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Tag: Lee Hsien Loong

  • Heng Swee Keat Lucid, Making Progress

    Heng Swee Keat Lucid, Making Progress

    Visited Heng Swee Keat in the TTSH Neuro ICU at NNI this evening. Delighted to find him recovering well, and making steady progress. He was fully lucid, communicative, and cheerful.

    The doctors are happy too. But they have advised Swee Keat not to receive visitors yet, so that he can get as much rest as possible.

    I told him we had made arrangements to look after his residents in Tampines while he recuperates. He gave me two thumbs up. 🙂

    Swee Keat wants to thank everyone for their support. He especially sends his greetings and best wishes to his Tampines residents and volunteers, who have been asking after him. – LHL

     

    Source: Lee Hsien Loong

  • Lee Hsien Loong: Good Character, Integrity First Requirement For Candidates

    Lee Hsien Loong: Good Character, Integrity First Requirement For Candidates

    “Anyone standing for public office should be prepared to have his past actions examined, transparently and honestly,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a statement in response to comments by the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)’s Paul Tambyah on Saturday (Apr 30).

    PM Lee said this is so that “voters can make informed, responsible decisions as to who is fit and best qualified to represent them in Parliament”.

    “Character goes to the heart of the fitness of a candidate, whether to be an MP, or indeed to hold any public office. Is he honest? Does he have integrity? Is he loyal? Is he committed to serve the people? What are his basic motivations? These come first, before we even talk about how able he is, what experience he brings, or what policies he proposes,” PM Lee said.

    The Prime Minister said the importance of character applies to People’s Action Party (PAP) candidates, although he said it was “understandable why SDP, and particularly Dr Chee Soon Juan, should wish it to be otherwise”.

    “Good character and integrity is the first requirement, and it should be so for opposition parties too.”

    Earlier on Saturday, PM Lee had questioned Dr Chee’s character and aptitude to be an MP for Bukit Batok.

    In response, Dr Tambyah said later in a live Facebook video statement: “A person is not defined by his or her actions or words”, adding that an attack on Dr Chee’s character was “uncalled for”, and that “we need to debate the issues, not engage in character assassination”.

    PM Lee’s comments were issued in a statement from his PressLee Secretary.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Singapore Doubles Amount It Will Give Palestinians For Capacity-Building

    Singapore Doubles Amount It Will Give Palestinians For Capacity-Building

    Singapore is committed to supporting Palestinians to build their capacity and skills, and will double the sum of its enhanced technical assistance package from S$5 million to S$10million.

    Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made this commitment at a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in Ramallah on Wednesday, Mr Lee’s press secretary Chang Li Lin told reporters after the meeting.

    Mr Lee, the first Singapore prime minister to visit the Palestinian Territories, also encouraged the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to resume negotiations to find a just and durable peace in a two-state solution – with Israel and Palestine living side by side.

    Under the package, Singapore has hosted study visits for Palestinian officials in areas such as education, anti-corruption reform and economic development.

    Singapore will also share its experience in vocational and skills training.

    “PM Hamdallah welcomed this as the Palestinians valued their friendship with Singapore,” Ms Chang said. “He expressed appreciation for Singapore’s assistance as education was a key focus for the Palestinians.”

    Dr Hamdallah received Mr Lee at his office in the Palestinian Territories on Wednesday morning.

    Both men then visited the mausoleum of Yasser Arafat, the first president of the Palestinian Authority, where Mr Lee laid a wreath before Mr Hamdallah hosted him to lunch.

    Dr Hamdallah welcomed the first visit by a Singapore PM to the Territories and conveyed the warm greetings of President Mahmoud Abbas, who is overseas.

    Mr Lee invited Dr Hamdallah to make a reciprocal visit to Singapore, which he accepted.

    Mr Lee also reiterated the standing invitation for President Abbas to visit Singapore.

    Dr Hamdallah briefed the Singapore delegation about the situation in the Palestinian Territories and reaffirmed the PNA’s commitment to the two-state solution.

    PM Lee had, at a meeting with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, reiterated

    Singapore’s hope that the Israelis and Palestinians can restart talks for a two-state solution.

    It was a point he made again when Israel’s Leader of the Opposition Isaac Herzog called on him on Wednesday morning.

    Both men had an exchange of views on developments in Israel and the region, Ms Chang said.

    “Mr Herzog agreed that the two-state solution remains the only viable option to achieve a just and durable peace for Israel and Palestine,” she added.

