Exclusive | ‘Be prepared to debate’: Singapore’s influential minister K. Shanmugam on the drug war and handling alternative views
- This is the second part of a wide-ranging exclusive interview for This Week in Asia with Singapore’s minister for home affairs and law
- In this section, he touches on Greater Bay Area opportunities, death penalty for drug traffickers, and the city state’s ‘4G’ leadership
In the second part of a wide-ranging exclusive interview with This Week in Asia, the city state’s influential Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam offered his views on the Greater Bay Area surrounding Hong Kong, Singapore’s tough anti-drug stance and the fourth-generation or “4G” leadership of the People’s Action Party.
But we are an important node in the belt and road. And you know that Singapore, we work closely with the nodes in China on transport connectivity. We have done agreements. China’s export, logistics, communications, have been growing, and we already are an important link in there. So, when you talk about the belt and road, in the Singapore context, you’re not talking about China investing money into building our roads and transport infrastructure. That’s not what anybody thinks, I think. But we play an important role in the whole concept, simply because of where we are, and our role as an international transport, air and logistics hub, and our agreements with China that emphasise that. I think we must see it as part of the big picture.
The Greater Bay Area, I am one of those people who think that it is destined to succeed. I’ve said just now that it’s US$2 trillion gross domestic product, and my expectation is that that will increase. And it is an opportunity not just for Singapore, but for people around the world.
TWIA: So, Singapore companies are interested in going into the Greater Bay Area?
