'Best option' to announce latest COVID-19 measures via broadcast before Parliament opens: Indranee Rajah

SINGAPORE: Broadcasting Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat's statement on the fifth set of COVID-19 Budget measures before Parliament opens was"the best option", said Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah on Sunday .

"That gives both MPs and the public enough time to absorb the contents before Parliament sits," she said in a Facebook post.The comment was made in response to a question brought up to her and her colleagues of why the measures were announced via broadcast rather than delivered in Parliament, said Ms Indranee, who is also Second Minister for Finance and National Development.

She said the broadcast was done to give businesses and workers clarity on the Government's plans as well as to give Members of Parliament enough time to consider the measures beforeAdding that"many jobs are at stake if there is no clarity on Government’s plan", she pointed out that some of the earlier Budget measures were about to expire - including the Jobs Support Scheme that was slated to end in August.

"When there are significant Budget measures, the usual practice is to announce them ahead of time. This gives the MPs time to form their views on the plans. It also gives the public time to provide feedback to their MPs and the ministries. This is then debated in Parliament," she said.while President Halimah Yacob will deliver her address on the Government's agenda, giving no opportunity for any ministerial statement, said Ms Indranee.

"Also, with the President’s Address being delivered on 24 August there will be a lot of substantive things for MPs and the public to consider between 24 and 31 August," said Ms Indranee.

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