On a bright Saturday afternoon on 2nd April 2022, we hosted Minister of Finance Mr Lawrence Wong for a candid post-2022 budget dialogue. Present as guest panelists are Mr Seeram Ramakrishna, Director of Nanotechnology and Sustainability at the National University of Singapore and Dr Ng Chin Siau, CEO and Founder of Q&M Dental.
SG100 Foundation Chairperson, Mr Willy Tan, kicked off the dialogue with the opening speech, to set the stage with where Singapore is at and the challenges she faces in a post pandemic world with ongoing unrest with the war in Ukraine.
Ms Sharon Ang, Director, Social Programmes from the Ministry of Finance opened up with key summary of Budget 2022. This was followed up Mr Lawrence Wong’s opening comments highlighting the budget is not just a budget for the present but for the future.
Mr Lawrence Wong fielded questions from the audience, which consisted of businessmen, professionals as well as student leaders representing Hwa Chong International, Dunman High School and River Valley High.
SG100 Foundation Chairperson, Mr Willy Tan, presenting a token of appreciation to Minster Lawrence Wong
Student, Shaynana, from Dunman High commented “My main takeway was that there was a lot of planning behind the policies in the budget. Some policies like the GST hike may be unwelcomed by many because our cost of living will be higher but the government has already considered that and mitigated the effects through different benefits…”
Educator and entrepreneur, Ms Patricia Vlad, remarked “Mr Wong’s transparent and clear discourse showed a comprehensive understanding of world economics, but it also demonstrated great courage in speaking frankly about difficult topics in front of an audience of mixed generations and ethnicities.”
Amidst the challenging times, we look forward to a fruitful 2022 and better times ahead, united as one nation and one country. Majulah Singapura!