Speech by SMS Murali Pillai at the Debate on the President's Address

Living Large on a Small Island 

Mr. Speaker,  

1.     Sir, I support the motion of thanks standing in the name of the Honourable Member Mr Sharael Taha.  

2.     That Singapore is a small island is a matter of geography.  But, that we can travel swiftly and in comfort across all its corners is a matter of human endeavour. It is our transport system that allows us to work, study, exercise, access essential services, socialize, volunteer and live our lives to the fullest. These were the topics that many Honourable Members spoke passionately about in this House over the past 5 days. If we do it well, transport becomes an invisible social service, moving from point A to point B is as effortless as stepping through a door. This is our urban dream – the 45-minute city and 20-minute town.  

3.     This dream – of freedom and connectivity – is not new, although at the time of our independence 60 years ago, there were immense challenges in ensuring Singapore’s survival - from clean water to housing – such that transport may have seem to be a poorer, lesser cousin. 

4.     Yet, transport is a peculiar policy problem – once laid down, whether planned or organic, transport lines carve out their place in the history of a place; implacable, immovable and for better or worse, they shape the fate of cities. We see this now in the gridlock congested lives of many cities, whose systems had not been built to accommodate growth. It is Singapore’s good fortune that our early governments built for the future.  

5.     But transport is not just a decision of the past. It demands ceaseless attention to keep pace with the needs and lives of the people it serves – to neglect investment is to accept time spent in traffic jams, accidents, breakdowns, workdays lost, important occasions missed. Again, we see this in the cities of developed countries, whose transport infrastructure have suffered from decades of under-investment. 

6.     These two challenges – greater complexity in needs and financial demands for infrastructure – also apply to Singapaore. As our systems expand and become more complex, the number of potential points of failure increases. The needs of our people are evolving. New vulnerabilities will emerge as we digitalise, adopt new technologies, and put more of our services online into cyberspace. The emerging challenges, coupled with the unprecedented pace of change in our external environment, will mean that we need a new generation of transport professionals.  

7.     Mr Speaker, today, I will speak on how we can build a strong transport system through three strategies:  

a.     First, resilience. We will enhance our aging infrastructure, make them robust and flexible so as to meet the needs of our population, which are increasing in volume and complexity;  

b.     Second, technology. We will seize opportunities from new technologies, while safeguarding against cybersecurity risks.  

c.     Third, people. We will continue to build a professional and adaptive transport workforce, the only real piece in the transport landscape that can ensure our system remains fit for purpose into the future.  

History, time and complexity   

8.     Mr Speaker, we sometimes forget the breakneck speed at which our transport system has travelled.  

9.     Many from my generation remember growing up alongside this journey. As a young boy, I took the single-door “bone shaker” public bus to school. I would leave home from Sembawang at 5.30am to catch the 5.45 am bus on a 1 hour 30-minute journey to reach school at Newton by 7.15am, with 15 minutes to spare before morning assembly. With limited resources then, these “bone shakers” were in fact refurbished lorry chassis with suspension systems so poor that they vibrated vigorously. But as a young boy, I didn’t mind.  I was thrilled in fact! The same journey today, via MRT, would take 30 minutes in air-conditioned comfort; just one-third the time it originally took.  

10.    Today, we enjoy a transport system that is admired across the world.   

a.     Changi Airport is our nation’s pride, consistently ranked among the world’s best airports. 

b.     Our port was recently named the “Best Global Seaport”.   

c.     And our land transport network serves about 10 million journeys each day. 

Changing operating environment  

11.    Our transport systems today are extensive and highly complex, with many interconnected elements and moving parts. Our public transport network today covers 240 km of rail lines and over 350 bus services, with 160 stations and 5000 bus stops.  

12.    As I said at the start of my speech, transport infrastructure incur large sunk costs. Even with long-term planning, we can only build to the best of our knowledge and ability at any given time. We must also make the most prudent choices possible. At the beginning of our MRT development journey, we had just 5 stations. Within 30 years, we have 100, and then to 160 stations today.  Underneath this, lies years of design, planning, battles over land, and billions of dollars in investment.  

13.    While 30 years is a short time in the life of a nation, it is long for an MRT line.   

14.    Our rail system comprises many mechanical parts, each with specific lifespans, similar to everyday appliances such as  washing machines.  With different parts of our rail system at different ages, ensuring the smooth operation of all trains in the network becomes increasingly complex and challenging. We aim to keep our rail network running smoothly, through a combination of maintenance, refurbishments, or replacements where needed.  

15.    We will do so by focusing on three ‘R’s - resilience, reliability, recovery.  

16.    First, we will enhance resilience with more alternative routes. We are building new rail lines that will enable commuters to still get to their destinations in the event of disruptions or planned maintenance works through alternative train routes.  We will close the loop for the Circle Line next year and extend the Downtown and Thomson-East Coast Lines.  In the longer term, we plan to expand our rail network further such as with the West Coast extension.  

