Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of Singapore, predicted that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, eventually will allow people and money to move freely within the region like the European Union.
``It may take 50 years, 100 years, I don't know, but that's the future,'' Lee, 84, told Bloomberg Television in an interview on April 29 that airs today.
Lee's comment about Asean was in response to a question about whether Singapore and Malaysia should reunite. The city was expelled from Malaysia in 1965 -- two years after joining the country -- as Singapore resisted the government's policy of discriminating against ethnic Chinese to help disadvantaged Malays.
``I do not believe, having been apart now for 43 years nearly, that it is easy to come together,'' Lee said. ``What we have to do is to come together in the wider context of Asean, where we first start with a free-trade area, where we have a common market, then we have a community and easy flow of people, ideas, goods, capital, eventually become something like the European Union.''
Founded in 1967, Asean today has 10 members: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The countries last year set a 2015 target for EU-style economic integration, though without a common currency, so the region can compete with China and India for exports and investments.
Freedom of Movement
``Asean leaders have already agreed to free-flow of skilled labor by 2015,'' said Eduardo Pedrosa, secretary-general of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council. ``Broadening that to include all their people would further strengthen Southeast Asia's competitiveness.''
Lee was prime minister of Singapore for 31 years, starting in 1959, when Britain first allowed it limited self-government. Lee now holds the title minister mentor and is chairman of the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., which manages $100 billion. His son, Lee Hsien Loong, 56, is the current prime minister.
The elder Lee championed the creation of Malaysia in 1963, when the British territories of Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak were combined with independent Malaya. He served in the Malaysian parliament in Kuala Lumpur until Singapore was kicked out in 1965. He wept when he declared Singapore's independence in a televised speech.
On current Malaysia-Singapore relations, Lee said that ``there's a lot we can do for each other'' as Asean members without reunifying.
No Going Back
In a September interview with the UCLA Media Center, Lee said that if Malaysia would ``just educate the Chinese and Indians, use them and treat them as their citizens, they can equal us and even do better than us and we would be happy to rejoin them.''
In the Bloomberg interview, Lee repudiated that view, despite gains in March elections by opposition politicians in Malaysia who favor scrapping the country's pro-Malay policies and treating Chinese and Indian citizens equally. Lee said Malaysia and Singapore, which is 75 percent Chinese, have been separate for too long to reunify.
``How we do go back to that situation? It is not possible, apart from the economics,'' Lee said. ``When I was a student you couldn't tell the difference between a Malayan and a Singaporean; now you can.''
In the interview, Lee also said he plans to attend the opening of the Olympics in Beijing in August and expects other Asian leaders to do so as well.
Protesting Tibet Crackdown
``There is no reason for them to offend the Chinese,'' he said. Some world leaders, including French President Nicolas Sarkozy, have said they may boycott the opening ceremony to protest the Chinese government's crackdown on Tibetan protesters and the country's human rights record.
Lee also criticized China's handling of the Tibet crisis, saying the government should not have ejected Western reporters from the territory following the outbreak of rioting in March.
``Had they engaged the west, all this would have turned out differently,'' said Lee. ``Why didn't they? Because there was a chasm between their mental makeup and that of the west. So they say all western correspondents out, that means you've got something to hide. I think that was not very wise.''
He said China should shrug off any pro-Tibetan-independence protests at the games. ``If I were them I would expect that and say `so what?''' Lee said. ``Unfortunately they are still in the old set way they react, but they're learning.''
Pollution in China
Lee also predicted that Beijing will curb pollution in time for the games. Recalling a parade celebrating the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China in Beijing in 1999, Lee said that after he expressed surprise at how clear the sky was then, he was told that the city had shut factories for two weeks.
Beijing plans to close factories for the Aug. 8-24 games, halt construction and take about half its cars off the roads to improve air quality. ``I have no doubt it will meet world standards,'' Lee said.
The International Olympic Committee has said it will reschedule events if pollution threatens to harm athletes.
To contact the reporters on this story: Douglas Wong in Singapore at dwong19@bloomberg.net; Haslinda Amin in Singapore at Hamin1@bloomberg.net |
