Lee Hsien Loong legacy: ‘The little red dot’ that punches way above its weight

Lee Hsien Loong attended his final Cabinet assembly because the Prime Minister of Singapore on May 9, marking the tip of an period. He shook palms together with his successor, “4G” chief Lawrence Wong; loved a farewell get together; and posed for selfies — all the standard issues one does on one’s final day at work. Of course, Lee Hsien Loong, who famously indicators his social media posts as “LHL”, just isn’t retiring; from May 15, when Wong takes oath, Lee Hsien Loong will settle into his new function as Senior Minister.

Looking again on the origin of Singapore, his personal 20-year reign as prime minister, and the highway forward for the brand new premier, PM Lee mentioned in an interview with CNA this week, “We began off with the founding best to be one folks, no matter race, language or faith. And truly, we’ve gone very far in that route by insurance policies, by authorities indoctrination even, by the way we’ve constructed our society to be one folks.”

However, as a realist, he acknowledged that “to make prejudice disappear utterly between totally different human teams” can be very laborious. That is why, he added, the state would proceed “[to] do extra issues to nudge this in the suitable route”, via insurance policies and legal guidelines, such because the work-in-progress laws to curb office discrimination.

In his capability as Senior Minister from May 15, Lee Hsien Loong will proceed to help the incoming premier in taking the concept of Singapore ahead — an concept that is straightforward and sophisticated on the similar time.

Wong outlined in a May 10 submit on X what he hoped to perform as the top of state. Referring to an interview that he gave to The Economist journal, he wrote: “Asked about my legacy in future, I highlighted how Singapore will all the time be an unbelievable nation. My mission is to maintain this miracle going for so long as I can, and make our little red dot shine brightly for so long as attainable.”

Being the Prime Minister of Singapore — a nation described humbly and affectionately as “the little red dot” by its leaders — means dealing with some distinctive challenges each at residence and abroad.

Geographically a tiny nation in enormous and turbulent Asia; a task mannequin to the world regardless of its measurement; a centre of enterprise and finance shortly impacted by occasions in one other continent; a job market that should strike a really high-quality steadiness between having too many overseas employees and too few of them, due to the small inhabitants measurement — Singapore has to proceed making all of this work, alongside defending its cultural variety and social cohesion.

This energy transition, subsequently, is being watched carefully by the worldwide group. PM Lee mentioned in his interview, “People will wish to see how the brand new leaders are, what their coverage is and what their persona is. His standing, his energy and help at residence, and his skill to interact and to carry his personal, and to be any individual to take critically.”

In his Economist interview, Wong signalled that he may maintain his personal very properly, certainly. The PM-designate made it clear that on the query of taking sides in geopolitical tensions, the one viable reply may very well be: “We are pro-Singapore.”

Wong additionally has Singapore’s future financial journey mapped out clearly. “…The economic system right this moment could be very totally different from the economic system even 20 years in the past,” he mentioned. “It is basically about persevering with to get innovative investments into Singapore, pushing the frontier, doing new actions, on the similar time being ready to let non-viable companies fade away so that sources could be freed up. It could be very a lot the method of churn, which could be very disruptive to employees, however that is why we’ve additionally put in place quite a lot of efforts to assist employees retrain, reskill and upskill.”

Indian diaspora perspective on energy handover in Singapore

Speaking to Connected to India about his perspective on the ability transition, KV Rao, President of the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (SIFAS) and not too long ago retired Resident Director – ASEAN, Tata Sons Limited, mentioned, “What conjures up or impresses me about Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is there are various heads of state, however [he] is a world statesman, [that is] how the world recognises him. Singapore — this little red dot — often, as a rule, punches way above its weight. That is the legacy that our prime minister is abandoning.”

Some of the notably noteworthy elements of the LHL years — from 2004 to 2024 — have been, in Rao’s opinion, the “nice coverage pragmatism” that saved Singapore “forward of the curve” and helped the nation climate a few of the hardest years that the world had seen, together with the worldwide monetary meltdown of the late Noughties; the “compassionate” ingredient in governance that benefited older Singaporeans; and the flexibility of PM Lee to behave as a “social integrator”.

