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The New Straits Times is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first^[1]), having been founded as The Straits Times in 1845, and was reestablished as the "New Straits Times" in 1965. The paper served as Malaysia's only broadsheet format English language newspaper. However, following the heels of British newspapers The Times and The Independent, a tabloid version first rolled off the presses on 1 September 2004 and since 18 April 2005, the newspaper is published only in tabloid size, ending a 160-year-old tradition of broadsheet publication. The New Straits Times currently retails at RM1.20 (~36 USD cents). On 11 November 2011, 3D publication was introduced to the paper's print and online editions.

The New Straits Times is printed by the New Straits Times Press, which also produced the English language afternoon newspaper, The Malay Mail, until 1 January 2008, as well as assorted Malay language newspapers, most notably the Berita Harian. The New Straits Times is part of Media Prima group of companies.

As of 1 January 2009, the Group Editor of the New Straits Times is Syed Nadzri Syed Harun, while Kamrul Idris Zulkifli is Deputy Group Editor. Executive Editors, as of 1 January 2009, Lee Ah Chai (News) and Chandra Segaran (Production) and Lim Thow Boon.

Origins[link]

The paper was originally founded as The Straits Times and covered all of what was then British Malaya, and Singapore, where it was based. This continued when Singapore became part of Malaysia in 1963, but upon its departure from the Federation in 1965, a separate paper published and based in Malaysia the New Straits Times, was established, whilst The Straits Times has continued publication in Singapore.

In 1972, The then-owner, the Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad formed the News Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. in a desire to meet the reasonable aspirations of Malaysians to have a majority shareholding in the company which produced the largest mass-circulation organ in the English language. An agreement was reached on 17 September 1972 between the directors of the Straits Times group and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah for the disposal of 80 per cent of the stock of the News Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd for the Malaysian interets.^[2]

Incorporated sections[link]

[edit] Tech&U

Tech&U, was first published on 1 January 1986 as Computimes, an information and communication technology (ICT) section of the New Straits Times. It was earlier published every Thursday, and in the 1990s, the section was published on Mondays and Thursdays.

In 1 August 2005, a decision was made to focus the Monday edition on the enterprise market while the Thursday edition on the consumer market.

On 1 January 2008, Tech&U became a weekly publication, available with the New Straits Times every Monday with an increasing consumer slant while keeping the pulse on the enterprise scene.

Business Computing is also related to this section. It was a weekly section on Wednesdays, published from 1999 to 2004.

As of 1 January 2010, it has been incorporated and merged into the Life and Times section. The tech section in New Straits Times appears every Monday in the Life & Times section.

[edit] Travel Times

In 1999, this weekly pullout on travel in Malaysia was published in support of the government's Cuti-Cuti Malaysia campaign. It became the Malaysian weekly newspaper pullout dedicated to publishing travel and travel-related news and features and has remained till this day Malaysia's only weekly travel newspaper pullout dedicated to tourism. The first issue was released on 6 October 1999 and the first weekly issue was released on 2 October 2000. It was published every Wednesday when it started, and it was now published on Tuesdays until 31 December 2009 as "Travel". Starting 1 January 2010, it has been incorporated and merged into the Life & Times section. The travel section now appears on Thursdays.

[edit] Business Times

The paper has incorporated the Business Times starting 1 January 2002, expanding its business section and increasing its appeal among businessmen. Prior to 1976, this is also the business section's name of New Straits Times.

[edit] Emedia

The online arm of The New Straits Times Press group. 160 years of articles and images at News and Image Bank

Other Channels

Food Gadgets Properties Travel Fashion

[edit] Life & Times

The segment was previously known as Leisure Times, Times Two and Lifestyle prior to 1994. From 1998 to 2004, the Friday edition of this segment was called Youth Quake after it was merged with the newspaper. The Saturday edition is called Weekend Life & Times, which was later known as 6, from 2005 to 2009.

As of 1 January 2010, the weekly sections in Life & Times are:

• Monday: Technology
• Tuesday: Health
• Wednesday: Style
• Thursday: Travel
• Friday: Showbiz
• Saturday: Living
• Sunday: Family

Political control and controversy[link]

Owing to political sensitivities, newspapers from Malaysia cannot be sold in Singapore, hence the New Straits Times is not sold in Singapore, and The Straits Times is not sold in Malaysia. The ban was imposed before the 1 May 1969 general election in Malaysia.^[3] During 2005, the governments of both countries discussed lifting the ban, with Singapore's former Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, speaking in favour of such a move, although Malaysian politicians were more wary.^[4]

In 2012, Senator Nick Xenophon, an independent member of the Australian Parliament, was on a fact-finding mission to Malaysia when he was caught up in anti-government protests in Kuala Lumpur. Subsequently, on 2 May 2012, the "New Straits Times" published an article written by Roy See Wei Zhi and headed "Observer under scrutiny"^[5]. The report replaced words from a 2009 speech made by Xenophon and turned it into an attack on Islam, ostensibly to pit Malay-Muslim opinion against the senator, who was a known associate of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. In fact the speech had been an attack on Scientology and is recorded as such in the Hansard of the Australian Senate. Xenophon threatened to sue the "New Straits Times" for defamation and the newspaper quickly removed the offending article from its website.^[6].

