Archive for June, 2010
Singapore makes another move to reduce dependence on Malaysia and Indonesia. ST: SINGAPORE will be importing liquified natural gas from Qatar and storing it in a facility currently under construction on Jurong Island. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew confirmed the country’s plans to diversify its gas supply, currently made up of gas piped in from [...]
Filed under: Conference, Event, Quotes | 2 Comments
Tags: lee kuan yew, lng, natural gas, qatar
A prize for Bilbao
Yet another Lee Kuan Yew prize. AFP via Today: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew presenting the inaugural Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize to Bilbao City Mayor Inaki Azkuna (right) in Singapore yesterday. Bilbao City was awarded the Lee Kuan Yew City Prize Laureate in recognition of its integrated and holistic approach in urban transformation. [...]
Filed under: Event | 1 Comment
Tags: bilbao, inaki azkuna, lee kuan yew, world city prize
Lee Kuan Yew insists that bilingualism is impossible and that English must take precedence over Chinese. CNA: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said Mandarin is important but it remains a second language in Singapore. So parents must be realistic in their expectations. Mr Lee was alluding to the furore which erupted after media reports that [...]
Filed under: Event, Quotes | 20 Comments
Tags: bilingualism, chinese, english, lee kuan yew, mandarin
Lee Kuan Yew gives a characteristically modest account of his financial skills. AsiaOne: Having shaped the financial industry with the late Dr Goh Keng Swee, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew rated his contribution to the financial industry an A or A-. He said “we could do better”, but also qualified that “the Singapore government always [...]
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Tags: banks, financial regulation, lee kuan yew, property bubble, singapore
BusinessWeek reveals an interesting detail about the IPBA-vs-Marina Sands lawsuit ignored by Singaporean media: Marina Bay Sands sued the lawyers after they withheld payment for the first conference it hosted. IPBA 2010 Pte, on behalf of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association conference, countersued for misrepresenting a “complete disaster” as a world-class venue. Sands used the attendance [...]
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Lee Kuan Yew gives his seal of approval to the “striking” Marina Bay Sands. Both Adelson and Lee use golf carts to get around, but unlike Adelson, Lee stands without a cane. CNA, with video: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said it will take up to seven years for Singapore’s second Integrated Resort to reach [...]
Filed under: Event, Quotes | 1 Comment
Tags: casino, lee kuan yew, marina bay sands, sheldon adelson
Tom Plate’s Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew: Some Wise Words for Dysfunctional Western Democracies
Tom Plate’s book gets negative reviews in Singapore, but a positive review in America. Huffington Post: When the history of the 21st century is written, Afghanistan will matter little. But the rise of China modeled on the pragmatic, soft-authoritarian template of Lee Kuan Yew’s Singapore will be seen as the game changer of our time. [...]
Filed under: Book review | 1 Comment
Tags: conversations with lee kuan yew, huffington post, lee kuan yew, nathan gardels, tom plate
Lee Kuan Yew at the Shangri-La Dialogue. CNA, with video: Singapore Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who attended the opening dinner for the Shangri-La Dialogue, called on visiting South Korean leader Lee Myung-bak for discussions on Friday evening. President Lee is here for a working visit, where he delivered the keynote speech at the Shangri-La [...]
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Tags: lee kuan yew, lee myung-bak, shangri-la dialogue
An atypically critical state media review of Tom Plate’s new book on Lee Kuan Yew. Today: Mr Plate tries to get under the skin of this man during two interviews over a total of four hours, especially in the second part of his slim, soundbite of a book. The result is a 211-page rewind of [...]
Filed under: Book review | 2 Comments
Tags: book review, conversations with lee kuan yew, lee kuan yew, tom plate
LKY’s prejudice
A throwaway quote in Plate’s new book incites wrath and an unflattering political cartoon in Sri Lanka. Daily Mirror: He is certainly ill-equipped to make a sweeping racist statement like the one he has made in his latest book that “Sinhalese who are less capable are putting down a minority of Jaffna Tamils who are [...]
Filed under: Commentary, Quotes | 2 Comments
Tags: conversations, lee kuan yew, sri lanka, tamil, tom plate