'It gave me sleepless nights': President Halimah on unlocking reserves during Covid-19 crisis

SINGAPORE - In her six years as the President of Singapore, Madam Halimah Yacob gave her assent to 11 Budgets, and concurred to five drawdowns on the past reserves.

No other president in the country's history has had to exercise the custodial function so many times.

"It gave me sleepless nights... because it's not a simple thing of just using the key to (unlock) the reserves," Madam Halimah says in an interview about her time in office, from 2017 until later this year.

"You've got to be... really sure that this will help Singaporeans, and that this is a really exceptional and dire situation that we are faced with."

During her term, the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, claiming millions of lives, upending economies and bringing the world to a standstill.

Billions were needed, and fast, to stem the spread of the Sars-CoV-2 virus and to keep the economy afloat, and the Government proposed tapping the nation's reserves.

As custodian of these savings built up over generations, it fell on Madam Halimah and her eight-member Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) to determine if it was absolutely necessary to unlock them.

Two keys guard Singapore's reserves, with the Government holding the first one. The president wields the second, and must agree before the Government can dip into the reserves.

Safeguarding the reserves

She had "no difficulty" convincing herself that the situation was grave and that people would need help, she says.

Madam Halimah and the CPA, headed by former Public Service Commission chairman Eddie Teo, had been kept abreast of the fast-changing and rapidly deteriorating global and domestic situations.

Deaths, hospitalisations and transmissions rates - the Ministry of Health provided all the statistics needed.

There were also the informal briefings by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, where she was told there would be a circuit breaker to stop the transmission of Covid-19, and also given a heads up on the proposals to draw from the reserves.

The seriousness of the situation facing Singapore was indisputable, but still, questions had to be asked.

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Recalling the many meetings and discussions held over the drawdowns and the Budgets during the pandemic, Madam Halimah says: "We needed to hear from them, because it's for the Government to come and justify to us why they need to draw down the reserves, and so that was what we had.

"I must tell you that it is a very rigorous process."

At over more than 50 meetings with the ministries of Finance, Trade and Industry, and Health, she and the CPA were briefed about the fiscal matters and the public health and economic crises facing Singapore.

Many questions were asked at the discussions that took hours, and ministry officials worked round the clock to provide the answers, she says.

Whether it was buying antigen rapid test kits, creating new jobs, or assisting small and medium enterprises, the Government had to explain the merits of the schemes that needed funding and justify why they needed the money. 

"If I or the CPA were not sure of anything, we asked... and they had to explain. And if they were not so sure about any area, they would go back and check and provide us with the statistics and the data," she explains.

"We had to do that because it is public funds that we were talking about."

While the discussions were robust and the process rigorous, everyone understood they had different roles to play and was "professional about it", she adds.

"My role is not to checkmate the Government. No, my role is not that. My role is to make sure that our reserves that are released are used in a manner that is meant for our national interests," she says.

In all, the Government brought five proposals for withdrawals from the past reserves to the tune of $69 billion, and Madam Halimah and the CPA gave their backing five times.

Each time, they went through the same rigorous process, stressed Madam Halimah.

Eventually, $39.7 billion was drawn down and used.

This is almost 10 times more than the first time a president had to turn the second key and unlock the reserves.

During the global financial crisis in 2009, the Government sought and obtained Mr S R Nathan's approval to withdraw $4.9 billion to save jobs and stabilise the economy. After the situation improved, the reserves were made good.

In this instance, though, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said that it is "highly unlikely" that the Government will be able to return what was drawn to fund the pandemic-related schemes as Singapore is likely to remain in a tight fiscal position in the years to come.

Asked about this, Madam Halimah says she had not discussed it with the Government.

"But at any point of time, if the Government balances its revenues well, then whatever is in excess will go into the surplus, will go into the past reserves and that will help grow the reserves again," she notes.

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She acknowledges that this would mean there is less for future generations, but points out that the Covid-19 pandemic was a crisis of an unprecedented scale. 

"We can keep the money for future generations because that's meant for them, but then, if the parents of the future generation are facing a test of survival now and we said, 'We can't release the money,' then it doesn't really make sense," she adds.

Looking back at the extraordinary times, she says: "I never expected we would have to draw down on the reserves, but we had to. And so, this presidency will in many ways be defined by that.

"It's the Covid-19 period when the President has to unlock the key and to basically support Singapore, support Singaporeans." 

Flying Singapore's flag

Indeed, hers was very much a presidency defined by the pandemic, with border closures and travel restrictions preventing her from performing her role as Singapore's chief envoy for a while.

Her last trip before Covid-19 restrictions kicked in was a state visit to Indonesia in February 2020.

For almost two years, she was mostly grounded.

When restrictions around the world were finally lifted, she wasted no time in flying Singapore's flag abroad.

Her first trip was to China for the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022.

"There was a lot of catching up to do," she quips.

In all, she visited 18 countries during her term, 12 of which were state visits.

She is the first Singapore head of state to make state visits to the Netherlands, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

These visits were important to send the signal that "Singapore is interested in their region", says Madam Halimah, who was often accompanied by her husband, Mr Mohamed Abdullah Alhabshee.

She adds that the visits were not meant to be just ceremonial, but were also aimed at building rapport with foreign leaders to establish stronger bilateral relations and grow Singapore's network of friends.

Madam Halimah also views the visits as opportunities to raise issues that are important to Singapore. 

For instance, while in Uzbekistan at the invitation of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in May - the two countries celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations in 2023 - she discussed food security with her counterpart, she says.

Together with presidents Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany and Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia and then-president of Ecuador Lenín Moreno Garces, as well as King Abdullah II of Jordan, Madam Halimah also co-wrote an opinion piece published in the Financial Times in 2020 about how nations should work together, instead of turn inwards, in fighting the pandemic.

"In today's very volatile world, we need to strengthen our friendships," she says.

On many of these visits, other foreign leaders expressed admiration for the Singapore system of governance and administration, she says, and that was always a starting point to build rapport.

"They say that they have a lot to learn from Singapore. So I told them, we also have a lot to learn from you. This is a situation where we can learn from each other's experiences," she says.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.

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