17.    Second, we will invest in improving the reliability of our rail assets. As announced at the Committee of Supply this year, we will invest an additional $1 billion over the next five years to enhance the way we monitor and maintain our rail assets, and uplift the maintenance capabilities of our rail workforce. We also set up rail reliability taskforce to address immediate issues, following the recent incidents.  

18.    If not for Covid-19 pandemic, which the Honourable Member Ms Mariam Jaffar reminded us in her speech yesterday ended just 30 months ago. The progress on these 2 Rs, Resilience and Reliability, would have been even more significant. Now we are playing catch-up, but catch-up we will.   

19.    Having regard to the state of affairs now however,  we cannot eliminate rail disruptions entirely. But when disruptions occur, we will ensure recovery as quickly and as expeditiously as possible We will communicate with commuters and help them find alternative routes.   

20.    Mr Speaker, transport is a key essential service which we count on to arrive at our destinations on time. Failure in service is a justified cause for frustration and disappointment. The Singaporean reputation for reliability and predictability is hard earned. Nowhere must this be more clearly seen than in our transport system. I accept that we need to work hard to win back the support of frustrated Singaporeans affected by some failure.  

a.     Let me say squarely what I mean – We will invest to reduce disruptions but they will not be eliminated. We will still have disruptions. I don’t take any pleasure in saying this, but this is the hard truth. But knowing that disruptions will happen, we have in place systems to help affected people still arrive at their destinations; not on time unfortunately, not without trouble, regrettably, but with all practicable haste. 

b.     I want to assure the House that all my colleagues on the ground, work tirelessly – truly flat out – during disruptions – including the East West Line disruption in September last year.  Alongside my colleagues were many volunteers to guide and support commuters to use the bridging buses. 

c.     These are hardworking transport professionals, including sisters and brothers of the National Transport Workers Union, and fellow Singaporeans who deserve our respect and support. Yet they have, on occasions, been cathartic vehicles, on the receiving end of abusive language, anger, derision.  

d.     I ask all Honourable Members in this House for ideas that you may have to improve our transport infrastructure, and to build up the resilience of our systems. At the same time, I am sure you will agree that we should forbear from cheap shots and low blows when things go wrong. Never exploit problems.  By all means, let’s work on the problems.  

21.    Even as we tackle the challenges of today, we must prepare for the future. Our people are getting older. We are developing more areas across our island. We need to move more people who are less mobile, across larger tracts of space. These are points that Honourable Members Ms Valerie Lee and Mr Shawn Loh admirably made in their respective speeches. We will engage our members of public on their desires, aspirations, and concerns for the future of land transport. People remain at the heart of our transport system. To fellow Singaporeans, I say, preparing for the future is an important journey, I hope you will support and join us every step of the way.    

Technology: Promise and Peril  

22.    Second, technology. Across the transport sector, innovative technologies can enhance efficiency and productivity of our systems. 

a.     For example, MPA launched DocuMind and DocuMatch last year, harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to streamline ship insurance certificate renewals for Singapore Registered Ships. These tools streamline the renewal process to minutes, compared to up to 3 days previously.  

23.    New technologies are essential for our path to net-zero. Electrification remains a key strategy to decarbonise Singapore’s land transport sector. As we build  a network of chargers to support electric cars, we employ new technologies such as dynamic load management at our HDB car parks to allow us to tap on existing unutilised electrical capacity. This will enable us to deploy even more EV chargers, bringing us closer to our goal of 60,000 EV chargers by 2030.  

24.    However, as our systems increasingly digitalise and move into the cyber space, we face unprecedented security challenges. We are familiar with the cyberattacks on critical infrastructure by UNC3886. With so much of our daily lives and economy reliant on our transportation networks, our infrastructure becomes prime targets for malicious actors. Globally, cyberattacks on transport infrastructure have occurred across land, air,and sea.   

a.     In July 2023, Nagoya Port, Japan’s largest maritime hub, fell victim to a cyberattack that disrupted its container handling operations. 

b.     In September 2024, Transport for London reported a cyberattack on their computer systems that lasted for three months.   

c.     Just last week, a cyberattack at a provider of check-in and boarding systems disrupted operations at several major European airports, leading to flight delays and cancellations. 

d.     There is no telling when malicious actors may target our systems in similar attacks. 

25.    These cyberattacks show us that even as we leverage the transforming power of technological advancements, we must put in place appropriate safeguards to address vulnerabilities. We must work together, as One Transport Family with our fellow Singaporeans, to secure our critical transport infrastructure. We are only as strong as our weakest link. The work has already started.  

a.     LTA, CAAS, and MPA have established cyber security operations centres that provide monitoring to detect cyber security threats. Agencies also share critical information with key partners, from public transport operators to aviation partners and maritime companies.   

b.     We are also investing in our people to cultivate their cybersecurity awareness and skills, tailored to the air, land and sea transport sectors. This will not only enable them to practise good cyber hygiene but also uplift them to become the first line of defence to detect anomalies that could signal cyber intrusion attempts.  

i.     For example, the Singapore Aviation Academy and the Singapore University of Technology and Design offer a joint course to provide aviation professionals with an understanding of the cybersecurity landscape and specific challenges facing the aviation sector, as well as key foundations in cybersecurity concepts and controls.  

