PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Teck Ghee Chinese New Year Dinner 2024

Welcome everybody to the Teck Ghee Chinese New Year Dinner! Wish you all a very Happy Chinese New Year, and I hope we have a good Year of the Dragon ahead. Let me just welcome our Malay guests in a few words, and then I will make a speech in Mandarin, and then in English.

Selamat datang ke perayaan Tahun Baru Cina kita di Teck Ghee. Saya gembira anda dapat bersama kita menyambut Tahun Baru Cina. Di Singapura, semua kaum-kaum menyambut hari tahun baru masing-masing, dan tahun baru kaum lain. Dan saya gembira kami hari ini, dapat bersama dan dapat menyambutnya sebagai satu negara, satu rakyat. Terima kasih.

大家晚上好！祝各位龙腾万里、身体健康、心想事成、风调雨顺、国泰民安、万事如意

今天是初八，祝各位兴、旺、发！今天也是我们德义居民能够和家人朋友聚在一起的好日子。

生活费

昨天，副总理黄循财发表了今年的财政预算案。大家应该报纸上看到了，电视上看到了，从朋友口中也应该传到了。在预算案里，副总理宣布了新的措施来帮助国人应付在生活费上面对的压力。例如，政府增加了补贴的金额，每户家庭可再获得600元的邻里购物券。 这是昨天的消息，可是万一你没听到，今天讲清楚一点。300 元将在6月底分发，其余的300元将在明年1月发放。

21岁及以上的国人，如果年收入不超过10万元，而且拥有不超过一套房地产，就可以获得200 元到400元的“生活费特别补助”。去年通货膨胀比较高，今年通货膨胀应该好一点，不过还是可能比以前来得高，所以我们这个“生活费特别补助”，希望能够帮助大家稍微减轻负担。政府也会为组屋住户提供额外的一次性水电费回扣，以及额外半个月服务与杂费回扣。

明年1月起，我们也增加乐龄补贴计划(Silver Support Scheme) 的津贴，以确保低收入年长者能够继续维持生活开销。

去年我在国庆群众大会上宣布了为 “壮龄人士” 推出 的(Majulah Package) 共同前进配套。谁是壮龄人士呢？他们就是去年已经满50岁的新加坡人，但是比建国一代与立国一代年轻的新加坡人。

壮龄人士的共同前进配套，详细的内容昨天已在预算案里说明了， 有三个部分。第一，为了鼓励大家继续工作，只要年长者继续工作，而且收入不超过6000元，每年就能够获得高达1000元的 “就业储蓄花红”(Earn and Save Bonus)。换句话说，如果你去年超过了50岁，还继续工作，并且你的月收入不超过6000元，那你每年可以得到1000元的花红，是存进公积金里的。

第二，为了加强大家的退休保障，你们可以获得一次性的“退休储蓄花红”(Retirement Savings Bonus)，款额介于1000元到1500元之间。

第三，只要你符合年龄，也就是去年超过50岁，你将可以获得一次性的“公积金保健储蓄花红”(MediSave Bonus) ，数额是750或1500元。这些花红会存入你的公积金户头，这样一来你们可以继续工作，贡献社会，同时有更多的保障。

Majulah配套主要的对象是壮龄人士。不过，建国一代和立国一代的国人，也能够享受到一部分的好处。换句话说，如果你是1973年或更早出生的，那你就能够受惠。在座的朋友，如果你是1973年或更早出生的，请举手。希望这配套会帮助大家继续工作，安享晚年！

不过长远来看，要让人民过好的生活，就必须确保新加坡的经济不断地发展，让国人有工作做，有好的薪水，能够照顾好自己和家人。这次的预算案，除了纾解人民对生活费上涨的忧虑，也为国家下个阶段的发展打下更好的基础。

我们虽然渡过了冠病疫情那个难关，但是我们必须为接下来的挑战做好充足的准备。因此，预算案为工友提供终身保障、继续维持一个平等的社会以及促进社会流动性、为家庭和年长者提供更多支持、确保财政开支的可持续性以及打造一个更强壮和团结的新加坡。希望这些全面且务实有效的政策和措施，能够促进我国的经济增长，也能够让大家有更安稳的生活。

