Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday identified three areas of priority for the government: restructuring the economy, addressing the population shortfall and updating the political system.
In a wide-ranging speech to the annual Singapore Perspective Conference organised by the Institute of Policy Studies, Mr Lee said Singapore's economic policies must enable the country's economy to perform to its limits and help Singaporeans thrive in the new world.
He said the Economic Strategies Committee will publish its recommendations next week and the government will respond to them in the Budget.
On the population shortfall, Mr Lee said Singapore's birth rates are not improving despite the government's best efforts.
Last year, there were about 170 fewer live births than in 2008.
This would mean that the total fertility rate would have gone down further.
PM Lee stressed that while the decline could have been due to the global economic downturn, it was still a grave trend. If left unchecked, Singapore will face not just an ageing, but a shrinking population.
Therefore, he said the government needs to encourage Singaporeans to start families with parenthood benefits and other incentives.
However, he added that the country must also top up the population and talent pool with immigration in a measured and calibrated manner.
Turning to the subject of updating the political system, Mr Lee said that while having a sound system is essential, that in itself is not enough to produce political stability and good governance.
He said that the nation is still dependent on having the right people in charge and an able and committed team coming forward to lead the country.
The Prime Minister said a key task for his predecessors and himself has always been to identify promising people to form the next team.
He said good progress has been made in this area but he does not have a complete next team lined up in Cabinet yet.
He is confident that by the next general election, the People's Action Party (PAP) will field a team which will consist the core of the next generation leadership.
Mr Lee also stressed that leadership renewal will be a major issue in the next general election.
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