“I feel that quite a lot of credit score goes to PM Lee for the entire philosophy of ‘nobody is left behind in Singapore’, which is so strongly entrenched within the system,” mentioned Rao. “He has proved to be an impressive chief and a fantastic statesman… a really, very vivid gentleman.”

About PM-designate Wong and his strengths, Rao mentioned, “He is usually a really best Singapore mannequin — got here up as a scholar, has been within the authorities. He has set to work with some nice leaders. There are a number of issues about him that are similar to the present prime minister, [but] perhaps he connects significantly better with the youth.”

A “robust thoughts”, a “robust coronary heart”, “actual acceptance among the many folks” are the elements that Rao associates with Wong. In addition, what a pacesetter will need to have are “robust shoulders”, and Wong proved to have very robust shoulders throughout the COVID disaster.

“The way he led that [crisis management] group was truly fire-walking. He may clarify tough issues like, ‘You can’t have greater than two friends coming to your property’. I imply take a look at this — virtually anyplace else on the earth, you’d have mentioned, ‘It’s my private freedom. Who are you to say this?’ But [Wong] managed to clarify; he went out of his way,” mentioned Rao.

“This confirmed an individual who could be very clear on what must be achieved. [He has] energy and goal, and a really type hand to ship it and guarantee it will get achieved.”

Globally, as geopolitical strife will increase, the incoming Prime Minister of Singapore has his work lower out. “There are fewer associates left [in the world] and extra have gotten aggressive to one another. In such a world, you take a look at the function that Singapore performs — it’s a pal of China; it’s a pal of India; it’s a pal of America. So it’s one thing which is multi-polar and in addition acceptable,” mentioned Rao.

He felt that Wong’s work as Minister of Finance positioned him very favourably to deal with the fallout of abroad financial disruptions that may additionally adversely have an effect on Singapore.

A excessive opinion of PM-designate Wong, because the chief Singapore wants, is shared by Rohit Dadwal, Chief Executive Officer of MMA Global APAC. Speaking to CtoI, he mentioned, “In a world the place political strife usually dominates the headlines, Singapore shines as a beacon of considerate planning and progress. Minister Lawrence Wong embodies this ethos together with his forward-looking imaginative and prescient, robust management, and unwavering concentrate on participating and empowering the youth.”

As Minister of Finance, Wong was instrumental in placing collectively a COVID help bundle price SGD 1.2 billion for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore. In appreciation of this and different business-friendly measures, Dadwal mentioned, “His strategic planning extends to supporting companies, particularly small and medium enterprises, showcasing a dedication to fostering a thriving financial setting alongside social progress.”

One side of PM Lee’s work, which can be on PM-designate Wong’s agenda, is the expansion of Singapore as a fintech hub. Investment in fintech, or monetary expertise, is now important for any nation that hopes to stay globally aggressive.

Singapore has achieved very properly on this regard — in 2023, it retained its place because the “world’s main enterprise setting” for the fifteenth consecutive 12 months, as ranked by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Also, Singapore was ranked the No. 1 fintech hub in Asia and No. 4 on the earth within the 2023 Tech Cities Index revealed by Savills World Research.

One of the beneficiaries of the Lee Hsien Loong authorities’s concentrate on fintech is the Singapore-headquartered cross-border digital cost platform Instarem. Yogesh Sangle, Head of Instarem, advised CtoI, “Over the previous twenty years, Singapore’s fintech ecosystem has undergone important growth, laying down a strong basis for development and innovation within the sector. One of the important thing elements driving this development has been the convenience of setup and operations afforded to fintech companies.”

“Integrated help from a number of companies equivalent to EDB, ESG, and SPRING,” mentioned Yangle, “has helped fintech startups thrive and facilitated their worldwide enlargement, positioning Singapore because the main fintech hub not solely in Southeast Asia but additionally throughout the broader Asia-Pacific area.”

It is that this legacy, policy-driven financial progress bolstered by social cohesion, that Lee Hsien Loong leaves within the ready palms of Lawrence Wong on May 15.