National Day Rally 2022: PM Lee to speak about Covid-19, how Singapore can secure its future

SINGAPORE – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will speak about Singapore’s experience during the Covid-19 pandemic and set out how the country can secure its future at the National Day Rally on Sunday (Aug 21).

He said this in a brief trailer posted on Facebook on Friday, which showed the preparations for his speech at ITE College Central in Ang Mo Kio.

“When I first spoke (at ITE College Central) in 2013, I said the venue underscored my commitment to investing in everyone in this country, and emphasised that Singapore was at a turning point. Today, this is truer than ever,” he said.

PM Lee noted that this is the first year since the onset of Covid-19 when he could do the rally at full-scale.

He had delivered his rally speech in a Mediacorp studio in 2021, while the event was called off in 2020.

The rally is seen as the most important political speech of the year.

Observers said PM Lee is likely to touch on geopolitical and economic challenges on Sunday – both of which were focal topics of his National Day message.

The Prime Minister said then that Singaporeans must be psychologically prepared that in the coming decades, the region might not be as peaceful and stable as it has been.

Low inflation levels and interest rates are not likely to return any time soon, he added.

Associate Professor (Practice) Terence Ho from the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy expects PM Lee to speak about the geopolitical situation this year, given the rising tensions between the United States and China.

“PM is also likely to address inflationary pressures and the cost of living, which is top-of-mind for many Singaporeans,” said Prof Ho, adding that there could be an update on Singapore’s Covid-19 situation and the Government’s approach to handling the pandemic.