Race and religion still matter to voters when picking next leader, says PM Lee

Singapore

ETHNIC considerations are "never absent" when people cast their ballots at an election, and the race and religion of Singapore's prime minister are still factors that voters consider today.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made this point in an interview with the BBC when asked whether he still believed that Singaporeans were not yet ready to have a non-Chinese prime minister.

The host of the British broadcaster's Hardtalk programme, Stephen Sackur, mentioned that polls suggest that most Singaporeans regard Deputy Pr…