Singapore's 2024: New leadership, economic growth, and high-profile trials

SINGAPORE: A new prime minister after two decades, a thriving tourism sector driven by global music icons, and headline-grabbing legal sagas defined Singapore's landmark year in 2024.

The crowning moment was the appointment of Lawrence Wong as Singapore's fourth prime minister, succeeding Lee Hsien Loong after two decades of leadership.

This marked the beginning of a new chapter for Singapore under the People's Action Party's (PAP) fourth-generation leader, with Wong becoming the first post-independence-born prime minister.

Wong was sworn in as prime minister on May 15, a month after Lee, the eldest son of the country's founding prime minister, formally announced he was relinquishing his post to Wong.

Following in the footsteps of his predecessors, including his father Lee Kuan Yew and the second prime minister Goh Chok Tong, Lee remains in the Cabinet as Senior Minister, providing continuity and counsel.

In his inaugural address, Wong reaffirmed Singapore's commitment to ASEAN and its balanced foreign policy, pledging to safeguard the nation's rights while maintaining global friendships.

The full transition of power culminated in December, as Wong assumed the leadership of the PAP, positioning the 52-year-old to lead the party into the next general election, scheduled by November 2025.

Beyond politics, Singapore's economy flourished, fuelled by a plethora of international concerts, including Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour and Coldplay's Music of the Spheres World Tour, which drew thousands of fans and boosted the tourism sector.

The economy grew by three per cent year on year in the first quarter of 2024, supported by strong performance in the services sector due to the recovery in international visitor arrivals.

In November, the Ministry of Trade and Industry upgraded its 2024 economic forecast to 3.5 per cent, up from two to three per cent initially, citing better-than-expected performance during the first three quarters, but projected 2025 growth to slow between one to three per cent due to global uncertainties.

The year also saw a gripping legal saga involving former Transport Minister S. Iswaran, who was sentenced to 12 months in jail in October for obtaining valuable items as a public servant and obstructing justice.

The 62-year-old, who had been in public service since 1987, became the first political officeholder in Singapore to face trial in nearly five decades, making it one of the most high-profile trials in the island republic.

A shocking knife attack during mass at St Joseph's Church in Bukit Timah on Nov 9 sent ripples through the nation. The daring attack in a place of worship in one of the world's safest nations, prompted calls for unity and calm from national leaders.

The assailant, 37-year-old Singaporean Basnayake Keith Spencer, was charged on Nov 11 with one count of voluntarily causing grievous hurt by a dangerous weapon. He faces life imprisonment or up to 15 years' jail, a fine, and caning if convicted.

Singapore narrowly avoided a terror attack this year, as revealed in October, when a 17-year-old male Singaporean was found to have planned an attack using either a knife or scissors during the September school holidays.

The teen was arrested in August under the Internal Security Act (ISA), just weeks before carrying out his planned attack at the HDB heartlands near Tampines West Community Centre. He was subsequently issued with a two-year order of detention in September.

Separately, two self-radicalised Singaporeans, a 14-year-old male youth and a 33-year-old female, were issued with restriction orders under the ISA in June and July, respectively. The youth, among others, had expressed a willingness to carry out attacks in Singapore.

-- BERNAMA

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