Opening speech by Mr. Chee Hong Tat, Acting Minister for Transport, at the MOT National Awards (COVID-19) Ceremony

Friends and colleagues,  
Ladies and gentlemen,  

1.     I am very happy to join all of you this evening, to recognise the contributions of our colleagues and industry partners in Singapore’s fight against COVID-19.  

A Long Journey 

2.     We have come a long way from the depths of the pandemic.  At Changi Airport, passenger traffic and city links have recovered to about 90% of pre-COVID levels.  Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints are now busier than ever, and cross-border ferry services have resumed.   

3.      We had to protect livelihoods, keep essential workers and goods moving, as well as preserve our international connectivity, while managing the public health risks, including some which we were encountering for the first time due to the new virus.  We also had to adapt rapidly as the situation changed.  With great effort, and as One Transport Family – companies, workers, unions and the Government – we pulled through.  The critical ingredient was our tripartite collaboration and the high level of trust amongst the partners.  These enabled us to stay united, and work together in our nation’s successful fight against COVID-19.  We were able to remain connected with the world, keep essential supplies flowing, while also readying ourselves for recovery and growth.   

Fighting Against COVID-19 

4.     When the pandemic struck, we had to quickly repatriate Singaporeans who were abroad.  MOT and our partners worked together on the repatriation operations, facilitating smooth arrivals while ensuring compliance with public health requirements.  In particular, two special operations were mounted by our courageous aircrew from Scoot and our officers from MFA in early 2020 to bring back home 261 Singaporeans from Wuhan.  Similar efforts in late 2020 allowed more than 70 Singaporean children, who had been stranded in Johor Bahru when borders closed, to reunite with their parents in Singapore. It is very hard for me to describe how our fellow Singaporeans who were caught in that situation felt, but you can all imagine their sense of joy when they were reunited with their families and loved ones. That was only possible because of the hard work and special efforts made by all of you.  

5.     To contain the spread of COVID-19, MOT officers and staff from private transport companies were on the ground in full Personal Protective Equipment on a daily basis to oversee Stay-Home Notices (SHN) operations for arriving travellers, serving close to 360,000 people. 

6.     In December 2020, we were the first air hub in Asia to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.  CAAS, CAG and members of the Changi air cargo community, including SIA and SATS, came together to ensure smooth and safe transportation of the temperature-sensitive vaccines – not just domestically for Singapore and Singaporeans, but also for distribution to other countries in the region. 

Maintaining Connectivity 

7.     Indeed, the MOT Family worked tirelessly to ensure that Singapore continued to play our part as an air and sea hub. 

a.     Our sea port operated 24/7 throughout the pandemic, keeping global supply chains moving and ensuring that Singapore continued to receive the goods we needed.  Working with maritime companies, industry associations and unions, we developed and implemented rigorous protocols for ship crew change.  It allowed more than 300,000 seafarers to return home to their families or to join ships from Singapore.   

b.     When the public health situation permitted, we worked closely with other agencies to reopen our borders in a calibrated manner.  We started cautiously with purpose-specific travel lanes before progressively launching Vaccinated Travel Lanes across air, sea and land.  Eventually, we took the decisive step to welcome all fully-vaccinated travellers without the need for quarantine.   

Keeping Singaporeans Moving 

8.     Domestically, our public transport operators and workers kept trains and buses running throughout the pandemic, even during the Circuit Breaker period.  Taxi and Private Hire Car drivers continued to ply the streets.  Taxi drivers from ComfortDelGro and Strides also participated in transporting passengers who were on SHN.  Through their commitment and courage, they ensured that essential workers could continue to go to work, and sustain the fight against COVID-19.  Equally important is that with MRTs, buses and taxis running, we conveyed a strong message of hope to Singaporeans.  We are not defeated by the virus, life goes on.   

