Singapore  - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has assured Singaporeans that his government would help the needy tackle the economic crisis, media reports said Monday.

"We will make sure that everyone who needs help will get help, and everyone who makes the effort to help himself and his family, we will make sure he is all right," Lee said Sunday night at a Chinese New Year dinner in his ward in Ang Mo Kio.

Lee identified three groups who would get more support: poor pupils who cannot afford schooling, needy families and retrenched workers.

Lee stressed the severity of the current economic recession, calling it the most serious global downturn in 60 years. However, he also called on Singaporeans not to be too pessimistic in the Chinese Year of the Ox.

"When the sun comes out again, we will emerge stronger, readier, more competitive and able to do better for our children and for our future," the Straits Times newspaper quoted Lee as saying.

In January, the Singapore government presented a budget of 20.5 billion Singapore dollars (13.74 billion US dollars) for 2009, calling it a "resilience package." The budget focuses on preserving jobs and supporting business in the city-state. (dpa)