Kuan Yew: Unlikely for S'pore, Malaysia to merge

Singapore's former minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew said it is unlikely that Singapore and Malaysia will merge in the future.

He was speaking at the Singapore Global Dialogue, held at the Shangri-La Hotel, on Thursday evening. The dialogue was attended by some 400 participants from all over world.

Mr Lee was asked by a Malaysian citizen if he foresees both countries coming to a political or economic union in the future, given the growing strength of Indonesia.

Mr Lee said having gone through a failed merger in the 1960s, such a move is not likely.

Optimistic on Iskandar

But he also gave a positive outlook of bilateral relations, noting the efforts of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

These include developing the Iskandar region in southern Johor, which will complement Singapore's own economic growth.

"Najib has brought forth a positive view of bilateral relations and the desire to develop southern Johor, the Iskandar region, using Singapore as a kind of Shenzhen. (This) means a complementary set of forces will be let loose, which will make it unprofitable for either side to be unfriendly," said Mr Lee.

He added: "You want our investments, we want to invest. Having invested, we don't want problems with Malaysia, and Malaysia which wants more investments will not give us problems. So that's a positive development."

Meritocracy, pragmatism and clean government

Mr Lee also said it is in the country's best interest to spread its wealth, to maintain "national solidarity".

"If you have fast growth, and it's confined only to one section of society, particularly the Chinese, and the Malays are left behind, I think it's not sustainable," said Mr Lee.

"It is in our interest to maintain national solidarity, to ensure there is a spread of the wealth that comes with growth, to the disadvantaged in the population."

The 40-minute dialogue saw wide-ranging questions from the audience.

Among them, what Mr Lee Kuan Yew thought were the key qualities that will keep Singapore going.

Mr Lee said factors such as meritocracy, pragmatism and a clean government have taken Singapore to where it is, and losing sight of any of them will cause the country to lose momentum.

No wish to be specially remembered

Asked about his thoughts on Singapore's recent general election in May, where the ruling People's Action Party saw its vote share dip, Mr Lee said the "result was bound to happen".

"Our total dominance was not sustainable, a younger generation wants to see competition, they voted in an opposition party... (but) to have a two-party system is another matter. It depends on the performance of the opposition, the response of the government, and the mindset of succeeding younger generations that come with every general election."

When asked on how he hoped to be remembered, Mr Lee said he has no desire to be remembered for any particular reason, but he has a job to do - that is to maintain a fair distribution of growth for the country, and to maintain good relations with neighbours.

- Today