Transformational Budget - Too much Transformers?

Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has said this year’s Budget may be seen as "unexciting" to some Singaporeans, but it is nonetheless strategically important because it is a "transformational" Budget.

He said the aim of the Budget was to bring the economy to a higher level.

Mr Goh was speaking at a dialogue at his Marine Parade constituency on Monday.

Addressing an audience of grassroots leaders and residents, he said for incomes to go up, productivity needs to follow suit, including that of foreign workers.

Mr Goh said the government decided against giving out too many goodies as no recession is expected this year.

Furthermore, households will continue to get benefits from last year’s policies.

Mr Goh said: "When I read comments that the Budget has got nothing for me as a person, rather than a few of the allowances and so on, they are wrong. This Budget is for you. It is about how we can increase our productivity as a whole — you as a worker, the company as a production institution, the management as the people—in—charge.

"If we can transform the economy through the measures introduced in the Budget, the income we have today can continue to increase."

The dialogue saw Mr Goh and his panel, comprising MPs Lim Biow Chuan and Dr Fatimah Lateef, addressing a range of issues including tax incentives and more relief for those supporting the elderly or disabled family members.

Mr Goh was also asked how confident the government was in achieving its stated aim of annual productivity growth of 2 to 3 percent.

"At this stage I can’t say with full confidence that we can achieve 3 percent growth per year, but it’s a target which we want to aim at. If we don’t achieve it, well it’s bad but let’s say we double it from 1 to 2 percent. That’s an improvement. It means your income goes up, but much less than what we hope would be the case," he said.

Mr Goh said one Budget statement cannot tackle all issues at one time, and this year’s plan deals with the long—term.

But many of the issues are on the government’s radar screen, and details of initiatives will be released in Parliament.