In a Washington Post interview, Mr Lee says the Government will become more transparent to adapt to society today, even if politics becomes untidy and its outcomes less predictable
By Andrea Ong, The Sunday Times, 17 Mar 2013
Politics has become untidier and outcomes more difficult to predict, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, adding that he hopes the nation will be able to manage this major change safely over time and not suddenly.
The Government will have to work more openly as it navigates this transition to "normal politics", he said in a Washington Post interview published last Friday.
"It's a different generation, a different society, and the politics will be different," said Mr Lee. "We have to work in a more open way. We have to accept more of the untidiness and the to-ing and fro-ing, which is part of normal politics."
The Post asked Mr Lee about the People's Action Party's loss of seats in the 2011 General Election and if the Government would become more transparent and open to social media.
Mr Lee said in reply that the Government was "completely open to social media" and that today, with many more voices, views and interests, "the outcome is a lot more difficult to predict, and the reactions are more difficult to judge".
But that is part of the transformation that Singapore is going through, as it now has a new generation which is growing up with the Internet and Facebook and has access to the whole world, he said.
He spoke of another major change Singapore is undergoing - that of slowing economic growth due to a tightening of foreign workforce growth, a hotly debated topic following the Government's release of its Population White Paper.
"We are accepting a lower growth because we can't just expand our workforce without limit and constraint," he said, adding that Singaporeans feel the physical pressure of the foreign worker influx.
However, he cautioned: "I don't think everybody fully appreciates the consequences of slower growth, which are very serious. You need growth to have the resources to build the infrastructure, housing, to uphold the standard of living."
IN an interview with Washington Post senior associate editor Lally Weymouth published last week, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong discussed Singapore's ties with the big powers and changes in local politics. Here is an edited version of the interview.
What do you think of the Obama administration's pivot towards Asia?
We are all in favour of the US taking an active and constructive interest in Asia. I'm not sure I would describe it as a pivot. First, it suggests that this area has been neglected, which isn't quite so. Second, you really want a long-term, implacable, inexorable presence, and I'm not sure if the pivot conveys that nuance.
Does "pivot" convey that the United States could pivot back to the Middle East?
Yes, I think so, because America has got such broad interests around the world and such pressing issues to deal with in so many places. Asia is just one of them, and it is a peaceful part of the world. It may not be on the front burner.
Some say that the Chinese perceive the US as weak and allege that the administration backed down on the Scarborough Shoal (contested by the Philippines and China in the South China Sea), allowing China to push the Philippines around. Now Washington is worried about a possible Japan-China confrontation in the East China Sea. Do you see the US administration as standing up strong?
The US is not a claimant state in the South China Sea or in the China-Japan dispute over the Senkaku islands. But, of course, the 7th Fleet has been a presence in the region since World War II, and it is the most powerful fleet in the region. I think it has a stabilising influence on the security of the region... encouraging countries to exercise restraint in dealing with these very difficult territorial disputes.
Are you concerned about the rising tension between China and Japan?
There are nationalist sentiments on both sides, and it's an issue where neither side can afford to be seen to back down. We hope neither side escalates and triggers something unintended. I think something can happen. I don't think it's the intention of either side to spark a conflagration, but when you have ships at sea coming close to one another or aircraft - mishaps can happen.
How do you see China under its new leadership?
I think their preoccupations are with their domestic issues, which are considerable. But at the same time, they see their sovereignty and territorial integrity as a responsibility of any Chinese government to uphold and protect. And how flexibly they define that and how the give-and-take works out - well, you have to watch the actions as well as the rhetoric.
In the speech you gave in China last fall, it seemed as if you were advising the Chinese to tread lightly.
Yes, because they have broader interests. Their interests are not just the (islands) which are in dispute or the resources, but their larger reputation in the world as an emerging power. Are they going to be benign and not only play by the rules but leave space for other countries that are not as powerful to prosper? One of the reasons America is welcome in Asia is because with America... there is a certain idealism and a certain bigness of soul. You want the region to prosper, you want countries to do well, and you are prepared to help them.
The Singapore-US relationship is very deep.
It's a long-standing relationship that covers many areas.
You are going to Washington next month to visit President Barack Obama?
I hope so, yes. The last time I visited a president was in 2007, when George W. Bush was president.
What about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is currently under negotiation? What is your assessment of this trade agreement?
I think it's an important deal strategically for Asia-Pacific. It links both sides of the Pacific, the developed as well as some of the developing countries. It is a good standard and yet practical, and it will make a significant contribution to economic integration in Apec (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group).
The US is losing market share in Asean to China and other countries.
For many countries, the biggest partner is China... But in terms of an economic partner, the US is very important - your investments, your technology. I don't think the Chinese are in the position to match that for a long time.
Do you worry about the rise of China?
Everybody here would like to benefit from it. At the same time, we would like to remain friends with all our other friends, including the US, India and the European Union.
Is that a hard balancing act?
No, we would like to have our cake and eat it and be friends with everybody. As long as our friends are friends with one another, we are okay.
Does that mean you want the US to be more involved with China?
We want the US to have constructive and stable relations with China. That makes it much easier for us. Then we don't have to choose sides.
In the last election, your party lost some seats. You will have to manage a political transition with a younger generation, which expects more.
It's a different generation, a different society, and the politics will be different... We have to work in a more open way. We have to accept more of the untidiness and the to-ing and fro-ing, which is part of normal politics.