其实，要让新加坡国泰平安，除了有一套包容性的预算案，更重要的是人民与政府之间要保持高度的互信，人民继续对政府有抱握、有信心、支持政府的政策和领导。并且能够齐心协力，一起守护好新加坡，造福我们下一代的国人。

龙年之际，我们将推陈出新。大家可以向往有一个更温馨的家园，一个更美好的市镇。谢谢大家的支持，大家的合作，大家的努力。希望龙年继续兴旺，新加坡继续昌盛、繁荣。年年繁荣、年年好。谢谢大家。

Good evening to everybody, friends and residents of Teck Ghee. And once again, a very happy Year of the Dragon to all our friends and residents.

We are going into the Dragon year in a good position. We have come up from COVID-19. We are strong. Our economy has recovered. Last year, a bit slow. This year, we are expecting it to do a little bit better

We have just had the budget yesterday. The Finance Minister―Lawrence Wong―has given a comprehensive budget. It covers many aspects, from the present, to the future; from the old, to the young. One of the aspects of course is to take care of the cost of living; to take care of the concerns which people have over higher prices, over inflation, over the immediate problems. And there were items in the budget to look after this. More U-Save rebates; more S&CC rebates. Extra cost-of-living assistance to households. Extra CDC vouchers; $600, with $300 to be paid in June, and another $300 to be paid next year in January. These are all measures which will make a difference to every household, especially those who need it the most.

At the same time, the budget also contains our Majulah Package details, to explain to everybody what the Majulah Package contains. And it has an Employment Support Scheme. So if you are continuing to work, you will get a top-up into your CPF. There is a once-off retirement savings bonus, so that you get $1,000 to $2,000 to $2,500 once off, topped-up into your CPF. And you will also have gotten a Medisave Bonus. And this one, everybody who is in the age group will enjoy and there is no means test, and it will help us all to pay for our medical costs, because we know that medical costs are going up. As we grow older, we need to spend more on this.

These are all good things which we have been able to do because we have worked together. We have been prudent. We have been able to accumulate the resources we need and to direct them to the people who need it, and to the places where they are needed. It's a good thing. But apart from helping people with the cost of living, and also the Majulah Package to help older citizens take care of their needs, this is also a budget which looks after the future. It looks after our working population, to keep them able to be upskilled; able to be retrained; able to be employed; able to be upgraded. So if you graduate―for example―from ITE, and later on you want to go back and take a poly course. We give you a grant into your CPF. It can help to pay your fees. After that, when you graduate, you get $10,000―another CPF grant―just to give you encouragement, so that you will work; you will upgrade yourself; you will do well for yourself.

It is the way we want Singapore to be, so that everybody has a chance to keep on working, upgrading, and improving himself for many, many years. Not just when you are studying in school, but even when you are working; even when you are middle aged; even if you're older. Because we have also got the SkillsFuture Credit. So when you reach 40 years old, we put $4,000 more into your SkillsFuture credit. And you can use that to attend some other courses and hope that those will be able to make a difference to your career and to your prospects.

So this is the way the government needs to work in Singapore. To look after the present need; take care of the people who have brought us here, and who have worked hard for many years. And look forward to provide for our future; for the country's future; and for bright opportunities and many possibilities for our children and for our grandchildren.

We can do that because we are doing it together as one people. We are going to do it together with the government. And we're doing it as one nation. A little red dot, showing the world that we are different. It is a troubled world. Many things are not going right in the world. But we will do whatever we can in Singapore―and there is a lot that we can do―to make things go right for ourselves, and to secure for ourselves a future which will be good every year. Dragon year, of course, we would expect something a little bit extra. But even non-Dragon year, we take care of ourselves, and we secure our children's livelihoods, and their prospects for many, many years to come.

So, this is Chinese New Year. It is not meant to be a National Day Rally speech. It is just a few words to encourage everybody to pat ourselves a little bit on the back, and to encourage ourselves: “Work harder, next year will be better!” Thank you very much.

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