A Tripartite Effort  

9.     These efforts ensured that despite the pandemic, families and friends could reunite, people could access essential supplies, and businesses could continue to operate, albeit with some disruptions and adjustments.  It reinforced Singapore’s trusted brand, signalling to the world our commitment to stay united and to remain open and connected during a crisis.   

10.    This was possible only because of our strong level of mutual trust, solidarity and our tripartite partnership.  Across the transport family, many individuals and organisations like yourselves went beyond the call of duty.  Our workers showed great resilience.  They took on additional responsibilities and pulled long shifts to cover for colleagues who were down with COVID-19 or had to stay home due to a close contact getting COVID-19.  In aviation, which was our hardest-hit sector, companies and union partners worked together to make timely operational adjustments and to scale up manpower when air travel resumed.  We handled the ramp up in travel volumes safely and seamlessly.  Today, Changi roars again and continues to soar to greater heights.

11.     On our part, the Government made taking care of workers our top priority.   

a.     To protect the well-being of our workers and their families, we ensured that frontline aviation and maritime workers were among the first to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, through the Sea-Air Vaccination Exercise launched in January 2021.  To show confidence and lead by example, our tripartite leaders joined our sisters and brothers from the frontlines to take the vaccinations early. 

b.     To support taxi and P2P drivers, whose earnings were affected by the pandemic, the Government worked with driver associations and operators to provide close to 50,000 drivers with over $390M of support via the Special Relief Fund and the COVID-19 Driver Relief Fund.  Operators also provided additional assistance, such as by providing taxi drivers with rental waivers. 

12.    Thank you everyone for your contributions, dedication and sacrifices.   

Looking Ahead 

13.    The pandemic is behind us, but the impact of COVID-19 is not fully behind us.  For example, with flexible work arrangements, public transport ridership – particularly to the downtown core area – has not fully recovered.  We will need to monitor this trend and adjust service provisions accordingly, to meet commuters’ needs while ensuring the financial sustainability of our public transport system.   

14.    That said, as the Chinese saying goes, 危机就是转机.  Every crisis brings its own set of opportunities too.  Innovations that were borne out of necessity during COVID-19 have transformed operations and created new growth areas.   

a.     During the pandemic, maritime companies used drones to deliver spare parts and supplies to vessels in our anchorage – which is convenient and efficient; we save costs and also reduce carbon emissions.  We are now working with MarineTech companies to further develop and scale up the use of maritime drones in our port waters, including for use cases such as vessel inspections. 

b.     For air travel, the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of technology and digitalisation.  For example, the use and mutual recognition of digital health credentials was a key enabler in our ability to reopen our borders safely to vaccinated travellers.  We will also press ahead with digital solutions such as biometrics, so that we can make the Changi experience even more seamless, and improve labour productivity 

15.    Finally, COVID-19 has demonstrated how Singapore plays an important role in the global movement of goods and people.  We will continue to enhance our efficiency and reputation as a “catch up port”, through digitalisation and productivity enhancements.  Together with the development of Tuas Port, these moves will increase our attractiveness and competitiveness as a hub port in the decades to come.  The long-term prospects for aviation, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, also remain bright.  With Terminal 5, we want to ensure that Changi will have the capacity to ride on this growth, to create more business opportunities and good jobs for our people.   

16.    As tensions grow between the US and China, international business and global supply chains could see major reconfigurations in the coming years.  To maintain our relevance and resilience amidst such uncertainty, we must continue to reinforce and strengthen our position as a sea and air hub for the world – by remaining open, enhancing our connectivity and strengthening our value proposition.  

17.    As we collectively confront this challenge, let us remember the resilience, can-do spirit and strong tripartite collaboration which had enabled us to tide over the COVID-19 pandemic.  If another crisis emerges in future, these strengths and our shared experiences will give all of us the confidence that we can overcome the challenges together. 

18.    Congratulations to all our award recipients, and thank you very much for your significant contributions and sacrifices to Singapore and the One Transport Family!