The Economist

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The Economist slams Singapore. Instantly regrets.

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Lawrence Wong will be only the fourth PM in Singapore’s history

The next leader promises continuity and change

In the republic’s 59-year history, Singapore has had only three leaders. On May 15th it gets its fourth, when the prime minister of 20 years, Lee Hsien Loong—who is 72 and whose father, Lee Kuan Yew, ruled with an iron will for 31 years—will resign. At a ceremony at the presidential palace, Lawrence Wong, the current finance minister, will be sworn in. He is Mr Lee’s junior by two decades. Singapore now faces the prospect of a future without a Lee at the helm.

The investiture also marks when the ruling party, the People’s Action Party (pap), passes the baton from a “3g” (third generation) of senior party cadres to the “4g” cohort who chose Mr Wong as their man. Mr Wong will then call a general election, likely sometime this year. The pap has made sure never to lose one, and Mr Wong will certainly not lose his. He is guaranteed a majority to make the leaders of many other countries weep. Yet never think that elections do not matter to the pap. More is at stake than meets the eye.

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Shanmugam rebuts 'sneering' Economist article on Singapore's political succession

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on Friday (April 19) hit back at a commentary by British publication The Economist

The weekly newspaper noted that Mr Lawrence Wong will be "only" Singapore's fourth prime minister in its 59-year history
The publication also said that Mr Wong was "guaranteed" a majority envied by other country leaders at the upcoming election, despite not being the first choice for the top job
Mr Shanmugam said The Economist cannot not resist "sneering" at Singapore and the British commentariat class cannot stand seeing the island nation "doing better"
He outlined various fields such as the economy, public safety and governance in which Singapore is faring better than Britain

SINGAPORE — Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on Friday (April 19) criticised a commentary by British publication The Economist which he said could not "resist sneering” at Singapore’s political leadership handover.

Despite this, the piece argued, the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) will win at the upcoming General Election due to its “formidable organisation, unrelenting attacks on the opposition, a docile press”, among other factors.

In a response published on Facebook on Friday, Mr Shanmugam said that the publication “can’t resist” sneering at Singapore due to an instinct lodged “in the unconscious of the British commentariat class”.

Britain was Singapore's colonial ruler for over a century.

“They can’t stand that a people they were accustomed to lecturing are now doing better than they are, across the board,” said Mr Shanmugam, before outlining areas in which he said Singapore has progressed further than Britain.

While Mr Wong, who is Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, is due to take over from Mr Lee Hsien Loong as the fourth prime minister here in 59 years on May 15, Britain's Rishi Sunak is the fourth PM in 4.9 years, he said.

During a turbulent period of British politics in the wake of the Brexit vote, Mr Sunak was preceded by Ms Liz Truss, who lasted only a couple of months. She had replaced Mr Boris Johnson who followed Ms Theresa May.

In economic terms, Singapore’s per capita gross domestic product stands at over US$80,000 (S$109,000) and is the fifth highest by purchasing power parity terms, “well ahead of the UK”, Mr Shanmugam added.

Regarding the media, he retorted: “(The Economist) obviously prefers a situation like in the UK, where one person can control major media outlets, and have politicians pay court to him, and where media owners can influence who gets elected, and who becomes PM.”

Mr Shanmugam said that Singapore provides “far better healthcare, housing and education” to its people, regardless of classes and races.

The Republic also fares better in terms of public safety and in social cohesion, he added.

Mr Shanmugam highlighted how, for example, 85 per cent of all crime cases reported across England and Wales were closed without any suspect caught while in over 100 neighbourhoods “0 per cent” of reported car thefts were solved. England and Wales are part of Britain.

This is a situation that would be “unthinkable and unacceptable” in Singapore, said the minister.

Mr Shanmugam also cited how a political donor in Britain recently made a racist comment with no consequence, while someone in Singapore is likely to be charged in court for spouting similar comments.

“What price your sneer?” he asked.

For S'pore, safety is primary consideration, says Shanmugam

The Economist’s 740-word piece called Mr Wong a “compromise candidate” who was not the first choice among the 4G leaders. It added that he was a "highly competent former technocrat".

Nonetheless, it argued, Mr Wong at the upcoming polls is “guaranteed a majority to make the leaders of many other countries weep”.

In spite of the high chances of winning for him and the party, the piece said that “more is at stake” at the upcoming election.

“At stake for Mr Wong, when he goes to the country, is not his (and the 4G’s) formal mandate but rather moral legitimacy,” it said.

This is in view of how many younger Singaporeans no longer judge the party on its “traditional emphasis of delivering economic growth”, but instead demand “more fairness” in growth and “more participatory” politics, it argued.

Commenting on how continuity is to be expected in spite of the leadership change, The Economist article said that “at least one key member of the old guard”, Mr Shanmugam, will remain in the Cabinet.

The piece opined that Mr Wong, a "guitar-strumming, self-confessed nerd brought up on an East Coast housing estate", is more relatable to Singaporeans “than most of the governing elites”, and starts off with a degree of goodwill.

However, the upcoming polls will be his key test.

“If the opposition gets many more than the 10 out of 87 elected seats it currently holds, the change candidate will start off on the back foot,” it wrote.

TODAY has reached out to The Economist for comment.

EARLIER BRUSH WITH AUTHORITIES

Mr Shanmugam's comments came less than eight months after the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) had issued a warning to The Economist's bureau chief in Singapore, Mr Dominic Ziegler, for “actions that constituted interference in domestic politics”.

In a statement issued on Sept 8 last year, MCI said Mr Ziegler had publicly endorsed in writing local online publication Jom.

He had compared Singapore to an "illiberal state" and encouraged Singaporeans to "embrace an alternative vision, instead of what was being offered by the state and an allegedly captive media".

Mr Ziegler had "clearly crossed the line" from reporting on Singapore to participating in Singapore’s domestic affairs, MCI said.