Yahoo Finance Singapore rejects opposition motion to review reserves policy
By Philip J. Heijmans
(Bloomberg) — Singapore lawmakers on Wednesday rejected an opposition motion suggesting the government should further dip into the national reserves to help offset rising costs.
During the seven hour debate in parliament over the use of the city-state’s undisclosed level of reserves, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the pile must be protected as a “precious resource” and strategic advantage in the event Singapore finds itself in a jam, reiterating his stance.
Lee also challenged opposition parties to campaign on the issue if they don’t agree. The next general election must be held by November 2025 but could come much sooner.
“As long as the PAP government is in power, this is what we will do,” the premier said. “If any other political party thinks that this is not the right approach, if they truly believe that we should dip into our reserves more, then bring it to the ballot box.”
Singapore has tapped billions of dollars from its reserves over the years, both as a way to weather times of economic hardship and to shield lower-income households from surging costs of living. During the pandemic, it drew-down a total of S$40 billion ($29.8 billion) from 2020-2022 to help fund its Covid-19 response, which included isolation facilities, testing and vaccines.
Pritam Singh, the leader of the opposition, meanwhile called for more transparency over the secretive nature of the reserves and advocated for a committee to be established to assess their health.
“In fact, MPs have to vote on draw-downs of passed reserves, even if they don’t have any idea how much we will have left after a draw-down,” Singh said on Wednesday. “These realities close off mature and civil conversations on the reserves.”
The initial opposition motion called on the government “to review its current budget and reserve accumulation policies in order to help present-day Singaporeans reduce their financial burdens and improve their quality of life.”
Lee has said he will hand over the leadership to his deputy Lawrence Wong before the country’s next general election, and signaled the transition could come as early as 2024.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