The gaffe sparked media outrage in both Malaysia and Australia^[7], and has greatly reinforced public perception that the New Straits Times and most mainstream media merely serve as propaganda mouthpieces for the ruling Barisan Nasional. As at 4 May 2012, Senator Xenophon has confirmed that he would sue NST in spite of their apology.^[8]

Comics[link]

The comic Scenes of Malaysian Life has been published in the New Straits Times.^[9]

2011 redesign and new logo[link]

In 2011, the New Straits Times underwent a redesign of its masthead, typography, contents and logo. The first edition in the new format was published on 11 November 2011. ^[10]

Notes and references[link]

External links[link]

• Official New Straits Times website

v t e Media Prima Berhad Board of directors Datuk Johan Jaaffar (Chairman)  · Dato' Amrin Awaluddin (GMD) · Dato' Sri Ahmad Farid Ridzuan (Group CEO, TV Network) · Shahril Ridza Ridzuan · Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye · Dato' Abdul Kadir Deen · Datuk Ahmad A. Talib · Tan Sri Mohamed Jawhar Dato' Gumuri Hussain Radio stations Hot FM (Malay)  · Fly FM (English)  · one FM (Chinese) Broadcast television networks Malaysia: TV3 · ntv7 · 8TV · TV9 New Straits Times Press New Straits Times · Berita Harian · Harian Metro Production and distribution Primeworks Studios · mm Studios Advertising Big Tree · Gotcha · URL · TRC Event management Big Event New media Alt Media Annual revenue: RM · Stock symbol: MYX: 4502 · Website: www.mediaprima.com.my

The Straits Times is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). It is the country's highest-selling paper, with a current daily circulation of nearly 365,800.^[2] The weekly Sunday edition is known as The Sunday Times.

The Straits Times was established on 15 July 1845, in the early days of British colonial rule, and may be considered the successor to various other newspapers during the time such as the Singapore Chronicle. After Singapore became independent from Malaysia on 9 August 1965, the paper became more focused on the island leading to the creation of the New Straits Times for Malaysian readers.

Currently, the paper is one of Singapore's legally permitted print news source. SPH also publishes two other English-language dailies; the broadsheet The Business Times and The New Paper tabloid. The Straits Times is a member of the Asia News Network.

History[link]

The Straits Times was started by an Armenian, Catchick Moses.^[3] Moses's friend, Martyrose Apcar, had intended to start a local paper, but met with financial difficulties. To fulfil his friend's dream, Moses took over and appointed Robert Carr Woods as editor. On 15 July 1845, The Straits Times was launched as an eight-page weekly, published at 7 Commercial Square using a hand-operated press. The subscription fee then was Sp.$1.75 per month. In September 1846, he sold the paper to Robert Woods because the press proved unprofitable to run.

On 20 February 1942, five days after the British surrender to the Japanese, The Straits Times became known as The Shonan Times and The Syonan Shimbun. This name change lasted until 5 September 1945, when Singapore returned to British rule.

Coverage[link]

The Straits Times functions with 16 bureaus and special correspondents in major cities worldwide. The paper itself is published in four segments: the main section focuses on Asian and international news, with sub-sections of columns and editorials and the "Forum Page" (letters to the press). The "Home" section focuses on local news, together with sports and finance pages, which sometimes may be separated into a different section themselves. There is a classified ads and job listing section, followed by a separate lifestyle, entertainment and the arts section that is titled "Life!". On Saturdays, there is a separate "Saturday" section, which includes a special report (feature), and a science section, which reports on latest scientific developments.

Currently the newspaper publishes three weekly pull-outs ("Digital Life", "Mind Your Body", and "Urban" on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday respectively). All three pull-outs are printed in tabloid format.

The newspaper also publishes special editions for primary and secondary schools in Singapore. The primary-school version contains a special pull-out, titled "Little Red Dot" and the secondary-school version contains a pull-out titled "In".

The Straits Times is the only English language newspaper with an active Internet forum in Singapore. A separate edition The Sunday Times is published on Sundays.

Straits Times Interactive[link]

Launched on 1 January 1994, The Straits Times Interactive was free of charge and granted access to all the sections and articles found in the print edition. On 1 January 2005, the online version began requiring registration and after a short period became a paid-access-only site. Currently, only people who subscribe to the online edition can read all the articles on the Internet, including the frequently-updated "Latest News" section.

