SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Singapore places great emphasis on corporate governance and transparency because it needs to set itself apart from other countries.
Otherwise, no one would set up banks or base their headquarters in Singapore.
In a half—hour interview in Chicago, Mr Lee was asked why Singapore introduced the Integrated Resorts with casinos.
He explained that the benefits outweighed the costs, and added that the downside was not absolute but it was something Singapore had to manage.
When asked what advice he would give to US decision—makers when reforming the American financial system, Mr Lee said the key is to learn lessons from the crisis and prepare for the next problem, rather than focus the last one.
"One of the problems the last time round was that you knew what the banks were, but there were things you didn’t count as banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which were not subject to rules and some of them got into trouble," he said.
"And then you have the shadow market... depositors were not involved but when the shadow market crashed, that brought down the whole financial system. It became big, people took risk too lightly, and after the problem happened... it spread to the whole system.
"So you’ve got to find a way to have a supervision which is going to adapt because whatever rules you make, the people who are operating — the bankers, the financiers — will find a way to optimise."
The Prime Minister also defended the high salaries paid to top government officials in Singapore.
"Our attitude is: you must pay for the quality of the person you want, and pay for the responsibility of the job which you want the person to do," he explained.
"And what can be more responsible than running a central bank or running an economy or running an education system, where you’re not only dealing with billions of dollars but where you make a mistake, the livelihoods and the futures of millions of people will be at stake.
"You want the best person and you want him to be properly motivated and focused on his job and not based on a revolving door.
Mr Lee also spoke about how he wants others to view Singapore.
"We want people to think of Singapore as representing quality, excellence, initiative and creativity," he said. "So when you think of Singapore, you think of Singapore Airlines, you think of Singapore companies which carry certain reputation when they go abroad, you think of our education system, which does a good job in educating a wide range of students.
"It’s a place which works, it’s a place which people are proud to belong and it’s Singapore so say Singapore Changi Airport, or the Singapore Airshow, or the Singapore Grand Prix. So it means something positive.
"Once upon a time, (when) you say Singapore, at best (others will) ask, ’Where is that? Somewhere in China?’ Now I think that won’t happen quite so often. But you want to go beyond that recognition to also a certain respect and regard."
In Chicago for a two—day visit, Prime Minister Lee met Chicago’s Mayor, Richard Daley.
He is also expected to meet with the President of the University of Chicago, Robert Zimmer, as well as some Singaporeans based in Chicago.