    Mr Lee also visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in the morning and Muslim leaders showed him around the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

     

    Source: The Straits Times

  • Lee Hsien Loong: Israel And Palestine Must Resume Direct Negotiations Towards “Just And Lasting Two-State Solution”

    Lee Hsien Loong: Israel And Palestine Must Resume Direct Negotiations Towards “Just And Lasting Two-State Solution”

    JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday (April 18) urged Israel and the Palestinian Territories to resume direct negotiations towards a “just and lasting two-state solution”, and expressed gratitude to Israel in helping Singapore build up its defence capabilities.

    Noting that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a complex one, he said: “Progress will require enormous imagination, determination and political leadership on both sides, as well as getting the stars aligned in the right places in the firmament, with the great powers supporting you.”

    Mr Lee, speaking at Hebrew University in Jerusalem where he was conferred an honorary doctorate, is on the second leg of a week-long trip to the Middle East.

    He is visiting both Israel and the Palestinian National Authority in Ramallah to signal Singapore’s friendship with both sides and better understand developments in the region, he said.

    He expressed hope that “both sides will take steps to resume direct negotiations and to work towards a just and lasting two-state solution.”

    The Prime Minister is on his first official visit to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories. He met Jordan’s Chief Advisor for Religious and Cultural Affairs Prince Ghazi Bin Muhammad Bin Talal before crossing the border to Jerusalem on Monday.

    In his speech, Mr Lee noted that Singapore and Israel share a “longstanding friendship” with the earliest Jews – mostly from Iraq – migrating to Singapore in the 19th century.

    Singapore is now home to a small Jewish community, numbering a few hundred, but “has contributed to our society out of proportion to its numbers”, he said, adding that the Republic’s first Chief Minister, David Marshall, was a Baghdadi Jew.

    He also shared an anecdote on how Dr Albert Einstein had visited Singapore in 1922 to urge the Jewish community to donate towards the setting up of Hebrew University. The community raised about £750 (worth about US$300,000 today). A week after his visit to Singapore, Dr Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.

    Through the years, more Jewish expatriates including Israelis came to work and live Singapore. There are now 2,500 of them – enough to sustain a successful kosher restaurant, he shared.

    Israel was also the only nation that responded to the Republic’s call for help to set up a military when it became independent in 1965. The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) sent advisors who were nicknamed “Mexicans” for operational security, said Mr Lee.

    “By July 1967, guided by the IDF team, the SAF (Singapore Armed Forces) commissioned our first batch of officer cadets from the Officer Cadet Course. This was a decisive step in building up a credible and professional defence force for Singapore,” said Mr Lee.

    “Without the IDF, the SAF could not have grown its capabilities, deterred threats, defended our island, and reassured Singaporeans and investors that Singapore was secure and had a future… We will always be grateful that Israel helped us and stood by us at our time of great need.”

    Singapore, he added, learnt two things from Israel at that time — which Mr Lee’s father, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew who was then the Prime Minister — told one “Mexican general”: “How to be strong and how not to use our strength”.

    Over the years, ties between both nations have expanded beyond defence and security, with companies from both sides very active in exploring opportunities in technology research and development.

    In fact, the Singapore-Israel Industrial Research & Development Foundation (SIIRD) has provided US$170 million (S$) in funding for about 150 projects since 1997, said Mr Lee who witnessed on Monday the signing of three agreements between the Hebrew University and the National Research Foundation, National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University respectively to manage the Hebrew’s University’s research in Singapore.

    Mr Lee was also optimistic about the future, referring to a recent interview by former Israeli President Shimon Peres who painted a vision of Israel in 2048 – 100 years after its founding – that will be much better for the nation and Middle East. Mr Peres envisioned that borders will become less relevant, while science and technology will force people to become more open-minded to the world.

    “Today, such a Middle East looks a long way off – perhaps more distant even than 2048. But I sincerely hope that one day, Mr Peres’ vision will be realised. Swords will be turned to ploughshares. Israel and your neighbours will live side-by-side, in peace and prosperity,” he said. “And your friends in Singapore and around the world will rejoice with you too.”

    Multiple efforts have been made to broker an agreement on a “two-state solution” in which Israel would exist peacefully alongside a new Palestinian state created in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, lands seized by Israel in the 1967 war.

    However, such a solution appears remote because of ongoing Jewish settlement building; a split between the Palestinian Fatah and Hamas factions; preoccupation within the Palestinian National Authority about who may succeed aging President Mahmoud Abbas; and a wave of Palestinian stabbings, shootings and car rammings of Israelis.

