PM Wong to deliver National Day Rally speech on Aug 17
The rally will be held at the Institute of Technical Education College Central in Ang Mo Kio, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said on Monday (Aug 11).
The rally will be broadcast on local television channels and radio stations, as well as streamed online on the PMO's and PM Wong's YouTube channels.
The prime minister will deliver the rally speech in Malay and Mandarin at 6.45 pm. He will then deliver the English speech at 8 pm.
The NDR is seen as the most important political speech of the year, when the prime minister addresses the nation and makes key policy announcements.
PM Wong is expected to touch on 'new strategies' that Singapore will need to navigate a more fragmented and uncertain world.
'We have to be prepared that the fragmentation will continue, the separation will continue, and it will go beyond just one administration,' he said at an Institute of Policy Studies forum in July.
In 2024, PM Wong unveiled a series of policy shifts, including the introduction of 10 additional weeks of mandatory shared parental leave, in his maiden rally as Singapore's fourth prime minister.
He also announced measures to support workers, through the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme, which offers temporary financial assistance of up to S$6,000 for involuntarily unemployed workers.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
10 hours ago
- Straits Times
Indonesia expands military as defence budget soars
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Indonesia has created more than 20 regional commands in its biggest armed forces overhaul in decades, coinciding with a sharp increase in defence spending under President Prabowo Subianto and mounting concerns over growing military influence. Mr Prabowo, a former general, inaugurated new commands for the army, navy and air force on Aug 10 to mark the largest re-organisation since the era of the authoritarian ruler Suharto, when the military maintained an extensive territorial network that reached into every province. 'The world is full of uncertainty, and even if we dislike war, wars are happening everywhere,' Mr Prabowo said alongside senior commanders and political allies at a ceremony near of the city of Bandung. 'Indonesia does not want to take sides,' he added. 'But because of that, there is no other choice. Indonesia must have a very strong defence.' Indonesia says proposed defence changes do not hurt democracy The move underscores the growing role of South-east Asia's largest military under Mr Prabowo, who since taking office in 2024 has successfully backed legal changes to allow more active-duty officers in civilian posts, appointed retired officers to lead state enterprises, and expanded the military's reach into civilian programmes – including his signature free meals programme. The military says the changes will bolster security along borders and conflict-prone regions. Critics warn it could strain public finances and revive military influence in civilian affairs, a hallmark of Indonesia's authoritarian past. The expansion comes at a time when spending by Indonesia's defence ministry is expected to rise to 247.5 trillion rupiah (S$19.5 billion) in 2025, a nearly 50 per cent increase from its initial allocation, the finance ministry said recently. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business Lower-wage retail workers to receive up to 6% pay bump from Sept 1 Singapore Keppel to sell M1's telco business to Simba for $1.43b, says deal expected to benefit consumers Singapore ST Explains: Who owns Simba, the company that is buying M1? Singapore ST Explains: What is Vers and which HDB estates could it be rolled out in? Singapore For Vers to work, compensation should account for varied needs of HDB flat owners: Observers Singapore PM Wong's National Day Rally speech to begin at 6.45pm on Aug 17 Singapore Ong Ye Kung rebuts complaints about treatment of stallholders at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre Singapore 'Incorrigible' sexual predator who preyed on children convicted for 4th time The higher budget will be used to fund the modernisation of defence equipment and infrastructure, it added. The new commands effectively expand the military's reach across the world's fourth-most populous nation. The army gained six units in resource-rich and strategically sensitive regions from the Malacca Strait to the eastern border with Papua New Guinea, bringing its total to 21. The navy added 14, while the air force added three. BLOOMBERG
Straits Times
10 hours ago
- Straits Times
India decries 'sabre rattling' after Pakistan army chief's reported nuclear remarks
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox NEW DELHI - India on Monday accused its neighbour Pakistan of "sabre rattling" and "irresponsibility" after media reports on remarks about nuclear threats in South Asia made by Pakistan's army chief while on a visit to the U.S. Indian media reports, citing sources, quoted Pakistan's Field Marshal Asim Munir as saying: "We are a nuclear nation. If we think we are going down, we'll take half the world down with us". Pakistan's military and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Munir's comments. An excerpt of his speech shared by Pakistani security officials did not include the "nuclear nation" remarks. Munir reportedly made the remarks at a black-tie dinner hosted by a Pakistani-origin businessman in Florida on Saturday, where he spoke to a crowd of more than 100 people. Reuters could not independently verify the remarks. India and Pakistan both possess nuclear weapons and fought their deadliest battle in decades in May, sparked by an attack on tourists the previous month in Indian Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians. Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of India's foreign ministry, said: "Nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan's stock-in-trade," adding: "The international community can draw its own conclusions on the irresponsibility inherent in such remarks." He said it was also regrettable that the reported remarks should have been made while in a friendly third country. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business Lower-wage retail workers to receive up to 6% pay bump from Sept 1 Singapore Keppel to sell M1's telco business to Simba for $1.43b, says deal expected to benefit consumers Singapore ST Explains: Who owns Simba, the company that is buying M1? Singapore ST Explains: What is Vers and which HDB estates could it be rolled out in? Singapore For Vers to work, compensation should account for varied needs of HDB flat owners: Observers Singapore PM Wong's National Day Rally speech to begin at 6.45pm on Aug 17 Singapore Ong Ye Kung rebuts complaints about treatment of stallholders at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre Singapore 'Incorrigible' sexual predator who preyed on children convicted for 4th time In a version of the speech shared by Pakistani security officials, Munir said: "The (Indian) aggression has brought the region to the brink of a dangerously escalating war, where a bilateral conflict due to any miscalculation will be a grave mistake." Munir was on a visit to the U.S. to attend a farewell event for General Michael Kurilla, the 15th commander of the United States Central Command. India previously lodged a private diplomatic protest with Washington when President Donald Trump hosted Munir for a lunch at the White House in June. Analysts have said that India's disagreement with Washington over the May 10 ceasefire with Pakistan, and Trump's renewed engagement with Islamabad, have contributed to a recent setback in ties between India and the U.S. under the Trump administration. REUTERS
Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Straits Times
Ong Ye Kung rebuts complaints about treatment of stallholders at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre opened in December 2022 after a three-year delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic. SINGAPORE – Stallholders at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre are not charged for storing supplies in baskets or penalised for not providing free meals, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung. Mr Ong, who oversees the ward where the food centre is located, was responding in an Aug 11 Facebook post to concerns raised by veteran food critic K.F. Seetoh about the treatment of hawkers there. In a Facebook post on Aug 4, Mr Seetoh had claimed that the food centre's hawkers were forced to pay $70 each month to use blue supply baskets at the back of each stall. The founder of local food guide Makansutra, in another post on Aug 8, said the stallholders were contractually obliged to offer 60 free meals at their own expense. 'What a ridiculous smash and grab management policy,' he said in the post, which included a screenshot of what appears to be a contract with the hawker centre's management. Mr Seetoh also claimed that hawkers were forced to offer budget meals of up to $3.50 for everyone, not just 'the poor'. In March 2023, the budget meal initiative was launched by the Ministry of National Development and Housing Board to provide Singaporeans with meals typically priced $3.50 and below. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business Lower-wage retail workers to receive up to 6% pay bump from Sept 1 Singapore Keppel to sell M1's telco business to Simba for $1.43b, says deal expected to benefit consumers Singapore ST Explains: Who owns Simba, the company that is buying M1? Singapore ST Explains: What is Vers and which HDB estates could it be rolled out in? Singapore For Vers to work, compensation should account for varied needs of HDB flat owners: Observers Singapore PM Wong's National Day Rally speech to begin at 6.45pm on Aug 17 Singapore 'Incorrigible' sexual predator who preyed on children convicted for 4th time Mr Ong, who also leads the Sembawang GRC MPs, said he had investigated the matters raised after finding out about the food critic's online posts. He said the claim that hawkers must provide 60 free meals 'does not present the full picture'. Mr Ong said stallholders had initially agreed to provide 30 meals each month for low-income residents when the hawker centre first opened, before the figure was adjusted to 100 meals over the three-year duration of their lease. Mr Ong, who is also Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, added: 'There are no penalties if they do not or are unable to provide the meals. 'This simple, well-intentioned initiative was meant to encourage our hawkers to 'pay it forward'.' Mr Ong, who said he visits the hawker centre frequently, noted that the initiative has yet to commence. He added: 'I appreciate K.F. Seetoh's concern for our hawkers and share his passion for keeping our hawker culture alive and thriving. 'However, let's do so without putting down anyone, whether they are patrons, hawkers, the hawker centre operator, or government agencies.' On Aug 11, Mr Seetoh thanked the minister and suggested that they meet so that he could get 'the full picture'. The 44-stall Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre opened in December 2022 after a three-year delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time of its launch, about 10 per cent of the stalls were run by Sembawang residents. It was the first such facility to open in the constituency after about three decades.
