Singapore in a phase where ‘we have to do more together’: PM Lee
Sharon See
SINGAPORE must now “do more together” to help those who fall behind, compared to the “very rigorous” approach of earlier years, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on the first day of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum on Wednesday (Nov 8).
He was in conversation with Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait, who asked if PM Lee has been “drifting to the left” in his two decades of leadership, given recent programmes of handouts.
PM Lee replied that Singapore is “sailing carefully to a more comfortable place”, drawing a contrast to what the country did for “a very long time”.
“When the economy is growing and all boats are lifted by the tide, we can afford to be – and we need to be – very rigorous in how we help those who are not quite catching up,” he said. “We can tell them, ‘Run faster, work harder, here’s a bit more incentive, go ahead’, and mostly it works very well.”
But as the race goes on, the field spreads out: some are further forward, others less so, and their children lag behind too. “You have to think, how are you going to hold this team together?”
Those who are doing well may also fall behind when the world changes, he noted. “Do you say that’s just the way the world is? Or is there something I can do to help him get back into the race again and be contributing again?
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“We are in a phase where we have to do more together, where we have to help each other, and the government has to be there. And we have to try very hard to avoid the government being this sole solution to all problems.”
While the government maintains a lean budget, pressures such as ageing and social costs are pushing this up. The challenge is how to fund this, PM Lee said: “And that means, from time to time, uttering the forbidden word: taxes.”
Singapore is in the midst of doing that, including hiking the goods and services tax to 9 per cent in January, he noted.
Turning to succession, Micklethwait noted talk of PM Lee becoming senior minister after handing over to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
PM Lee recalled having both his predecessors in his Cabinet meetings, noting that “it worked quite well”.
“It’s a very delicate thing to be overwatching but not overbearing,” he said, adding that he would be “at the disposal” of Wong.
As for whether global developments prompted the intended timing of his handover – by November 2024 – PM Lee replied: “The world is a difficult place. Whether I hand over next year or in five years’ time, there will be things outstanding and there will be clouds on the horizon.”
Global troubles
With US-China ties, “the climate is very difficult on both sides”, PM Lee noted. Very entrenched views have taken root: “In America, the only thing the two parties agree on is that China is a grave threat, and in China, there’s also a very strong consensus that America is out to block them, and it’s difficult to coexist with America.”
US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a good meeting on the sidelines of the G20 in Bali last year, but “events happened and things went off track”, he added.
Reports have said the two could meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in San Francisco next week, but Xi’s attendance has not been confirmed. Said PM Lee: “You need a meeting to head in the right direction, but you do not expect a meeting to make everything sweetness and light again. It’s not possible.”
The conversation also covered two major conflicts: Israel-Hamas and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Asked why Singapore has taken “a slightly different position to America” in coming down harder on Israel in recent days, PM Lee replied: “We have to take a principled position, considering our national interests and considering also the sentiments and human reactions of our people.”
Singapore fully understands how the Israelis feel about the Oct 7 terrorist attack by Hamas, he said. “But what has happened since then in Gaza, as a consequence of Israeli operations, is an enormous human tragedy.”
“The numbers keep on ticking up every day, but it’s many times as many as what happened on Oct 7,” he said. “Everybody around the world looks at this and, in despair, says: ‘Surely this has to stop’.”
He added: “We have to exhort the Israelis and everybody else to abide by international norms and have consideration for innocent civilians.”
As for the war in Ukraine, it will be a long and difficult fight as “Russia is not going to declare that they have lost”, PM Lee said – even though Russia has already failed to overcome Ukraine.
Russia’s failure is “a great plus for the world” because if they had succeeded with a sudden takeover and created a new border, “the world would have been much the more dangerous place”, he said.
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