PM Lee gives peek at National Day Rally prep

SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong posted a video online giving a peek at the preparations that take place for this Sunday's National Day Rally.

While PM Lee has, in the past, shared photos of his rehearsals in the lead up to the speech, this is the first time the preview comes in the form of a video.

The minute-long video features clips of PM Lee going through his script as well as practising at the new venue.

He will deliver the speech, considered the most important political speech of the year, on Sunday evening at the ITE College Central, in which he will address concerns raised by Singaporeans in the recently-ended Our Singapore Conversation exercise.

Policy announcements in education, healthcare and housing are also expected to be made.

In his Facebook post, PM Lee wrote: "Here's a behind the scenes look at the preps for my Rally on Sunday.

"A big thank you to the many who have helped me these past weeks - suggesting what to say in my speeches, preparing slides, designing the set, and getting the production ready."

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Here is what PM Lee said on his Facebook page:

"Tomorrow is my Rally. As I said in my ND Message, Singapore is at a turning point and needs to find a new way forward together.

"The economy is maturing and our population is ageing. Different groups in society have more diverse, even conflicting, interests. Older people worry about healthcare and costs of living.

"Younger ones aspire to wider education opportunities and more affordable homes. So we need to reassess our position, review our direction, and refresh our strategies. We have already started adjusting policies to achieve our goal: a fair and just society.

"Here are some videos (see bottom of article) on the changes in housing, education and healthcare.

"Thank you all for your suggestions over the past year, through OurSGConversation and other platforms. I look forward to speaking to you tomorrow."

Ministers of the Singapore cabinet also posted comments about the upcoming rally speech on their Facebook pages.

Here's what they said:

Heng Swee Keat:

"PM Lee has been working hard to prepare for this evening's National Day Rally. Catch it live on TV and radio at 6.45 pm. Looking forward to it!

"PM will be making his response to the aspirations distilled from Our Singapore Conversation. You can read these at https://oursgconversation.sg/reflections. This morning's Zaobao, Berita Harian and Tamil Murasu also carry feature articles on these."

Baey Yam Keng:

"Looking forward to the National Day Rally this evening. This gives a flavour of what we can expect."