A free section, featuring a selection of news stories, is currently available at the site. Regular podcast, vodcast and twice-daily—mid-day and evening updates—radio-news bulletins are also available for free online.

The Straits Times's decision to make its online edition almost entirely subscription-funded is in contrast to other traditional newspapers online editions, which often charge only for certain sections, such as archives, or for digital editions.

Community programmes[link]

The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund[link]

The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund was initiated on Children's Day (October 1) in the year 1993 by The Straits Times, to heighten public awareness of the plight of children from low-income families who were attending school without proper breakfast, or pocket money to sustain their day in school.

The aim is to alleviate the financial burden faced by parents in providing for their children's education. At the same time the funds will help children who are already facing difficulties in remaining in school to stay on.

In the past few years, members of the public, schools and corporations responded generously after reading stories highlighting children especially those from single parent families who were most affected.

Since donations to the fund are collected prior to the year it is disbursed, donations received in a given year go on to help the people who apply to the fund the following year. An estimate on the amount that needs to be raised is based on the projection provided by the National Council of Social Service.

The National Council of Social Services which administers the funds, makes quarterly disbursements to agencies, such as the Family Service Centres (FSC) Special schools and Children's Homes to benefit their eligible clients.

Currently 38 FSCs, 22 Special Schools and 13 Children's Homes have been commissioned to administer the scheme. Agencies approval is based on a set of eligibility criteria and assessment of the family's financial situation. Based on the assessment of the case, social workers recommend the disbursement. The approval of either the Director of the Family Service Centre, Principal of a Special School or Head of a home is required for each application.

10% of all donations go to the National Council of Social Service for their administrative costs. Singapore Press Holdings does not take any cut of any donations.

From 1 January 2008, primary school pupils will receive $45 a month, up from $35, while secondary school students will get $80, up from the current $60 Chua, Grace & Lim, Jessica (2008). More help for pocket money fund students. Other qualifying criteria will also be tweaked Children from families earning up to $450 a person, or $1,800 for a family of four, can now apply for help from the fund. Previously, the income cut-off was $300 a head. Students will also be eligible for funding until they complete secondary school, instead of up to age 17, as was the case previously.

The Straits Times Media Club[link]

The Straits Times Media Club is a youth programme to encourage youth readership and interest in news and current affairs. Schools will have to subscribe for at least 500 copies, and will receive their papers every Monday. A youth newspaper, IN, is slotted in together with the main paper for the students.

The Straits Times School of Rock Competition[link]

The Straits Times School of Rock Competition was incepted in 2005. Budding young bands with members aged between 13 to 18 compete to be the ultimate youth band in Singapore. The finals of the competition was held at a local shopping mall in small town, Junction 8 Shopping Centre on 1 January 2005.

The Straits Times National Schools Newspaper Competition[link]

The National Schools Newspaper Competition started its inaugural year in 2005. Although 20 schools qualified for the semi-finals based on their school newsletters, only 10 schools made it to the finals. These 10 secondary schools then participate in the finals at the SPH News Centre.

Results[link]

Criticism[link]

The Straits Times has sometimes been criticized as being the mouthpiece of the ruling party, the People's Action Party and lacks the freedom to criticize the government. The Newspaper and Printing Presses Act of 1974 requires all newspapers to be publicly listed into both ordinary and management shares, with management shares having 200 times the voting rights of ordinary shares and approval from the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts needed for any management share transfers. Past chairpersons of Singapore Press Holdings have been civil servants. SPH's former executive president Tjong Yik Min served as the head of the Internal Security Department from 1986 to 1993.

Former Minister George Yeo, when he held the portfolio of Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, stressed that the media was not to be a "fourth estate" in ruling the country; the role of the press was to aid "nation building", in view of Singapore's heterogeneous society and peculiar vulnerabilities as a small nation.

Cherian George, a former art editor of the paper, has once described press workings in Singapore in a convention conference in 1998 at the University of California, Berkeley:

In the Singapore model, the elected government is the expression of democracy, and it is protected from the press, which is unelected and therefore undemocratic.... "the 'freedom from the press' model does mean that newspapers must operate within much narrower perimeters than their counterparts in most parts of the world. It must accept its subordinate role in society...The tone of stories must be respectful towards the country's leaders. They can be critical, but they cannot ridicule or lampoon.

