Foreign Minister George Yeo said the economic crisis has not been ‘completely felt yet’ and warned that in the coming months, it will ‘begin to bite’.
‘The provision in the Budget, some of them, will become very useful,’ he said.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Chinese New Year event in Hougang Mall, he said his New Year wish is for Singaporeans to help each other get through the crisis.
‘We are going into a storm. It’ll be a big storm. We don’t know how long it’s going to last or how bad it’s going to be. So the important thing is to get into a certain stance, into a certain state of readiness so that we are ready for all eventualities....I’m quite sure if we persist, united as one people, we will emerge from this stronger.’
He added that those affected by the downturn will be taken care of, and that Singaporeans will need time to digest all the measures that the Government has announced in the Budget.
‘For those who are affected, there are various programmes to help them, both to supplement income, to help the the kids, to help them meet their payments in the form of rebates,’ he said.
‘It’s a whole slew of programmes. I don’t think ordinary Singaporeans have yet digested this Budget. It is a very comprehensive Budget.’
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Not ‘completely felt yet’
By Jamie Ee
24 January 2009
Foreign Minister George Yeo said the economic crisis has not been ‘completely felt yet’ and warned that in the coming months, it will ‘begin to bite’.
‘The provision in the Budget, some of them, will become very useful,’ he said.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Chinese New Year event in Hougang Mall, he said his New Year wish is for Singaporeans to help each other get through the crisis.
‘We are going into a storm. It’ll be a big storm. We don’t know how long it’s going to last or how bad it’s going to be. So the important thing is to get into a certain stance, into a certain state of readiness so that we are ready for all eventualities....I’m quite sure if we persist, united as one people, we will emerge from this stronger.’
He added that those affected by the downturn will be taken care of, and that Singaporeans will need time to digest all the measures that the Government has announced in the Budget.
‘For those who are affected, there are various programmes to help them, both to supplement income, to help the the kids, to help them meet their payments in the form of rebates,’ he said.
‘It’s a whole slew of programmes. I don’t think ordinary Singaporeans have yet digested this Budget. It is a very comprehensive Budget.’
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