[GST Again]
1. Since PM announced GST going up to 7%, there has been an avalanche of negative comments. Some funny cartoons are also in circulation. However, I believe that once the details come out, Singaporeans will have a clearer picture of what the Government is trying to achieve.

2. This is not a zero-sum game robbing Peter to pay Paul however deserving Paul may be. It is a much larger exercise to put Singapore on a better financial footing to address some very big challenges ahead of us. To address these challenges, we have to make sure that the great majority of Singaporeans stay competitive in the global marketplace and the minority among us who face difficulty are given help.

3. The big challenge is the rise of China and India. Just engineers alone, these two countries will produce a million new graduates a year. A million!! In the last 10 years, China has poured billions of dollars into upgrading its universities. In all the major cities, the Chinese have built enormous parks housing many universities for all kinds of subjects. India is starting to do likewise. Whether we like it or not, this has a huge impact, not only on us, but on every other country. This is the reason why protectionist sentiments are on the rise.

4. Now China and India are moving closer together. President Hu Jintao in his recent visit to Delhi said that the world is big enough for both China and India to grow and develop. Indeed, their growth will open a new era of prosperity in Asia. Many people are already talking about this being the Asian century. But the question for us is where Singapore stands in this new Asia. No one owes us a living. We have to meet the competition head on. If we don't keep up with the competition, we'll be left behind. This is the reason why we have to continue investing in education, retraining, R&D and making sure our infrastructure is tip-top. Our greatest advantage is our pro-business environment - no corruption, fast response, efficient logistics, law and order. Only with investments coming in will our people have good jobs.

5. In the last few years, the workload in MFA and MTI have shot up because of the need to create new external space for our businesses to expand and create jobs. This evening, I'm following PM to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Middle East is an exciting new frontier for us. Many countries in the Middle East look up to us and want us to work with them. Now is the time to seize the opportunities.