A United States diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks^[4] quotes Chua Chin Hon, the Straits Times' U.S. bureau chief, saying that the paper's "editors have all been groomed as pro-government supporters and are careful to ensure that reporting of local events adheres closely to the official line", and that "the government exerts significant pressure on ST editors to ensure that published articles follow the government's line".^[5]

Other incidents[link]

Owing to political sensitivities The Straits Times is not sold in neighboring Malaysia, and the Malaysian newspaper New Straits Times is not sold in Singapore. The ban was imposed before the 31 August 1957 general election in Malaysia. During 1 January 2005 the governments of both countries discussed lifting the ban with Singapore former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew speaking in favour of such a move, although Malaysia politicians were more wary. At one point during an international dispute over the sale of water, the newspaper was banned in Malaysia.

On 1 January 2005, bloggers accused Sandra Davie, the Times Educational Correspondent of plagiarism.

Editors[link]

^[6]

Notable personalities[link]

• Catchick Moses, the Armenian founder of the paper
• Robert Carr Woods, the paper's first editor
• Susan Long, (Enterprise Editor/Journalist—Wrote an editorial, "NKF: Controversially ahead of its time?", published in The Straits Times on 1 January 2002, which became the subject of the dispute involving the National Kidney Foundation Singapore and SPH, and eventually the lawsuit that led to the National Kidney Foundation Singapore scandal)
• Ching Cheong, (Ex-Chief China Correspondent (Now Senior Writer based in Hong Kong Formerly held by Chinese authorities on espionage charges)
• Koh Buck Song, columnist 1990-99, 2004–05
• Miel Prudencio Ma, (Cartoonist and Senior Executive Artist, SPH)
• Ernest Corea, Features Editor and Foreign Affairs columnist

See also[link]

• New Straits Times
• Singapore Press Holdings

Notes[link]

References[link]

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2011)

• Thio, HR and the Media in Singapore in HR and the Media, Robert Haas ed, Malaysia: AIDCOM 1996 69 at 72-5.
• 141st Media : Refers to the Singapore Mass Media. Singapore was ranked 141 out of 169 in the "Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007" by "Reporters Without Borders".
• 146th Media : (obsolete) Refers to the Singapore Mass Media. Singapore was ranked 146 out of 168 in the "Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2006" by "Reporters Without Borders".
• 154th Media : Refers to the Singapore Mass Media. Singapore was ranked 154 out of 195 in the "2007 Freedom of the Press World Ranking" by "Freedom House".

External links[link]

• SPH NewsLink—Archive of Straits Times Articles
• Search digitised Singapore newspapers from 1831-2009

Lee Hsien Loong
Lee Hsien-Loong at the 2012 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.
Prime Minister of Singapore
Incumbent
Assumed office 12 August 2004
President	Sellapan Ramanathan Tony Tan
Deputy	Tony Tan Shunmugam Jayakumar Wong Kan Seng Teo Chee Hean Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Preceded by	Goh Chok Tong
Secretary-General of the People's Action Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 12 August 2004
Deputy	Wong Kan Seng Teo Chee Hean
Preceded by	Goh Chok Tong
Minister for Finance
In office 2001 – 1 December 2007
Prime Minister	Goh Chok Tong
Deputy	Raymond Lim
Preceded by	Richard Hu
Succeeded by	Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
In office 28 November 1990 – 12 August 2004
Prime Minister	Goh Chok Tong
Preceded by	Goh Chok Tong
Succeeded by	Shunmugam Jayakumar
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Ang Mo Kio GRC
Incumbent
Assumed office 31 August 1991
Preceded by	Constituency established
Majority	47,157 (32.2%)
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Teck Ghee SMC
In office 22 December 1984 – 31 August 1991
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	(1952-02-10) 10 February 1952 (age 60) Singapore
Political party	People's Action Party
Spouse(s)	Wong Ming Yang (1978-1982) Ho Ching (1985-present)
Children	Xiuqi Yipeng Hongyi Haoyi
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge Harvard University United States Army Command and General Staff College

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Lee Hsien Loong (born 10 February 1952) is the third and current Prime Minister of Singapore, and the eldest son of Singapore's first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew.

As a member of the People's Action Party (PAP), Lee became Prime Minister in August 2004, succeeding Goh Chok Tong. He has been a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1984 and a member of the Cabinet since 1987, and was one of the key leaders in Singapore's political transition in the 1980s and 1990s. Before becoming Prime Minister he served as the Minister for Trade and Industry, Minister for Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. Prior to his election to Parliament, he served as an officer in the Singapore Armed Forces, rising to the rank of Brigadier-General.

Background and education[link]

The eldest child of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and the late Madam Kwa Geok Choo, Lee Hsien Loong was born in Singapore on 10 February 1952. His paternal grandmother, Chua Jim Neo, was a Hokkien Nyonya, and his mother has ancestry from Tong'an District, Xiamen, in the Fujian province of China.^[1][2] According to Lee Kuan Yew's biography, the young Lee had learned Jawi script from the age of five, and has always been interested in the affairs of Singapore, often following his father to the rally grounds since 1963.

