Tharman, a former cabinet minister, was speaking at the opening of the 15th parliament in Singapore, during which the city state’s president addresses MPs on key issues in the fresh five-year term.
He noted that the new parliament was opening amid a more fragmented world where economic interdependence had been weaponised and “acts of aggression, coercion, or unreasonable demands are now more readily tolerated, and even appeased”.
While the rivalry between the two largest powers – the US and China – would continue to intensify, Singapore must chart its course with quiet confidence and resolve so it could shape its own destiny, Tharman said.
Yet he argued that Singapore’s success would never be measured by economic growth alone, and must instead be judged on how every Singaporean could live with dignity.