    Efforts led by the United States to broker peace between Israel and Palestine collapsed in April 2014, although France is making another push by convening an international peace summit to work towards a two-state solution.

    Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Maliki Osman recently told parliament that Singapore welcomes the latest French initiative.

    “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is longstanding and resonates with many in Southeast Asia including Singapore and Singaporeans … Singapore’s position on this has been consistent. We support the rights of the Palestinian people to a homeland. We have also voted for several Palestinian-related resolutions at the United Nations National Assembly,” Dr Maliki said during the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Committee of Supply debate two weeks ago.

    Mr Lee will meet Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as other Israeli high-tech industry leaders on Tuesday, and Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority Rami Hamdallah on Wednesday.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Masagos: Singaporeans Studying In The Middle East Have Role To Play In Nation Building

    Masagos: Singaporeans Studying In The Middle East Have Role To Play In Nation Building

    Singaporean students who are studying in Middle Eastern universities have an important role to play after they graduate, as the Republic is in need of strong religious leaders who can contextualise Islam in line with the country’s multiracial circumstances, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli on Saturday (April 16) night.

    Mr Masagos, who was speaking to reporters after a dialogue session with around 100 Singaporean students studying in Jordanian universities, said that Singapore has benefited from a strong group of home-grown religious scholars, because many of them understand how religion should be taught, particularly in the context of how it features in a multicultural society. But more religious leaders are needed in the future, he said.

    “By coming to the Middle East, Jordan, Egypt and in the past even Syria, they (the students) are able to deepen their technical understanding of the region. Therefore, (they) also build the credibility that is needed when they are expounding the religion,” said Mr Masagos, who is part of the Singapore delegation accompanying Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on a week-long trip to the Middle East.

    “When they come back (to Singapore), they know how to contextualise the teachings and at the same time inoculate the masses against the persuasions from the outside to become more radicalised,” said the Minister.

    He noted that many of these students had gone through the Madrasah educational system in Singapore, where they learnt how to practise the religion in the context of Singapore’s multiracial society. With their deepened understanding, these graduates would be able to promote respect for different groups in society.

    He added that students who graduate from the Middle East have a lot more to offer in addition to their religious knowledge.

    “For example, their mastery of Arabic as well as having lived here (in the Middle East) for a long time, can contribute to our own companies’ foray in this area,” he said, adding that he has spoken to Singaporean companies with investments in the region including Keppel FELS, Hyflux and Sembcorp about tapping on the expertise of these students.

    Reflecting on the dialogue with Mr Masagos, Mr Abdul Fattah, 23, a freshman studying jurisprudence told TODAY that “what we learn here in Jordan, we would like to first benefit our families, close friends and the people around us.”

    “In the future, I hope to be able to work with youths and instill in them the knowledge of love and respect for this religion (Islam),” he said, adding that he aspires to reach out to non-Muslim youths as well.

    Commenting on concerns about Islamophobia in Singapore, Mr Masagos said that “through our dialogue, my point to them (students) is clear: it is in our hands to ensure that we interact with the wider society well, meaningfully, deeply, so that interaction between all races, even at the individual level is contributing and positive.”

    “They (should) understand that while Islamophobia is something that could happen because of the information that others may have about Muslims around the world, we can change that, we can prevent that from happening in Singapore,” he said.

    Mr Masagos noted that The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) has been active in engaging Singaporean students in the Middle East, with MUIS officers stationed in Cairo and Jeddah so that they can be in close touch with the students not only to ensure that their welfare is taken care of, but also to render any assistance in the event of an emergency.

    Additionally, MUIS updates the students on latest developments in Singapore so that “they do not merely read about Singapore on the Internet and interpret them in any way that the internet is persuading them to,” said Mr Masagos.

    Prime Minister Lee, when hosting a reception for the same group of students on Saturday evening, also encouraged them to keep pace with developments back home, inviting them to follow him on social media to get a better sense of what is happening in Singapore.

    Mr Lee is making his first official visit to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories. The last high-level visit by a Singaporean leader to Jordan was by then President S R Nathan in 2006. Mr Lee on Saturday kick-started his trip with a cultural programme at the ancient city of Petra in Jordan. On Sunday, Mr Lee will be hosted to lunch by Jordan’s King Abdullah II. He will also meet Prime Minister and Defence Minister Abdullah Ensour, who will host dinner for him.

    Mr Lee will meet Chief Advisor for Religious and Cultural Affairs Prince Ghazi Bin Muhammad Bin Talal on Monday, before proceeding to Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

     

    Source: TODAY Online