A World class Transport workforce   

26.    Finally, and most importantly, we owe our Transport Story to the hard work and dedication of more than 300,000 workers across our land, air and sea transport systems. They will continue to be central to our transport ecosystem as we write the next chapter of this story.  

27.    Automation and autonomous innovations have great potential to transform the way we work. This not only allows our ecosystem to transcend manpower and land constraints but also creates new good jobs for our people. We are already seeing this transformation on the ground today.  

a.     Tuas Port is designed to be fully automated, intelligent and sustainable, and will offer new jobs with enhanced career prospects. At older port terminals, crane operators work at great heights atop cranes to direct the movement of each container from ship to shore and vice versa. With automation, our crane operators are upskilled from doing manual work to directing automated crane operations and troubleshooting exception cases remotely from control centres.  

b.     This is the experience of Mr Muhammad Zulfikar Bin Minhat. From managing manual operations on site at Tanjong Pagar Terminal when he started his career 11 years ago, today, Mr Zulfikar remotely manages automated yard operations from PSA’s Control Centre. In fact, when I spoke to him yesterday, he told me he got promoted and is now in charge of 26 remote operators on his shift. He continues to upgrade his skills, enhancing his ability to troubleshoot and navigate operational challenges. He is also a proud member of Singapore Port Workers Union which supports him in every way possible, too. What a great example Mr Zulfikar is to his peers!       

c.     Changi Airport and SATS are also transforming to harness AI, automation and robotics to stay competitive and resilient. Existing jobs, such as airport ground handling services, will change in tandem, and new jobs will be created for a new generation of Singapore workers who are tech-savvy.  

d.     Exciting new mobility options in our public transport network are on the horizon, as we plan and start piloting AV shuttles. This will better meet the growing and evolving connectivity needs of Singaporeans without running into manpower constraints. The AV industry will also create good jobs for Singaporeans, in roles such as software developers, engineers, and radar designers.   

28.    We will continue to collaborate closely with our industry, unions and education partners to upskill our workers and ensure their access to these jobs.  

a.     As rightly highlighted by Honourable Member Mr Ang Wei Neng, lifelong learning is crucial for our workers as industries are transformed by AI and new technologies. That is why we are investing in support for training partners and companies to provide upskilling training opportunities.  

i.     CAAS established the $200 million OneAviation Manpower Fund in July 2025 to better attract, develop and retain the OneAviation workforce.  The fund will provide stronger and more targeted support to companies to transform jobs and better support workers.   

b.     Together with our tripartite partners, we are equipping workers with skills that are increasingly sought after in their industries. The MPA-Singapore Maritime Foundation Joint Office for Talent and Skills is working with educational partners to develop tailored training courses for maritime workers in emerging domains. A pilot course on applied data science and analytics tailored for maritime professionals, co-developed with NUS, was well-received and will be scaled up.   

Call to action – join the transport sector  

29.    The transport sector is a rewarding career spent in service of our fellow citizens. It is a dynamic sector with good jobs for Singaporeans of all ages and backgrounds.  

a.     The veteran union leader, Sister Mary Liew, General Secretary of the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union, shared with me the heartening story of Ms Valerie Thai, a legal professional turned seafarer, with me recently. Valerie obtained a law degree from Australia and worked as a paralegal in Singapore, but soon found the legal profession a bit too boring for her. Attracted by the wide range of opportunities in the maritime industry, with fields that allow her to tap on her legal background, Valerie took the brave plunge into seafarer training under the Tripartite Maritime Training Award. This award provides a place-and-train programme that equips Singaporeans with seafaring skills and experience for careers in the maritime industry. I met her 2 days ago. A cadet now, she is eager to blaze the trail for women wanting to be seafarers. I wish Valerie all the best in her training.    

i.     Valerie’s story is one of many. With the diverse range of career opportunities whether in traversing our skies, connecting people on land, or plying our seas, I look forward to welcoming all to join our Transport Family.  

ii.    Sir, I spent quite a bit of time in my speech emphasizing the employment opportunities and prospects in the transport sector. I do hope that fellow Singaporeans, young and old, will consider these options and join our One Transport Family.  

Our transport story  

30.    As we write the next chapter of our Transport Story, we will face unprecedented challenges. However, we will also discover new opportunities as our environment changes. Navigating these challenges will require concerted efforts from everyone, as we enhance our physical infrastructure, digital systems, and transport workforce.  

31.    Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in a dialogue with young people, said recently “being small is a very deep part of our psyche…Some things we cannot change.”   

32.    This is true. Being small is our geography, but it is not our destiny. Being small requires us to be imaginative, not only to use each space to its fullest, but to allow all of us to access anywhere we want to be, in the shortest of time, in the greatest of comfort.  

33.    If life is about journeys, then only with a strong transport system can we ensure that all Singaporeans, no matter how big our dreams, can live a full life on our small island, our Little Red Dot.