Is that hard for you?
It is a major change, of course, which we hope we will be able to navigate safely over a period of time and not suddenly.
To make Government more transparent and open to social media?
It's completely open to social media. Previously, everything was orderly and predictable. Now there are many more voices, views and interests... and the outcome is a lot more difficult to predict, and the reactions are more difficult to judge.
You grew up as the son of the most famous man in this country.
I did not choose my father, but I am proud of him.
You decided recently to allow gambling in Singapore. Has it been a boost for the economy?
For a long time, we fought in principle against casinos. Finally, we were persuaded it's big business and if we were not in it, someone else would be. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to shield our people from gambling. We can't be the nanny.
Economically it's worked out very well.
Very well. The social impact - we'll have to wait a few years to see.
Are you worried that the US has such a huge fiscal imbalance?
To fix it, you don't actually have to do very drastic things. If you could make an adjustment on health care, if you had a (petrol) tax - that would make a big difference.
Your problem is in the short term, you don't really want to shut down your spending and crash the economy. But in the long term, you don't want to keep on spending and then go bankrupt.
Is nationalism in China and Japan a real problem for the region?
I think it's a real factor, in China particularly. It is growing because the young generation, who have not experienced either the war or the Cultural Revolution but have grown up at a time of stability and affluence, have the most nationalistic view of China's role in the world. So how they play their cards when they come to positions of responsibility will make a difference.
Does the PLA (People's Liberation Army) have a lot of say in China today?
I'm sure they have an influence, but some very well-informed analysts believe the (Communist) Party is firmly in control of the government. I think on certain issues, the PLA will have a lot of say and will probably be doing their own thing. When it comes to territorial issues, I would imagine that this is handled at the top level.
What's your assessment of the new Chinese leadership?
They are all able people. We have met quite a number of the members of the Politburo Standing Committee. They are tested. They have played many different roles in China, and I think they want the country to grow. I think they have got in (President) Xi Jinping a leader to take it to the next step forward.
Which is where?
They have to make the economy continue to grow and yet (make) significant economic reforms. They have to adapt to a society that is rapidly changing with social media and the growing middle class... And they've got to find their way in the world and realise they are now more powerful than they used to be.
What are the key issues for Singapore itself?
We have to negotiate a major change in our phase of development, from a rapidly changing phase to slower growth. We have to negotiate a change in generations, to a new generation that is growing up with the Internet and Facebook and has access to the whole world and is seeing opportunities all over the whole world.
Do you still enjoy your job?
It's never a boring job.
US presence must be long-term: PM
That is why he would not use 'pivot' to describe US strategic rebalance towards Asia
The Sunday Times, 17 Mar 2013
Singapore would like the United States presence in this region to be long-term and implacable, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said ahead of his visit to the US next month to meet President Barack Obama.
That is why he would rather not use the word "pivot" to describe the Obama administration's high-profile strategic rebalance towards Asia, now in its third year.
The word suggested the US had neglected Asia, which was not quite so, he said, and also that the US might in future pivot towards another part of the world, such as the Middle East.
In an interview with The Washington Post published last Friday, he said: "We are all in favour of the US taking an active and constructive interest in Asia... you really want a long-term, implacable, inexorable presence, and I'm not sure if the pivot conveys that nuance."
He stressed that the presence of the US Seventh Fleet has exerted a stabilising influence on the region's security. And amid tensions between China and Japan, and between China and a number of Asean member states over islands in the East and South China seas respectively, this presence has encouraged countries "to exercise restraint in dealing with these very difficult territorial disputes".
He was asked about a speech he delivered in China last year in which he seemed to advise the Chinese to tread lightly. That was indeed so, he said, because China's interest extended beyond the isles under dispute to its "larger reputation in the world as an emerging power". A key question being asked is "are they going to be benign and not only play by the rules but leave space for other countries that are not as powerful to prosper?"
He said one reason the US is welcome in Asia is that with America, there is "a certain bigness of soul", adding: "You want the region to prosper, you want countries to do well, and you are prepared to help them."
Singapore wants to be friends with both the US and China, and hopes for stable, constructive relations between the two so it does not have to choose sides.
Asked for his assessment of the new Chinese leadership, Mr Lee said they are all able people who have been tested, having played many different roles in China. He sees in President Xi Jinping a leader who can take China to the next step forward.
"They have to make the economy continue to grow and yet (make) significant economic reforms. They have to adapt to a society that is rapidly changing with social media and the growing middle class... And they've got to find their way in the world and realise they are now more powerful than they used to be," he said.
Singapore too is navigating its way through a time of change, encompassing a politics that has become untidier and more difficult to predict, and a shift towards slower economic growth, he said.
The political change that has come about with the rise of a new generation is a major shift and Mr Lee hopes "we will be able to navigate safely over a period of time and not suddenly".
As for Singapore's economy, which is entering a new stage of development in which firms will have to be less dependent on low-cost foreign labour, Mr Lee said his concern is that not everyone seems to appreciate the serious consequences of slower growth and that growth is needed for the resources to build infrastructure and housing and uphold the standard of living.
Summing up the key issues for Singapore, he said: "We have to negotiate a major change in our phase of development, from a rapidly changing phase to slower growth. We have to negotiate a change in generations, to a new generation that is growing up with the Internet and Facebook and has access to the whole world and is seeing opportunities all over the whole world."
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