Lee studied at Nanyang Primary School and received his secondary education at Catholic High School, before going on to National Junior College (where he learned the clarinet under the tutelage of Adjunct Associate Professor Ho Hwee Long). In 1971, he was awarded a President's Scholarship and Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship by the Public Service Commission to study in the United Kingdom at Cambridge University, where he read Mathematics at Trinity College. He graduated in 1974 with First Class Honours in Mathematics and a Diploma in Computer Science (with distinction). In 1980, he completed a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Military career[link]

Lee joined the Singapore Armed Forces in 1971. In 1978, he attended the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. Lee rose quickly through the ranks in the Army, becoming the youngest Brigadier-General in Singapore's history after his promotion in July 1983. He left the military in 1984 to pursue civilian politics.^[3]

Early political career[link]

In the 1980s, Lee was regarded as one of the next key leaders in the People's Action Party leadership transition that was taking place in the mid-1980s, as Lee Kuan Yew had declared that he would eventually step down as Prime Minister in 1984. Following the Singaporean general election, 1984, all the old Central Executive Committee members had resigned on 1 January 1985, except for Lee Kuan Yew himself.^[4]

Lee was elected a Member of Parliament in 1984 at the age of 32. Following his election, he was appointed a Minister of State at the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Defence by his father, who was the Prime Minister at the time.

In 1985, Lee chaired the government's Economic Committee, which recommended changes to established government policies to reduce business costs, foster longer-term growth and revive the Singapore economy, which was experiencing a recession at the time. The committee's recommendations included reductions in corporate and personal taxes and the introduction of a consumption tax.

In 1986, Lee was made the Acting Minister for Trade and Industry. In 1987, he became a full member of the Cabinet as the Minister for Trade and Industry and Second Minister for Defence.

Lee was the chairman of the PAP Youth Committee, the predecessor to the Young PAP, when it was established in 1986, while he was still a brigadier-general. The PAP had been undergoing leadership transition, and many of its key leaders were aging, with younger replacements scarce. PAP branches were urged to recruit 40-50 members each. Lee envisioned there would be a lot of young people who were "idealistic, patriotic, nationalistic, keen to work for the nation." Lee's goal was to maintain the pre-eminence of the PAP such that "when the people think about the government of Singapore, if they think about the future of Singapore, then they will think about the PAP". Lee also said that the youth wing would be a channel in which the youth could communicate dissent, in which otherwise they might be "tempted" to vote for the Opposition and bring the PAP government down.^[5]

Deputy Prime Minister[link]

On 28 November 1990, Goh Chok Tong took over from Lee Kuan Yew as Singapore's Prime Minister, and Lee Hsien Loong was made one of two Deputy Prime Ministers (along with the late Mr Ong Teng Cheong). He also continued to serve as the Minister for Trade and Industry until 1992.

In 1992, Lee was diagnosed with lymphoma and underwent a three-month period of chemotherapy. When his treatment began, he relinquished his position as the Minister for Trade and Industry, though he continued to be a Deputy Prime Minister. His chemotherapy was successful, and his cancer has since gone into remission.

Lee was appointed Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore in 1998, and in 2001 he was made the Minister for Finance.

To ease the growing budget deficit due to falling tax revenues from cuts in corporate and personal income taxes and other factors such as the Iraq War and SARS outbreak, Lee proposed on 29 August 2003 to raise the GST from three percent to five percent, a change which took place in January 2004.

Lee also initiated several relaxations of the requirements for Singapore citizenship, notably for foreign-born children of Singaporean women.^[6] The changes were made after repeated pleas from MPs and the Remaking Singapore Committee.

In the sphere of domestic politics, Lee played a key role as Deputy Prime Minister. In a media interview in 1996, ahead of the 1997 general election, he outlined what the ruling party looked for in its candidates for Members of Parliament.^[7]

On the international front, Lee helped build relations with other countries as far away as New Zealand.^[8]

Prime Minister[link]

2004[link]

In the months leading up to Lee taking over as Singapore's third Prime Minister in 2004, he was already signalling reforms in some key areas, including ceding more space to the private and people sectors. Of the government's role, he said in a speech: "Nanny should not look after everything all the time".^[9]

On 12 August 2004, Lee Hsien Loong succeeded Goh Chok Tong as Prime Minister and relinquished his Chairmanship of the Monetary Authority of Singapore to Goh. Lee was sworn in by Chief Justice Yong Pung How at the Istana.

Lee made his maiden National Day Rally on 12 August 2004. In his speech, Lee initiated the policy of the "Five-day work week", a plan that would remove a half-working day on Saturday. The plan took effect on 1 January 2005.

