CONCLUSION

Mr Speaker, Sir, in contrast to last year's Budget, when I gave large concessions in personal income tax rates and estate duty to individual taxpayers, the focus of this year's Budget is on the corporate sector. This change of emphasis is deliberate. I expect 1985 to be a testing year as companies adjust their operations and trim their manpower to cope with a less buoyant economic environment. Some sectors may do less well than others. But we have the necessary reserves to ride through this bumpy period and Government will ensure that our economic poli- cies are sufficiently flexible so that no sector gets into major difficulties.

But while coping with our present difficulties, we should not let ourselves be deflected from our long term objectives. In 1980 the Ministry of Trade and Industry put forward an economic development plan for the 1980s with the following broad economic targets:-

(a) Real GDP growth of 8-10% per annum to reach the 1980 Japanese per capita GNP by 1990.

(b) Productivity increase of 6-8% per annum.

(c) Full, better paid and higher skilled employment.

(d) Inflation lower than the world average.

(e) Healthy balance of payments.

We are well on track towards meeting these targets. We should now consider how to fine-tune our economic strategy to make sure that we will continue to make rapid progress in the second half of this decade.

With the experience of the first five years behind us, it is timely to set up a high level committee, comprising representatives from the Government, private sector and trade unions, to undertake an in-depth mid-term review of our economic development plan for the 1980s. The Committee will be chaired by the Minister of State (Defence and Trade and Industry) BG Lee Hsien Loong. The Committee will hold discussions with and invite representations from employer and professional associations, chambers of commerce, industry groups, bankers and trade unions in order to come up with specific recommendations as to how Government economic policy should be structured for the rest of this decade. In its deliberations the Committee will pay particular attention to the problems of our local industries and propose measures to foster greater entrepreneurship in our business community.

In 25 years of government under the PAP, we have built a strong resilient economic base which is capable of taking hard knocks and which will not buckle when the going gets rough. We cannot expect that each year will automatically be better than the last. There will be occasional storms. But Singaporeans are a robust people with a robust attitude to life and its vicissitudes. With cooperation between the Government, employers and workers, we have overcome problems which many observers would have regarded as insurmounable. Provided that we continue with the same cooperation, we shall overcome whatever problems that may confront us in the future.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move,

Mr Speaker: The Question is, "That Parliament approves the financial policy of the Government for the financial year 1st April, 1985 to 31st March, 1986." In accordance with paragraph (1) of Standing Order No. 84, the debate now stands adjourned.

Debate to be resumed on what day, Dr Tan?

Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam: On Monday, 18th March, 1985, Sir.

Mr Speaker: So be it.