Use business as a force for good

KELLY Tay's article "Clearing the air on tobacco investments" (BT, Oct 13) was an amazing eye opener. Like many Singaporeans, I have grown up with the understanding that tobacco was "public enemy" number one and that the government would always try to protect us from the tobacco companies.

I would never have imagined that any agency associated with the Singapore government such as GIC or MAS would ever invest in the tobacco industry, given the public stance of the government towards smoking and alternative products now available.

However, while I was initially shocked to learn that agencies like GIC and MAS had invested in companies like British American Tobacco (BAT), I realised that this underlined a crucial point - the fact that the government is correct in its assertion that agencies like GIC are independent of government, and the government is not influenced by commercial interest. GIC and Temasek are allowed to invest in tobacco companies because they offer good returns but the government takes an "anti-smoking" approach to public policy because it is in the public interest to do so.