Mr。President,FriendsandColleagues,AndfellowSingaporeans, WehavehadapivotalGeneralElection。IttookplaceduringSG50,markingthebeginningofanewchapterforus。 Asapeople,wefacedcriticalchoicesinthiselection。WehadtodecidewhomwewantedtoformtheGovernment,whichteamtochoosetosecureourfuture,andwhichdirectionSingaporeshouldprogressin。Wehadtoaskourselves:howdowekeepimprovingourlives,takingSingaporehigher,andbuildingsomethingworthwhileandlastingforourchildren? MyteamandIarehonouredandhumbledthat70ofvoterschosethePAPtoformtheGovernment。YougaveusaclearmandatetotakeSingaporeforward,andwewilldoso。 SuchadecisiveresultcouldonlyhavehappenedwithsupportfromallgroupsofSingaporeans。All89seatswerecontested,andeveryadultcitizenhadtovote。TherealwinnersinthiselectionwereSingaporeans。Wehaveastrong,stablegovernment,abletotakeSingaporeconfidentlyintothefuture。Singaporeansshowedthatweknewwhatwasatstake。Atacriticalmoment,weunitedtodecideourfuture。Wepledgedourselvestoforgeanewwayforwardasonepeople,onenation,oneSingapore。 Theelectionresultsentanimportantsignaltotheworld:thatweSingaporeansaredeterminedtokeepSingaporespecial。Throughthedecades,ourpoliticalstabilityandourqualityworkforcehaveattractedmanyMNCstoinvesthere。Inrecenttimes,MNCshavewatchedourpoliticsmoreclosely,toseewhichwayitisheading。Aftertheelection,EDBtoldmethatanMNCthathasbeenhereformanyyearshadjustdecidedtoincreaseitsstakeinSingaporeandmakeanotherbilliondollarinvestmenthere,creatingmanymoregoodjobsforSingaporeans。Ihavenodoubtthattheelectionresultboostedthisinvestor39;sconfidencethattheyweremakingtherightdecision,andthattheycouldbeconfidentSingaporeanswouldkeepourfundamentalsstrong。Iamsurethatourneighboursnoticedtoo,ashaveothers。 YourclearmandatehasenabledmetoformastrongCabinet。MynewteamcomprisesbothexperiencedMinisterswhowillprovidesteadyhandsinachallengingenvironment,andyoungerMinisterswhowillbringnewperspectivesandideas。TheywillhavetomastertheissuesquicklyandreadythemselvestoleadSingapore。 MyfirstobjectiveinformingthisCabinetis,asalways,toprovidethemosteffectivegovernmentforSingapore。Weareenteringanewphaseofournationhood。Wefacemorecomplexchallengesandnewissuesthatcutacrossmultipledomains。Therefore,IhaveappointedCoordinatingMinisterstooverseeworkinthreemajorareas。 Thefirstareaisnationalsecurity,whichremainsavitalpreconditionofoursuccess。TheSAFandHomeTeamhavekeptussafe,butnewdangersandthreatsareemergingaroundus。ISISandjihadistterroristsareaseriousproblemforSoutheastAsiaandSingapore,becausetheythreatenourphysicalsafetyandourracialharmony。TensionsintheSouthChinaSeaareunsettlingourregion。Politicalproblemsorracialtensionsinneighbouringcountriescancomplicatebilateralrelations,orspillovertoaffectoursociety。Therefore,IhavekeptDPMTeoCheeHeaninchargeofnationalsecurity。 Anotherareaiseconomicandsocialpolicies,whichformamajorpartofouragenda。Withanageingpopulationanduncertainglobalconditions,growthwillbehardertocomeby。YetoureconomymustgrowtocreateopportunitiesforSingaporeansandtoimproveourlives。Atthesametime,wemustusethefruitsofgrowthwisely,bothtoinvestinourfutureandtostrengthenoursocialsafetynets。EverycitizenshouldbenefitfromSingapore39;ssuccess,andthoseneedinganextrahelpinghandshouldbelookedafter。DPMTharmanwilloverseethiscriticalarea。 Thefinalmajorareaisinfrastructure。Goodinfrastructureprovidesthephysicalbasisforourqualityoflife,andoureconomiccompetitiveness。Comparedtomostothercountries,wehavedonewell。Singaporeansliveingoodhomes,enjoyawellplanned,greenenvironment,andtravelinanefficientpublictransportsystem。Butwehaveambitiousplanstobuildonwhatwealreadyhaveoverthenext2030yearstocreateanewcity,andanoutstandinglivingenvironmentforallofus。Wealsoknowwhereweneedtodomoreworktoimprovestandardsandtoremedyshortcomings。KhawBoonWanwillberesponsibleformakingSingaporeabeautifulandendearinghomeforallofus。