SM Lee Hsien Loong at the Opening of the Upgraded Cheng San Community Club

Good morning, everybody. 大家早上好。

Very happy to see everyone here at our newly renovated and reopened Cheng San Community Club. Let me start in Mandarin.

今天站在这个翻新后的静山民众俱乐部非常高兴。

今年五月大选的时侯，我跟我的团队承诺，如果可以再次获得人民的委托，我们会继续照顾好宏茂桥的居民，照顾好静山的居民。

因为有了大家对议员Nadia 和宏茂桥团队的支持，今天竣工, 是兑现了对宏茂桥和静山选民的一部份的承诺。或者应该说是一部份地兑现了我们给你们的承诺。

我和我的团队虽然在静山和宏茂桥服务多年， 但是我们知道每一届的选举，我们都必须做好我们的工作，帮助居民解决生活问题、提升大家的生活环境，为大家的前途着想。我们积极努力，做得尽善尽美。这个新颖的民众俱乐部就是我们努力的成果之一。

好的政府必须在各层次上，照顾好人民。在国家层次上 — 能够搞好经济、有效处理外交关系。在国家面临挑战的时侯，能够对症下药。在社区邻里方面 — 我们必须能够为人民改善生活环境、建立社区精神；让人民生活过得一天比一天好。让居民觉得负担不会太重。

这些都需要政府和人民互相信任，经过长时间的一起努力， 才能建立起来的。这个不是五年一次，昙花一现 — 马上出现，马上又消失的。因此我们很欣慰，选民多年来，以及在这次大选时，给予Nadia和宏茂桥团队的信任和委托。

借此，再次感谢大家鼎力的支持。宏茂桥和Nadia的静山团队会再接再励，为大家服务。希望大家充分利用俱乐部的新设施，继续为社区增添更多的活力、更多的温馨感。

现在让我用英语讲几句话。

I am very happy to join everyone here this morning. Am particularly happy to see many of our former advisers here, Mr Lee Yock Suan, Mr Ang Hin Kee, also Mrs Balaji Sadasivan, to share in the happiness of the reopening of this CC.

2025 Round-Up

We had an eventful year, this year 2025.

In May, we had our General Election. Nationally, we are very happy that PM Lawrence Wong and the PAP won a good mandate. It puts him and his leadership team in a strong position to lead us, to deal with the challenges ahead of us, and to bring Singapore forward in the next lap. Here in Ang Mo Kio, I and my Ang Mo Kio team, including Nadia in Cheng San, campaigned on the basis that if you re-elect us, we will continue to implement the plans we have developed with you for Ang Mo Kio and Cheng San. Thank you for your continued trust and support, and the clear mandate you have given us in this election. This has enabled my team to continue our work which we have been doing for many years, to work with you and to serve you better. So, this renovated, expanded, and enhanced Cheng San Community Club is one example of what we are doing. We started the project before the election. Then Covid-19 came, we had to wait a little bit. But Nadia and the team continued on after the election, and now it is completed, and we can all enjoy the improved facilities.

This year our economy is projected to do well, better than we had initially expected, and certainly better than what we feared after 2 April where the Americans imposed drastic tariffs on everybody, including 10% on Singapore. Recently MTI upgraded our growth forecast, to 4% for this year. And for next year, our economy is projected to continue growing – MTI says between 1 and 3 %. But honestly nobody can be sure. But right now, it looks like chances are, we will continue to grow. And if the economy continues to do well, then we can keep on creating good jobs for everyone, and improving everyone’s lives.

World Remains Troubled

But all this is not to be taken for granted. Because if you look around us in the world, it is still very clouded. There are still thunderstorms around us and it will be like this for a long time to come.

Internationally, the US has taken a very different attitude towards international trade and investment, towards its relations with other countries. It no longer believes in win-win co-operation or in rules which apply to countries big and small. It prefers to deal bilaterally − the US with other countries individually − and to negotiate bilaterally. It is using its strength − because it is bigger than most of the countries (certainly its economy is the biggest in the world) − to get a better deal for itself. And it believes that if it imposes tariffs, then it can reduce its trade deficits and get some extra benefits from other countries. The economists do not really believe this is what really happens, but the US administration is convinced that this is so, and this is what they are doing.

So, when they impose a lot of tariffs around the world, in what they call the “Liberation Day” tariffs on 2 April, I think many people were very worried for the global economy − that it would tank; we would go into a recession. So far that has not happened. And maybe we have avoided the worst, but I have no doubt that what has happened has put us − certainly Singapore and I think many countries − in a position which is worse than we were in before 2 April.

And we will be in this position for a long time to come because international trade will be less certain. International investment would be diverted, it will also be diminished. And it would be like this for a long time. Which means less growth, less progress for us, and less prosperity. More friction with other countries, between countries, and a more troubled world. And in this kind of a world, everybody loses. But small countries, I think are the most vulnerable − we lose the most of all.

In the region with our neighbours, our relations are generally stable, good and cordial. This week, we just had the Leaders’ Retreat between PM Lawrence Wong and PM Anwar Ibrahim from Malaysia. The retreat went well but between neighbours, there are always issues. And with Malaysia, there are longstanding issues which we are working on but will not be easily resolved. With Indonesia, relations are stable but we have to continue to tend them. And we have to make sure that within ASEAN, amongst close neighbours, our relations stay on track. Because if we go off track in a world which is already troubled, that is bad news for us.

Need to stay united as one people

So at times like this, all the more we must stay as one united people. And we need to work together as one community, and to work together with the Government as one country. And there are many more things we can do to achieve that.

So I hope all of you will work closely with one another, with Nadia and her team here in Cheng San, with me, and all of our team in Ang Mo Kio. And with the government in Singapore to make things better for us, so that we can take better care of one another. Keep the economy growing; continue to upskill the workforce and retrain. Continue to improve our relations with neighbours and keep Singapore safe and secure. And here in our own neighbourhood, to build strong local communities, deliver good facilities, and improve lives.

So, congratulations on the completion of this project. Make full use of it and may it bring all of us closer together to continue building a better and happier community in Cheng San and in Singapore.

Thank you very much.