Speaking in parliament during the budget debate, MP for Marine Parade GRC Tin Pei Ling explained that Singaporeans should not become overly dependent on the revenues generated from our national reserves.
She said that we should not take such money for granted.
Her warning comes after Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam explained that they would be adding the investment returns of Temasek Holdings into the Net Investment Returns (NIR) framework so that the government can use the money from Temasek's investments.
Under the Net Investment Returns framework, the government's annual budget comes from a percentage of the long-term investment returns gained by our sovereign wealth funds.
Previously only MAS and GIC were included in the NIR framework to calculate the government's revenue to use for its budget. As the government increases its spending this year, the inclusion of Temasek Holdings is expected to boost government funds by $4 billion to $5 billion each year.
On the change, Ms Tin Pei Ling raised concerns about the risks involved: "I appreciate that this would give the Government more resources to implement its programmes and help more Singaporeans. However, with the uncertainties in the global economy, to which ours is inextricably linked, are we being too aggressive now to include Temasek into the NIR framework?"
"I am concerned about whether Singaporeans will take the NIR for granted, and fail to understand that it is something special and rare. I am concerned that Singaporeans will become over-reliant on this source of revenue, and lose the drive to save and invest, and leave something for future generations."
She was making a point that we cannot forget that this money comes from years of saving and we must always be mindful not to set "unrealistic expectations" on what we can draw from the NIR.
"We need to explain to Singaporeans that the NIR comes from our reserves which are extraordinary and precious, and should not be taken for granted, and also that the Singapore spirit that has enabled us to build up such levels of reserves is also extraordinary and precious, and we must sustain this spirit," she said.
It seems that Ms Tin is against using more money for Singaporeans and is afraid that having too many financial reserves may end up "corrupting" Singapore and affect our drive and resilience. She noted that "Studies have shown that countries which have abundant natural resources often do not do well over the long term, because their people do not have to work hard and apply their wits, and gradually lose their vitality and initiative."
She warned that this may happen to Singapore through our abundant financial reserves if we are not careful.