Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong touched on Singapore-India bilateral ties and questions about politics at the IIMPACT dialogue on Friday evening (Aug 22).
SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says Singapore and India have a "good base to work upon" when it comes to building future bilateral relationships. And he is optimistic that there are significant areas of potential cooperation between the two countries.
Mr Lee was speaking at a dialogue session at the IIMPACT conference on Friday evening (Aug 22), which was attended by some 1,000 business and political leaders. He said that he is looking forward to meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the year is out.
POST-LITTLE INDIA RIOT
Mr Lee was speaking to an audience of primarily Indian alumni of India's premier business school, the Indian Institute of Management, and he was asked whether the Dec 8, 2013 Little India riot changed how Indians are looked upon by the Government in Singapore and Singaporeans in general.
"No, it hasn't changed our view at all," stressed Mr Lee. "There was an incident, there was a riot. It is unfortunate. We have investigated it. I think the causes have been established, the follow-up actions have to be taken. I mean there are some practical things you can do to the crowds in Little India. There are also legal consequences - the justice system has to follow up, rioters have to be brought to justice and punished. But I don't think it has changed the situation.
"The workers are here for a purpose, we need them - they are building houses for us, they are building trains for us, they are working all over, in banks, in so many companies. And I think that we have to manage the non-indigenous population in a way that we can wear over the long-term, and the Little India riot notwithstanding, we have to continue to do that," he continued.
He also said he does not think the Little India riot has changed the way Singaporeans look at the foreign workers. "And from what we can tell, the foreign workers who are here continue to be quite comfortable living and working here, and certainly, many more are wanting to come. That's why we have to manage the numbers," Mr Lee explained.
- CNA/ly
SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says Singapore and India have a "good base to work upon" when it comes to building future bilateral relationships. And he is optimistic that there are significant areas of potential cooperation between the two countries.
Mr Lee was speaking at a dialogue session at the IIMPACT conference on Friday evening (Aug 22), which was attended by some 1,000 business and political leaders. He said that he is looking forward to meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the year is out.
POST-LITTLE INDIA RIOT
Mr Lee was speaking to an audience of primarily Indian alumni of India's premier business school, the Indian Institute of Management, and he was asked whether the Dec 8, 2013 Little India riot changed how Indians are looked upon by the Government in Singapore and Singaporeans in general.
"No, it hasn't changed our view at all," stressed Mr Lee. "There was an incident, there was a riot. It is unfortunate. We have investigated it. I think the causes have been established, the follow-up actions have to be taken. I mean there are some practical things you can do to the crowds in Little India. There are also legal consequences - the justice system has to follow up, rioters have to be brought to justice and punished. But I don't think it has changed the situation.
"The workers are here for a purpose, we need them - they are building houses for us, they are building trains for us, they are working all over, in banks, in so many companies. And I think that we have to manage the non-indigenous population in a way that we can wear over the long-term, and the Little India riot notwithstanding, we have to continue to do that," he continued.
He also said he does not think the Little India riot has changed the way Singaporeans look at the foreign workers. "And from what we can tell, the foreign workers who are here continue to be quite comfortable living and working here, and certainly, many more are wanting to come. That's why we have to manage the numbers," Mr Lee explained.
- CNA/ly
