Challenges require S’poreans to be bold, creative & open to new solutions: PM in 2026 New Year message
As 2025 came to an end, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong released a New Year Message to Singaporeans, flagging three longer-term challenges for the nation.
Besides an ageing population and longer lifespans, he identified clean energy as one of the “complex” challenges we must deal with.
Source: Lawrence Wong on YouTube
Govt focused on improving S’poreans’ lives: PM
In his 2026 New Year Message released on Wednesday (31 Dec), Mr Wong said the Government’s focus “remains firmly” on improving lives for people in Singapore.
To that end, they will help every worker grow and progress in their careers as “economic success is a means to an end”.
They will also continue improving education, housing, and healthcare – what he called “the basics in life” – for every Singaporean.
For lower-income families, they will be uplifted by financial assistance and “empowering them to build a better future for themselves and their children”.
The disabled and their caregivers will get more support by way of improving their access to services, expanding their opportunities for meaningful work and independent living, and giving their families greater confidence to plan for the future.
S’pore will welcome those who embrace our way of life as fellow citizens
While the abovementioned issues are pressing, Mr Wong highlighted some longer-term challenges for Singapore.
Firstly, to address our rapidly ageing population and declining birth rate, the Government will continue to support young Singaporeans by addressing their concerns over housing, childcare and education.
An environment will be created for families to “grow and thrive” and society to be remain “vibrant and forward-looking”, he said, adding:
This also means staying open, and welcoming those who embrace our way of life as our fellow citizens.
He noted that these efforts will help “strengthen our shared values and identity” and maintain a “strong and cohesive” Singaporean core.
Aim for seniors to work in age-friendly workplaces
Singapore must also be prepared for longer life spans, as this will have “far-reaching implications” for healthcare, work, and retirement, Mr Wong said.
A Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment is studying how to enable seniors to “work meaningfully” in workplaces that are age-friendly.
This is part of the plan to “strengthen retirement adequacy”, especially for lower- and middle-income workers.
S’pore needs clean energy to power industries like AI
Thirdly, the energy-intensive industries of the future, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), need a reliable supply of clean energy, Mr Wong said.
Singapore is pursuing two methods of securing clean energy: importing green energy and working towards an ASEAN Power Grid, and our own clean solutions such as low-carbon hydrogen and nuclear energy.
Just as Singapore did in creating NEWater to solve our need for water issue, Singapore must turn vulnerability into a source of strength by finding solutions to our clean energy challenge, he added.
S’poreans must be ‘bold, creative, and open to new solutions’
As the challenges he named are “complex”, Singaporeans must be “bold, creative, and open to new solutions”, Mr Wong said.
We must not allow our differences to divide us during our discussions on these challenges, he noted, adding:
Instead, we must harness our diverse perspectives to chart a new path forward – as one united people.
Source: Lawrence Wong on Facebook
S’pore’s economy grew 4.8% in 2024
Happily, Singapore’s economy grew 4.8% in 2024, “stronger-than-expected” growth, Mr Wong revealed.
Unemployment and inflation have remained low, and real incomes have risen across the board, he noted.
He cited “more resilient than anticipated” global economic growth for this outcome, with United States tariffs imposed later and at lower levels than many had feared.
Singapore additionally benefited from an AI-related surge in demand for semiconductors and electronics.
Sustaining such growth will be ‘challenging’
Though the economic growth was a “better outcome than we expected”, Mr Wong urged Singaporeans to be “realistic”.
Sustaining this pace of growth will be “challenging”, he said, citing fractured global trade and geopolitical tensions as obstacles.
Thus, Singapore “cannot simply do more of the same” to remain competitive but must “rethink, reset, and refresh” our economic strategies.
Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong is already leading a team of younger officeholders in this important effort, with their first set of proposals to be released soon.
Source: Prime Minister’s Office
The Government will respond to these proposals at Budget 2026, Mr Wong noted.
2025 a significant year for S’pore
Looking back on 2025, Mr Wong said 2025 was a “significant” year for Singapore as we commemorated 60 years of nation-building.
Referring to the 2025 General Election, he noted that Singaporeans had entrusted his government with “a clear mandate” to lead.
Globally, 2025 signalled the end of the previous global order, with longstanding assumptions about open markets and cooperation being questioned and sometimes rejected.
Conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, Thailand and Cambodia also pointed to deepening geopolitical tensions.
These developments have made the world “less predictable and secure”, the PM added, advising Singaporeans to remain vigilant against security threats.
Strength in adversity needed to sustain S’pore miracle
Even so, Singapore has found “strength in adversity” and faced challenges together, Mr Wong said.
As examples, he pointed to the national football team, who qualified for the Asian Cup for the first time, and Team Singapore’s SEA Games athletes, who delivered outstanding performances and achieved milestones.
Source: Singapore National Olympic Council via Lawrence Wong on Facebook
“These achievements remind us that when we stay focused and keep pushing on, we can overcome setbacks, rise above adversity and face uncertainty with confidence,” he added.
He thus noted that the same spirit is needed from all of us to sustain the Singapore miracle.
Wishing Singaporeans a very Happy New Year, he called on us to “write the next chapter of our Singapore Story together”.
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Featured image adapted from Lawrence Wong on YouTube and MS News.
