A weighty and unique Rally that dealt with a trio of delicate subjects

Aug 30, 2021

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/gov...icate-subjects

THE annual National Day Rally - the most important political speech of the year in Singapore - is a platform for the prime minister to address the nation and articulate his views on important policy matters and the challenges facing the country.

As Singaporeans at home and abroad watched the 2021 edition of the rally - delivered on Sunday night by PM Lee Hsien Loong in a hybrid format for the first time due to the Covid-19 pandemic - what struck many was how this wasn't quite like the National Day Rallies of the recent past.

At many of his previous rallies, it was common for the prime minister to devote a sizeable part of his speech to discuss current developments affecting Singapore, the region and the world.

On Sunday, however, Mr Lee did not talk about relations with Singapore's closest neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia, nor the wider Asean, or even the US and China, the world's two largest economies that are still at loggerheads with each other.

He didn't mention the historic official visit by US Vice-President Kamala Harris to Singapore last week, or the ongoing situation in Afghanistan.

There were also no government policies anywhere close to the scale of the Pioneer Generation Package and Merdeka Generation Package, which Mr Lee unveiled at the 2014 and 2018 rallies respectively.

In the past, he had also used the rally to talk about significant infrastructure projects in the pipeline, such as in 2013 when he announced the plan to build Jewel at Changi Airport.

The absence of these topics and issues during Sunday's rally does not, however, mean that they are unimportant in any way.

Tellingly, Mr Lee showed that he had other worries on his mind, as he spent the bulk of his 70-minute English speech to address at length several pressing domestic issues that have come to the fore during the pandemic.

He elaborated on a point he first raised at the National Day Message earlier this month, that Covid-19 has both sharpened fault lines in society and made some difficult issues more urgent that need to be dealt with.

Each of the three issues he delved into - supporting lower-wage workers, addressing anxieties over foreign work-pass holders, and managing race and religion - are highly sensitive in their own right.

Speaking in-depth about all three of them together, and at the National Day Rally no less, is by no means an easy task, even for someone of the prime minister's stature and experience.

As Mr Lee said, the concerns over work-pass holders, for instance, are "a very delicate subject" for a National Day Rally, but he decided to talk about it to acknowledge the existence of the problem and defuse any resentment that people have towards foreigners here.

He noted how Singaporeans harbour worries about whether foreign work-pass holders are increasing the competition for both jobs and opportunities at the workplace.

Singaporeans must be assured of two things - that Employment Pass and S Pass holders here are "of the right standard", and that all employees are treated fairly wherever they work.

And in a breakthrough for dealing with workplace discrimination in a more effective way, Mr Lee announced that the guidelines from the Tripartite Alliance for Fair & Progressive Employment Practices will be enshrined into law, something which union leaders have long called for.

As for lower-wage workers, Mr Lee noted how Singapore gained "fresh respect and appreciation" for this group of people during Covid-19, as they took on jobs such as cleaning, food delivery and security.

These workers, however, face more hardship than others given how they have less savings to fall back on and are more likely to be laid off.

Mr Lee also shared the strategies put forth by a tripartite committee to uplift lower-wage workers, including extending progressive wages to more sectors and requiring firms that hire foreigners to pay every local employee at least the local qualifying salary, which will be adjusted from time to time.

Mr Lee saved arguably the most touchy topic - race and religion - for the final third of his speech.

He recalled some disturbing racist incidents that went viral on social media in recent months. These, he said, serve as a reminder of how fragile Singapore's racial harmony is, but crucially, he pointed out that they do not negate the country's existing multi-racial approach.

Among the initiatives coming up is the plan by the government to pass specific legislation on racial harmony, and allowing Muslim nurses in the public healthcare sector to wear a tudung as part of their uniform from Nov 1, if they wish to do so.

With Mr Lee's weighty speech now likely to spark much debate and conversation in the coming days and months, the authorities, along with Singaporeans of all ages and backgrounds, should listen to the differing views with an open mind and keep the discussions going.

As Mr Lee himself noted in his National Day Message three weeks ago, these stresses and strains are not unique to Singapore, nor are the issues completely new to begin with.

What's important is to acknowledge the problems as soon as possible before they intensify, and deal with them through constant dialogue and engagement.

This will go a long way towards ensuring that the country's social cohesion can withstand these and any other fault lines that may come our way.