S’pore-KL high-speed rail ‘a game changer’

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had a roundtable interview in Singapore with editors of regional newspaper grouping Asia News Network. The network comprises more than 20 news organisations from the region such as Singapore’s Straits Times, The Jakarta Post from Indonesia and Thailand’s Nation Multimedia Group. The journalists hail from countries such as China, Malaysia, Myanmar and Bhutan. Here are excerpts of the interview:

Question: There is a lot of excitement about the high-speed rail to Kuala Lumpur, but you have set a very ambitious time frame for it.

I think that’s what we are aiming for. There is a lot of work to be done. Many aspects have to be studied and discussed and agreed upon. But if we can get the high-speed rail between Singapore and KL built, whether it is 2020 or whether it is a bit later, I think it will make a very big difference to the connection between two very vibrant cities, in the way you can do business together, in the way you can travel up and down, the convenience of it. It is a game changer. I mean, it’s like the Euro(star) train between London and Paris. And in Asia or in South-east Asia, certainly, I think Singapore and KL are the two natural ends between which you would like to have such a link.

Question: What are the possible obstacles or road blocks that could derail this high-speed rail plan?

We have not yet worked out the specifics of it. We know, in principle, that we want this. (Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak) has said that in KL, the terminus is going to be in Bandar Malaysia, in the Sungai Besi side. I have told him that in Singapore, we have three sites possible, but Jurong East is one very attractive one that we are considering. So, in those broad terms, we have decided the shape of it.

But where is the line going to go? How is it going to be built? What’s the engineering? What’s the financing? What’s the governance? What’s the legal framework? How are we going to operate this? These are all very complicated to do even in one country, but to do in two countries and to work it all out in what would be quite a compressed time frame, I think (it) will test our teams.

Question: Singapore has been seen as a model in our part of the world and, for that matter, many other nations in other parts of the world. There’s so much to draw from Singapore. (Is there) anything that you would actually caution us, you know, not to ape from Singapore or not to borrow from Singapore? What should we not take from Singapore?

We do not hold ourselves as a model for others to imitate. We are only solving our own problems and, generally, we have managed, sometimes, we are still working on it. If other countries find it interesting and relevant and want to use it, adapt it, pick up ideas from it, we are happy that we have been useful. But I think every country’s circumstance is different. It’s not just the size, it’s not just the location; it’s also the history, the nature of the society, the temperament of the people, what you are prepared to accept, what you would like to aspire to, how you want your society to operate and how you want to fit in with your neighbours. And that’s different. We happen to be in South-east Asia, smallest country in the region, at peace with our bigger neighbours and able to maintain good relations with them.

Question: What is your Government doing to get into a better position in the ranking of Reporters Without Borders?

I have given up that. I do not take them seriously. They put us somewhere around Zimbabwe; I said, so be it. I mean, they find it useful, I just ignore that. We manage our press, our media and our freedom of information in a way that makes sense for Singapore. Information flows freely on the Internet, you can get data instantly from anywhere in the world. Newspapers report freely the news, but also responsibly, so that you inform and educate people, so that this is a source of reliable information, opinion as well as entertainment. And not all newspapers in the world aspire to do that.

I think that it’s a model that has worked for us. It’s a model that is changing, because the Internet is a very big new factor, social media is a very big new factor, which we are struggling with. I think it’s something that we have to deal with and not something where we say, well, we give up; that’s the way the world is and anything goes. And I really don’t know and don’t mind where the next ranking comes out for journalists.

Question: You have been quite active on social media as well. Can you tell us a bit about that experience, and if you are planning to do even more?

Well, it’s a very interesting exercise, because I embarked on this about two years ago and launched a Facebook page. And later on, we launched an Instagram account. I am on Twitter too, but Twitter in Singapore doesn’t have much following. So, it’s mainly Facebook and Instagram. Facebook has a bigger following, but Instagram has more younger people.

It’s a good way to have informal comments on serious and semi-serious matters. You also have some light comments from time to time, because people like to see the human side of you and it helps to build up the eyeballs. And if you want to appear on people’s news feeds, you must make sure that people “Like” you from time to time. That’s a technical requirement. “Like”, meaning capital “L”, doesn’t mean they really necessarily have warm feelings, but there’s a technique to it. When to post; how to post it; what language to use; how to keep it snappy and interesting; what sort of pictures to use, because the pictures make a big difference. If you post one of your own pictures, that gives a more authentic feel to it, even if it is not the best picture available.

So, I think it’s a useful additional channel, but if you want to deliver an op-ed, 800 words is already too much for Facebook. And on Instagram, the passages, paragraphs are even shorter. That’s just the way the attention span is.

Question: The era of long tenureship of Prime Ministers seems to be over, especially in this region. We see governments changing very fast now. You have been in power for about 10 years now, or thereabouts. How do you see your own future? How long do you plan to stay in helming this country?

I think that leaders stay as long as they are able to make a contribution. If they stay beyond that, then they have overstayed their welcome. And in Singapore, we pay a lot of attention to succession planning and making sure that we have a new team ready and new leaders who are capable of taking charge, so that the country can move ahead and the leaders can be in sync with the country. I can’t say exactly how long I am staying, but I am 62 years old and that’s not young.