Lee warns S'pore of western influence, populist policies
Lee warns S'pore of western influence, populist policies
SINGAPORE (AFP): Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew warned in an interview published yesterday that Singapore's economic progress could be wrecked if the younger generation aped the West and the government pursued populist policies.
"It's a problem with the younger generation because it does not know how we got into this virtuous cycle, where we have a strong Singapore dollar, low inflation and a growing economy, getting stronger each year," Lee told The New Paper.
"They say, 'Ah, lets's have the things which Western countries have.' But if we do what the West does, then we'll be in trouble," said Lee, 71, who ruled Singapore for 31 years and took it from a sleepy Asian backwater to a thriving financial center.
Lee said the problem for the government led by his successor, Premier Goh Chok Tong was to maintain Singapore's progress earned from 30 years of systematic and consistent policies and to "mobilize the people to stay on course."
The former premier also warned that all of Singapore's assets could vanish if the government pursued populist policies, citing as examples subsidies for transport, utilities, unmarried mothers and their children and the unemployed.
"... Then soon we go into deficit. Then we start borrowing, then the Singapore dollar starts sinking, then we put up interest rates, then the economy slows down," Lee said.
Singapore's economy grew by about 10 percent last year, with nominal wages up by nine percent, higher than inflation of 3.6 percent. The Singapore dollar rose by about nine percent against the U.S. dollar for the whole of last year.
Lee also said that for Singapore to be governed effectively, the respect which people have for its leaders must be preserved.
"Once that respect is lost, you can stumble along from day to day and pretend that it's business as usual. But nobody really takes the government seriously," he said.
As examples, he cited the United States and Britain, where their press "always denigrates their leaders and downgrades them."