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WHEN the global economy collapsed, a $20.5 billion Resilience Package was swiftly introduced by the Government to tackle the country's worst economic crisis since Independence.
Recently, Singapore has shown signs of an economic rebound but the Government refuses to celebrate.
Persistently, it points to the uncertainties in the global economy, saying they continue to pose a threat.
Its position has led the economists, MPs and employers interviewed to envision Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong giving prominence to the economy in his National Day Rally speech tomorrow.
Says labour MP Halimah Yacob: 'In a recession year like this, it would indeed be very odd if the PM does not dwell on the economy and jobs, which are certainly the topmost concern of most Singaporeans because of the direct impact on their livelihood.'
MP Inderjit Singh, former chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Finance and Trade and Industry, expects PM Lee to strike a note of cautious optimism.
He also expects that Mr Lee will give Singaporeans a sense of reality and touch on what could possibly go wrong.
Confidence has soared, especially this week when official figures show the economy growing 20.7 per cent in the second quarter against the first quarter.
However, recovery is not round the corner and the consensus is that PM Lee will take stock of the impact of the help measures and outline the challenges ahead.
In particular, he will address the flagging labour productivity, which has been on a steady decline since end-2007, as well as ways to ensure that exports are competitive.
PM Lee will probably also signal whether any help measure will be continued to further bolster the fledgling recovery.
The $4.5 billion Jobs Credit scheme, which subsidises a company's wage bill for local residents, is the major lifeline employers hope will be extended.
Says Nominated MP Teo Siong Seng, president of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry: 'It would be very beneficial if Jobs Credit and Spur could be extended beyond this year and next to enable more companies and more workers to take advantage of them.'
Spur is the $650 million Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience that subsidises workers' training.
However, Dr Chua Hak Bin, Citigroup's head of Singapore research, does not foresee an extension of the Jobs Credit as the labour market has improved.
Layoffs and redundancies fell to 5,500 in the second quarter, less than half the 12,760 recorded in the first quarter.
But Madam Halimah is hoping the uncertain global outlook will persuade the Government to look into extending the scheme.
Mr Lawrence Leow, president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, said businesses are keeping their fingers crossed that PM Lee will set out how the Government will help them lower business costs.
Economics professor Shandre Thangavelu of the National University of Singapore argues that it is still early to refine or tweak any of the policies and aid measures introduced to help businesses tackle the recession.
He says: 'The performance of the economy in the third quarter will give a better sense of the situation.'
Those interviewed also threw up a list of challenges facing the Singapore economy and labour market that they hope PM Lee will address at the rally.
Madam Halimah cites the need to ensure that workers continue to acquire and improve their skills to remain employable even when the economy recovers and training becomes less important.
Citigroup's Dr Chua and Prof Thangavelu expect PM Lee to set out what the Government will do over the longer term to raise productivity and seize growth opportunities arising from the changes in the global economy in the last two years.
Prof Thangavelu says the Singapore economy needs new economic and industrial strategies to remain globally competitive as the world's economy restructures, with new emerging industries.
He says: 'The dominance of China is expected to increase and the alignment of domestic industries - not only to new industries in US and Europe, but also new industries in China - will be very important.
'We will face new challenges in the region in terms of searching for new export markets.'
PM Lee will probably also talk about the new Economic Strategies Committee (ESC), he adds.
The committee was set up recently to explore new ways to grow the economy and is due to report with key proposals in time for next year's Budget.
'PM Lee will likely provide some indication of the deliberations of the ESC in terms of the existing and emerging economic constraints for Singapore,' says Prof Thangavelu.
PM Lee will probably also signal whether any help measure will be continued to further bolster the fledgling recovery.
The $4.5 billion Jobs Credit scheme, which subsidises a company's wage bill for local residents, is the major lifeline employers hope will be extended.
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