EDITORIAL: The Straits Times says- Singapore can weather this crisis

Over the last two weeks, Singaporeans have tuned in to a series of broadcasts by Singapore’s political leaders on the multi-faceted challenges the country is likely to face during the Covid-19 pandemic and those yet to come in the post-Covid world. The messages have been sobering but also reassuring. The challenges are legion. There could be record job losses; supply chains are being disrupted and entire industries such as international travel, parts of retail and entertainment have been devastated. Protectionism is rising; international cooperation, including on health issues, is fraying; and the shape of the post-Covid world – and even when that will arrive – is uncertain.

But daunting as things may seem, all is not bleak and Singapore is in many ways well positioned to weather the turbulence. To deal with the immediate challenge of job losses, it has mounted an unprecedented fiscal response, spending the equivalent of 20 per cent of GDP, mostly focused on both protecting and creating jobs. As for the future, the Government asserts that even in a more protectionist, less connected world, Singapore can still make a living. While protectionism is indeed rising, this is less true in Asia, where major free trade agreements like the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and other regional agreements are either in force or in the works.

Moreover, Singapore is strongly placed in many of the industries likely to be in the vanguard of a post-Covid world, including pharmaceuticals, bio-sciences, semiconductors, chemicals and robotics; has a robust digital infrastructure; and a skilled workforce. Singapore also commands trust, which is critical for investors. Reassuringly, and as these broadcasts have made clear, Singapore’s economic future will not be left to the vagaries of market forces. Apart from creating jobs, the Government will mount special efforts to help vulnerable groups such as low-skilled and mature workers. It will also intervene to equalise opportunities starting at the level of primary schools, and will continue extending social support through subsidies on housing, healthcare end education.

While the gravity of the Covid-19 crisis cannot be overstated, it is worth remembering that Singapore has weathered many traumatic crises in the past, as in the late 1960s, when the abrupt decision by Britain to withdraw from its bases here threatened the loss of 20 per cent of gross domestic product and 70,000 jobs at a time when Singapore was still emerging as an independent nation. In more recent years, Singapore also weathered oil shocks in the 1970s and 1980s, the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the global financial crisis in 2008. In short, Singapore is no stranger to crises. Fortunately it is in better shape to deal with the Covid-19 crisis than any that have come and gone before.