Lee also proposed two-month paid maternity leave for mothers of newborn children and financial incentives to mothers who give birth to a fourth child. These policies were initiated in response to the declining birth rate that Singapore has experienced in recent years.

In November 2004, Lee sparked a national debate when he revealed a proposal to build two Integrated Resorts (IRs) which are holiday resorts with casinos. In April 2005, despite substantial opposition expressed by the public, Lee announced the decision to approve the proposal. The two IRs are to be built in Marina Bay and Sentosa. To limit the negative social impact of casino gambling, Lee suggested that safeguards be implemented, such as prohibiting minors from entering the casinos and charging a SGD$100 entrance fee for Singaporeans and permanent residents or SGD$2000 for a year-long entrance fee.

2006 General Election[link]

In February 2006, three months before the General Election, Lee announced in parliament a S$2.6 billion bonus called the Progress Package.^{[10][dead link]} The plan was to distribute budget surpluses accumulated from the past few years to adult Singaporeans in the form of cash to everyone, top-ups to the state pension savings for elders, rental and utilities rebates for those living in public housing, educational funds for school children from low-income families, and cash bonuses for low-wage workers above 40 and for those men who have completed National Service. The cash bonuses was distributed in early May 2006.

Critics, especially members of the opposition, have slammed the Progress Package as a "vote-buying exercise" for the Singapore parliamentary election held on 6 May 2006. In that election, Lee led the People's Action Party to win 82 of the 84 seats, including 37 walkovers. Lee and his 6-member team won the Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency with 96,591 (60.42%) votes out of the total 159,872 votes cast. Most of the opposition WP's team of 6 were in their 20s and the constituency was contested for the first time in 15 years.

Its decision to contest Ang Mo Kio came as a surprise, as the opposition was expected to stay away from GRCs helmed by heavyweight ministers; but the party said that giving Ang Mo Kio residents a chance to vote was a prime reason for contesting the GRC. Given the inexperience of the WP team and Lee Hsien Loong's position as the Prime Minister, they won a surprisingly strong 49,468 votes (30.94%). There were also an extremely high percentage of void votes: 13,813 (8.64%).

2010[link]

In May 2010, Lee instituted electoral reforms to the current electoral system by reducing the number of Group representation constituencies (GRC), increased the number of Non-constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs) to a maximum of nine (inclusive of the number of elected opposition members of Parliament), and the number of Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) permanent also to nine. Also part of the reforms was the legalization of internet campaigning and mandating a "cooling-off" day where campaigning is prohibited except for party political broadcasts.

2011[link]

Effective 1 June 2011, Lee was named chairman of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation which manages more than $100 billion of assets. He succeeds his father, Lee Kuan Yew, who will remain as senior advisor to the fund.^[11]

2011 General Election[link]

In April 2011, a general election was called for 7 May 2011. For the second time, the PAP was not return to government on Nomination Day with only one uncontested walkover. In the final results, the PAP saw a 6.46% swing against the it from the 2006 elections to 60.14%, its lowest since independence.^[12] While the PAP met most expectations to sweep into power and claim over two-thirds of parliamentary seats, it won 81 out of 87 seats, and lost Aljunied Group Representation Constituency to the Workers' Party of Singapore, the first time a GRC was won by an opposition party. Two cabinet ministers namely Foreign Minister George Yeo Yong-Boon and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Hwee Hua were defeated.^[13]

Later on, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong tendered their resignations from the Cabinet, stating that they wished to give the Prime Minister a "fresh clean slate" in forming the Government and enable him to "have a completely younger team of ministers to connect to and engage with this young generation".^[14] Lee and Goh were appointed as senior advisers to the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) respectively.^[15]

Lee was sworn-in into a second term on 21 May 2011. His new cabinet included three newly appointed ministers namely, S. Iswaran, formerly Senior Minister of State for Education and for Trade and Industry, was elevated to the Cabinet as Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, and Second Minister for Home Affairs and for Trade and Industry. Heng Swee Keat and Chan Chun Sing, both elected to Parliament for the first time, were respectively assigned the posts of Minister for Education, and Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports and Minister of State for the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts.^[16] Heng was the first new MP directly appointed a full minister since 1984.^[17]

Foreign relations[link]

China

Relations with China have improved under Lee's administration. Smooth progress has been made in areas of trade, tourism and investment, which is not merely in accordance with the interest of the two countries, but promises to be beneficial to the common development of the region. The China-Singapore Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) is responsible for promoting Sino-Singaporean co-operation.

During his meeting with vice-premier Wu Yi in September 2005, Lee proposed the establishment of a China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone, which would achieve the goal of realizing US$50 billion in trade volume before 2010. In doing so, both agreed that relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should be elevated.

