Three phases in decade at the helm

Three phases in decade at the helm

"I would break down the 10 years into three segments. The first is from 2004, when I took over, till 2007, when the financial crisis came.

We were recovering from Sars.

The economy was gradually picking up, developing momentum and we were catching the wind while the sun was shining and doing quite well.

Then the financial crisis came - 2008. It was a very turbulent time for us. It was unsettling - a sudden dip - and frightening, followed by a quick recovery, which was unexpected.

In the end we had a tremendous rebound.

We should be happy with that, but it caused infrastructure problems, we ran into housing concerns.

And that led to other new difficulties.

The third phase would be from 2011 onwards after the general election.

There is a new team in charge, new expectations among the electorate, and further shifting of our emphasis.

(We are) continuing on economic growth but (placing) further emphasis on social safety nets, health, giving people an extra hand up and making sure that we make progress forward together."


This article was first published on January 17, 2015.
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