GE2025: Other parties may downplay tariff situation, but PAP ‘will never gamble with future of Singapore’, says PM Wong

SINGAPORE: While some parties claim there is no need to “overreact” to the global instability brought by the US tariffs, that is not the way the People’s Action Party (PAP) sees it, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Thursday (Apr 17).

“Some want to make light of the situation, they claim there is no need to over-react,” he said, as the ruling party unveiled its campaign manifesto for the May 3 polls.

“But that’s not how we do things in the PAP. We will always be upfront and transparent in highlighting the challenges ahead. We will never gamble with the future of Singapore and Singaporeans.”

How Singapore navigates through these turbulent times “will determine our future and our children’s future”, Mr Wong told some 400 party activists at AUX Infinite Studios at one-north.

He said that the world is currently going through profound change, with the imposing of tariffs by US President Donald Trump kicking off a “full-blown trade war” with China. 

“It has grown increasingly uncertain and dangerous, especially for small countries like ours,” he said. “The conditions that underpinned our survival, security and success are coming apart.”

It is for this reason that he has called a General Election at this time. Singaporeans will head to the polls on May 3.

“It is at this critical juncture that Singaporeans must decide on the team to lead our nation, and to chart our way forward together,” said Mr Wong.

The PAP’s campaign slogan will be “Changed world, fresh team, new resolve – securing a brighter future for you.”

Thursday’s event also featured speeches by former Holland-Bukit Timah GRC MP Christopher De Souza, former Sembawang GRC MP Poh Li San, and new faces Faisal Abdul Aziz, Hamid Razak and Jeffrey Siow.

Over 30 newcomers will be fielded in the coming contest, forming its largest slate of new faces in recent history, Mr Wong said previously.

FLYING INTO TURBULENCE

Mr Wong told party activists on Thursday that “there is a gathering storm ahead of us, and we are flying straight ahead into turbulence”.

Changes had been expected with the new Trump administration, since Mr Trump campaigned on imposing tariffs and addressing trade imbalances.

“But the tariff package has turned out to be more drastic than anyone expected, and it’s the biggest shock that this post-World War II global system has experienced,” said Mr Wong.

“All this will weigh heavily on the global economy, and in turn impact our own economy.”

Mr Wong noted that the Ministry of Trade and Industry had revised Singapore’s growth forecast downwards, while a recession and job losses cannot be ruled out.

“Our bigger concern is the kind of global environment we are moving into,” he said.

“We’ve encountered economic downturns before… But this time, something is different. This time, It’s not just a matter of economics.”

The rules-based global system that had enabled stability and shared prosperity is coming apart, said Mr Wong.

“America, which once underwrote this system, now wants to step back from being the global leader and the world’s policeman,” he said, adding that no country is able or willing to fill the gap.

Meanwhile, tensions continue to rise between the US and China.

“So it will be a period of messy transition globally, with more fragmentation, more contestation and more uncertainty for the world,” said Mr Wong.

“Here in Singapore, we must therefore brace ourselves for stormy weather.”

FOURTH-GENERATION LEADERSHIP

Mr Wong became secretary-general of the PAP in December last year, succeeding Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the helm.

The coming contest will be his first time leading the party into a general election, after taking over as the country’s fourth prime minister in May last year.