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US govt standoff sends a negative signal: PM Lee

BALI — Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the United States government shutdown following a political stalement between the Democrats and Republicans sent a “negative signal” to the rest of the world, one “which will last much longer than the shutdown”.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Photo: REUTERS

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Photo: REUTERS

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BALI — Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the United States government shutdown following a political stalemate between the Democrats and Republicans sent a “negative signal” to the rest of the world, one “which will last much longer than the shutdown”.

“These are problems which you have created for yourself in a game of chicken,” he said, speaking to CNN’s Patricia Wu on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Bali.

The Prime Minister also spoke about “complicated conflicts of interest” caused by the Congressional confirmation process in the US, as well as the difficulty in approaching the territorial disputes in the region.

Here’s the full transcript from the interview, aired on CNN this morning:

Mr Lee: I am not worried about the impact on the GDP of the US. They calculate 0.1, 0.2 per cent. If it’s a week, it’s so much, if it’s two weeks, it’s a little bit more.

The dollar amount is not consequential, but the signal that the Americans are unable to get their act together and can’t vote money to run the government and can’t agree that the government needs to be run and has national interests greater than the Tea Party or the Democrats or the Republicans — I think that’s a negative signal which will last much longer than the shutdown.

CNN: Are you more concerned about the debt ceiling?

Mr Lee: Well, that’s another negative signal ... if you hit it, because you just confirm that you can’t resolve the practical problems, which should not be practical problems. I mean, these are problems which you have created for yourself in a game of chicken.

CNN: Singapore’s lawmakers are some of the highest-paid in the world. Do you think that if Washington’s lawmakers were better compensated, there would not be so much dysfunction?

Mr Lee: First of all, we may have competitive salaries, but we are far from being the richest lawmakers in the world. I think we operate a clean system, an honest system. We pay people what their job is worth and what the quality of people is worth and we expect them to perform. And if they don’t, well, they have to go or the electorate will vote them out.

CNN: You think that’s part of the problem, that they would attract better talent in Washington if their salaries are more competitive?

Mr Lee: I think you have a lot of idealistic people, people who want to do good, who would be prepared to come forward. Of course, there are many hindrances to coming forward and not everybody enjoys going through a Congressional confirmation process. But there are people who will come forward.

I think what is not good is because of the influence of what will come next, a revolving door leads to complicated conflicts of interests and so does depending on interest groups to fund Congressional campaigns.

You have restrictions, but now there are many ingenious ways around them, some blessed by the Supreme Court, and that means that money speaks, which is a big problem in the system which many of your own people acknowledge.

CNN: Now, of course, stability in the region is very important for growth. How concerned are you about the territorial disputes in the region and a seemingly increasingly nationalistic tone from both China and Japan?

Mr Lee: We are watching it carefully. I think these are very difficult issues to solve. They go back a long way. The claims on both sides are not very negotiable and it’s very hard for any government to give up what it has claimed because it will lose face and standing and domestic support.

So, you can only manage these issues, you cannot solve them.

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