During his seven-day visit to China in late October 2005, the Prime Minister stressed the need of improving bilateral diplomatic relationships between ASEAN and China. Lee also urged leaders to focus on the next wave of growth in north-eastern China, saying:

"It is a long-term commitment. There is no place in the world that you can go in and your money just grows on trees. Not in China."

United States

Lee visits the United States in July 2005.

Singapore has generally had a favourable relationship with the United States. The growth of bilateral trade improved commercial and diplomatic ties between the two countries after the implementation of the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement and the growth in bilateral trade has been evident since the Free Trade Agreement became effective on 1 January 2004.

Lee made his inaugural visit to the United States, as Prime Minister of Singapore, between 6 July and 16 July 2005. Several other ministers, notably the defence minister Teo Chee Hean and foreign minister George Yeo, accompanied Lee.

On 12 July 2005, President George W Bush and Lee signed the "Strategic Framework Agreement between the United States of America and the Republic of Singapore for a Closer Cooperation Partnership in Defence and Security". The agreement was a natural step in the expansion of bilateral ties. President Bush and the then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong had first announced their intention to conclude this agreement in October 2003.

The intention of the agreement is to address common threats such as terrorism and the proliferation of Weapons of mass destruction (WMD), which called for even closer cooperation between the United States and Singapore.

The agreement recognizes Singapore's role as a Major Security Cooperation Partner and will expand the scope of current cooperation in areas such as counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, joint military exercises and training, policy dialogues and defence technology. The Agreement will further enhance regional stability by supporting the continued security presence of the United States in Southeast Asia.

Both Lee and Bush agree that US presence in Southeast Asia has promoted peace and stability, which are crucial for regional cooperation and economic development.

During their meeting, both Bush and Lee acknowledged the progress in the war on terror. Lee commended Bush's 'resolute and steadfast stance in the war on terror' and expressed Singapore’s continued support in this endeavour. In exchange, Bush commended the professionalism of the Singapore Armed Forces personnel, who have been deployed in support of Iraq operations over the past two years and of the Singapore Police Force, which has provided critically important training. Both Bush and Lee also pledged to sustain the close cooperation between the United States and Singapore in key regional and global multilateral institutions.

Controversies[link]

As the eldest son of Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, Lee's career has been shadowed by allegations of nepotism.^[18][19][20] At the age of 32 he became the youngest Brigadier-General in Singapore's history, and from a young age was widely tipped to be Lee Kuan Yew's successor as Prime Minister. When Lee Kuan Yew stepped down as Prime Minister to make way for his successor, Goh Chok Tong, several critics had seen Goh as a seat-warmer, but Lee Kuan Yew said he had disproved that. In his memoirs, Lee Kuan Yew stressed that he could not have his son directly succeed him.

"It was better that someone else succeed me as Prime Minister. Then were Loong to make the grade later, it would be clear that he made it on his own merit."

However, such allegations by critics held on for six to seven years until Goh managed to prove his worth by regaining seats and pushing up the PAP's vote share in the 1997 elections. The appointment of Lee's wife Ho Ching as the director of state investment agency Temasek has also raised some eyebrows.^[18]

The Lees have reacted strongly against these allegations by taking legal action, often winning large out-of-court settlements for defamation from, among others, the International Herald Tribune (1994),^[19] Bloomberg (2002), The Economist (2004) and the Financial Times (2007).^[20]

Taiwan[link]

On 10 July 2004, Lee visited Taiwan, causing displeasure in the People's Republic of China. On 28 August 2004 in his maiden National Day Rally speech, he criticized the Taiwanese leadership and populace of overestimating the support they would receive if they were to declare Taiwan independence. At the same time, he also clarified during the rally that his visit to Taiwan in July was to ensure he gathered enough intelligence to make the right decisions when he took over the baton as Prime Minister. He reiterated his support for the One-China policy. Later that year in September, Foreign Minister George Yeo cautioned the United Nations General Assembly about the dangers of letting the cross-strait relationship deteriorate. In response, an enraged Taiwan Foreign Minister, Mark Chen, called Singapore a "Pi-Sai Country", translated literally from Taiwanese, it means a "country no bigger than a booger." The Taiwanese Foreign Minister later made a formal apology.

