SINGAPORE, Singapore — Singapore announced extra healthcare spending for the elderly and a raft of other handouts in its annual budget on Monday as speculation mounts elections may be held this year. Polls must be held by 2021 but analysts suggest they could take place later this year, as the country’s founding family prepares to hand over leadership to a younger generation of leaders. ADVERTISEMENTFinance Minister Heng Swee Keat set aside SG$6.1 billion ($4.5 billion) to support half a million citizens aged between 60 and 69. To mark the 200-year anniversary of Sir Stamford Raffles’s founding of modern Singapore, Heng unveiled further handouts of SG$1.1 billion. Finance Minister Heng was last year named to a key post in the ruling People’s Action Party, putting him on course to become the country’s next prime minister.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer February 18, 2019 13:52 UTC