task force, set up to help Singapore deal with the longer-term impact of the pandemic, has said that it will concentrate on identifying the systemic shifts that will arise from the crisis. It will assess the impact of those shifts on Singapore and make recommendations on how the nation should refresh its economic strategy.

This is not new because expertise, which combines business experience with political determination and bureaucratic efficiency, has helped to steer Singapore through economic crises in the past. This time, however, the stakes are not just different but qualitatively higher. Covid-19 has created not just economic havoc but also a medical one whose very resolution is eating into the economic solution.

Like the proverbial black swan which confounds expectations by appearing suddenly, the pandemic is forcing nations, businesses and individuals to reboot and reset habituated ways of thinking and behaving. What is done now must have a clear view of a desired future. Singapore’s state, market and civil society need to come together and plan, sometimes obsessively, to overcome an existential challenge to all. Every incremental measure matters.