Defamation judgment[link]

On 24 September 2008, High Court, in a summary judgment by Justice Woo Bih Li, ruled that the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER) magazine-Hugo Restall, editor, defamed Lee Kuan Yew and his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The court found the 2006 article "Singapore's 'Martyr': Chee Soon Juan" meant that Lee Kuan Yew "has been running and continues to run Singapore in the same corrupt manner as Durai operated NKF and he has been using libel actions to suppress those who would question to avoid exposure of his corruption." FEER has 30 days to appeal.^[21] The court sentenced FEER publisher and editor, owned by Dow Jones & Company (in turn owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp), to pay damages to complainants.^[22]

Defamation lawsuit[link]

In 2010, Lee Hsien Loong, together with the two former prime minister preceded him, Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong, threatened legal action against The New York Times Company which owns the International Herald Tribune regarding an Op-Ed piece titled ‘All in the Family’ of 15 February 2010 by Philip Bowring, a freelance columnist and former editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review. The Herald Tribute apologized in March that readers of the article may ‘infer that the younger Lee did not achieve his position through merit’. The Times and Bowring also agreed to pay SG$60,000 to Lee, SG$50,000 to Lee Kuan Yew and SG$50,000 to Goh (total amounted to about US$114,000 at the time), in addition to legal costs. The case stemmed from a 1994 settlement between the three Singaporean leaders and the paper about an article also by Bowring that referred to ‘dynastic politics’ in East Asian countries including Singapore. In that settlement, Bowring agreed not to say or imply that the younger Lee had attained his position through nepotism by his father Lee Kuan Yew. In response, media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders wrote an open letter to urge Lee and other top officials of the Singapore government to stop taking ‘libel actions’ against journalists.^{[23][24][25][26]}

Salary[link]

From 2008 to 2012, Lee Hsien Loong earned an annual salary of S$3,870,000 (US$2,856,930),^[27] an increase of 25% from the previous S$3,091,200 (US$2,037,168).^[28] In January 2012, Lee Hsien Loong took a 28% paycut reducing his salary to S$2.2 million (US$1.7 million).^[29][30][31] He remains the highest-paid premier in the world.^[32]

Personal life[link]

Lee's first wife, Malaysian-born doctor Wong Ming Yang, died at age 31 on 28 October 1982 of a heart attack,^[33] three weeks after giving birth to Lee's first son Li Yipeng, an autistic albino. In 1985 when he was at age 33, Lee married Ms Ho Ching, a fast-rising civil servant who subsequently became the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Holdings. They have one daughter named Xiuqi and three sons respectively named Yipeng, Hongyi and Haoyi, including one daughter and son from Lee's first wife. (The oldest son of Ho Ching, Li Hongyi, was the winner of the Lee Kuan Yew Award for Math & Science in 2006, the same year he was commissioned as an officer in the Singapore Armed Forces.)

Honours[link]

• Orden El Sol del Perú en el grado de Gran Cruz con Brillantes (Order of the Sun - Peru), bestowed 22 November 2008.^[34]
• Olympic Order (Gold), conferred 13 August 2010.^[35]

References[link]

Citations

Bibliography

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lee Hsien Loong

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Lee Hsien Loong

• Prime Minister's Office Singapore official government website
• Mr. Lee Hsien Loong, MP official government website
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Lee Hsien Loong on Charlie Rose
• Lee Hsien Loong at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Lee Hsien Loong in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Lee Hsien Loong at the Notable Names Database
• Lee Hsien Loong collected news and commentary at CNN
• Lee Hsien Loong collected news and commentary at The Economic Times
• Lee Hsien Loong collected news and commentary at The Los Angeles Times
• Lee Hsien Loong collected news and commentary at The Wall Street Journal
• Lee Hsien Loong, The Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy on PBS, 2002
• Lee Hsien Loong official facebook page
• Profile: Lee Hsien Loong, BBC News, 11 August 2004

Speeches

• "Transcript of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day Rally English Speech on 19 August 2007 at NUS University Cultural Centre". Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (Singapore). 2007-08-19. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927033326/http://app.sprinter.gov.sg/data/pr/2007081907.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-19. 
• "Transcript of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally 2008 Speech at NUS-UCC on 17 August 2008". Singapore Government Press Centre. 2008-08-17. Archived from the original on 2008-11-20. http://web.archive.org/web/20081120234856/http://app.sprinter.gov.sg/data/pr/20080819982.htm. Retrieved 2012-01-25. 

v t e Prime Ministers of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew Goh Chok Tong Lee Hsien Loong

v t e Current members of the Cabinet of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong Deputy Prime Ministers Teo Chee Hean National Security/Home Affairs/Civil Service Tharman Shanmugaratnam Finance/Manpower Cabinet Ministers Ng Eng Hen Defence Heng Swee Keat Education Vivian Balakrishnan Environment and Water Resources K. Shanmugam Foreign Affairs/Law Gan Kim Yong Health Yaacob Ibrahim Information, Communications and the Arts/Muslim Affairs Khaw Boon Wan National Development Lim Hng Kiang Trade and Industry Lui Tuck Yew Transport Lim Swee Say Prime Minister's Office S. Iswaran Prime Minister's Office Acting Cabinet Ministers Chan Chun Sing Community Development, Youth and Sports As of 21 May 2011