The Economist adds its two cents on Lee Kuan Yew’s testimony and the mysterious case of the missing IBA letter.

MEMBERS of Singapore’s government are notorious sticklers for legal exactitude. So it has been interesting to watch the reaction after the country’s elder statesman, Lee Kuan Yew—a British-trained lawyer before he became a politician—gave inaccurate testimony in the trial of two opposition leaders.

Do read the comments as well, many of which say things that the Economist can’t or won’t.

The Wall Street Journal chimes in on the International Bar Association’s report.

Lee Kuan Yew recently noted the International Bar Association’s decision to “honor” Singapore by holding its annual conference there last year. We hope the former Prime Minister, now Minister Mentor, takes equal note of the IBA’s latest assessment of the judiciary in Singapore.

Lee Kuan Yew was the guest of honor at the Economic Society of Singapore’s annual dinner.  Channel News Asia reports (with video):

Mr Lee said the current team will last for two terms, within which they will have to seek and groom talent with energy and integrity.

Minister Mentor Lee said: “We are not stupid people, they give us all these advice… International Bar Association, human rights, whatever it is. Who are they, what are they? Have you run a country? Have you ever done a community and created jobs for them, gave them a life? We have, and we know what it requires.”

Lee Kuan Yew attended the Nomura Asia Equity Forum on Wednesday. From the Straits Times:

POLITICAL turmoil in Malaysia and Thailand are ’severe problems’ which may hurt growth and investment in the markets, Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said on Wednesday.

Malaysia is ‘trapped’ in personal politics amid accusations and counter-accusations among politicians, Mr Lee told participants at the Nomura Asia Equity Forum, according to a Bloomberg report.

Mr Lee added that the tension has hurt the country’s stock market.

And a second article on Lee’s comments:

‘If we don’t reproduce ourselves to 2.1, we are in trouble,’ said Mr Lee, referring to the natural replacement rate of 2.1, which Singapore’s fertility rate of 1.29 falls short of.

‘So we are going to revamp. We’ve studied what the Swedes have done, what the French have done.

‘The Swedes have completely changed their system. Support paternity leave, women get their children into creches, into nursery schools, all paid by the state. Very heavy expenses but Sweden can afford it.

‘We are looking at our budget, can we afford it? But we’ve got to go because these are proven ways.’

And CNA has yet one more section on trade and decoupling:

Mr Lee said: “I do not say we are decoupled; what I am saying is that we are less ‘completely-coupled’. There is a big difference.

“When we were completely coupled, we were totally dependent on US demand. When that (demand slows), Singapore’s IT exports will (also slow). But now, if the US slows down, it does not follow that China and India will slow down as well.”

While US bourses may be in a bearish phase currently, Mr Lee believes it is in everyone’s interest to prevent a sudden collapse of the US market, which will spread worldwide.

“I think in the real world of politics, never mind the theory, nobody wants a hard landing for America. If we can postpone the rate at which it is going to slow down, we may avoid a catastrophic collapse,” said Mr Lee.

He also believes the key to riding out the economic crisis is good governance, integrity and stability in the political system.

Video of the last segment only available on CNA.

Yet more fallout from the Chee Soon Juan vs Lee Kuan Yew defamation case. Lee testified under oath that he had received a letter from the International Bar Association commending Singapore’s judiciary; this was first denied by the IBA, causing Chee to raise the matter again with the court, and the Asia Sentinel opined:

It was the kind of error that would earn a Singapore opposition politician a trial for perjury, probably with a heavy fine and perhaps a jail term. But when Lee Kuan Yew testified in the recent trial of opposition leader Chee Soon Juan, he probably “misspoke” – told a crucial untruth, deliberate or not.

Now the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute has publicly “expressed concern” about Singapore’s judiciary (full report here, PDF):

“It certainly appears that Dr Chee has been made a target by the Singapore government, and that their criticism of him has gone far beyond a reasonable standard,” the IBA wrote.

It said the Singapore judiciary had a good international reputation when adjudicating commercial cases that did not involve the interests of PAP members or their associates.

“However, in cases involving PAP litigants or PAP interests, there are concerns about an actual or apparent lack of impartiality and/or independence,” it said.

Quotes from AFP news story on the report; the Straits Times already has a response that “dismisses allegations“.

A quick timeline of a bizarre flap that developed over the Wall Street Journal editorial posted here earlier.

On June 30, Lee Kuan Yew’s press secretary Yeong Yoon Ying sent in a response to the WSJ where Yeong asserted that:

Dr. Chee [Soon Juan] in open court then called the Singapore leaders “murderers, robbers, child molesters” and “rapists.”

On July 1, Chee responded on the SDP site, also sending a copy to WSJ, stating that “The outrageousness of Madam Yeong’s lie borders on the comedic” and asking for a transcript of him saying this.

On July 3, Yeong Yoon Ying’s response to WSJ was published in Today as well, marking the first time the Singapore government-controlled media touched on the issue. The original editorial was not published.

On July 4, another Yeong Yoon Ying letter to Today was published, containing the transcript that Chee was asking for. (Again, Chee’s response was not published.) According to Yeong, the transcript said:

Mr Davinder Singh: ” … And to conclude on Dr Chee’s submissions, he says that he doesn’t wish Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Lee Hsien Loong ill. In that same breath, he says he stands by The New Democrat article, which alleged that they are ‘criminals, corrupt, and covered up matters in the NKF’. And under his breath he’s now just said ‘murderers and robbers’.”

Dr Chee: “And rapists, too, you might as well throw it in, you know, right? Child molesters”.

The SDP also provided an audio clip of the exchange; alas, Chee’s part of it is almost inaudible.

On July 5, Chee’s first response — now already somewhat outdated — was finally printed in the Wall Street Journal. How will Lee & company respond?

Chee Soon Juan posts an interesting essay of sorts on the Singapore Democrats site:

Tearing down the facade

His words are explained, researched and re-explained, every jab of the finger or the bringing down of his fist for effect is broadcast, accolades are reported in greater detail than a doctoral dissertation, and every smile is published in vivid colour.

But this is not the Lee Kuan Yew I saw.

An interesting editorial from the Wall Street Journal, tiptoeing carefully around defamation but still stating bluntly that Singapore is not a democracy and implying that Lee is to blame.

Lee Kuan Yew’s Singapore can rightly be proud of many achievements, but full democracy is not one of them. The city-state he founded in 1965 and led as Prime Minister until 1990 is economically prosperous and its citizens enjoy a range of freedoms. Political dissent is not among them.

Which makes a recent David vs. Goliath exchange between one of the country’s few opposition politicians and Mr. Lee worth noting. The dialogue took place in a courtroom and is therefore privileged – which means we can report on it without risking a lawsuit, which Mr. Lee often files against critics.

And the Minister Mentor is back with another hyperbolic broadside. Straits Times:

ONE freak election result is all it will take to wipe out Singapore’s success in building up the city state, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew warned last night.

This could happen if voters became bored and decided to give the ‘vociferous opposition’ a chance - out of ‘light-heartedness, fickleness or sheer madness’.

‘In five years, you can ruin this place and it’s very difficult to pick up the pieces,’ he told 650 participants of a dinner forum at the Shangri-La Hotel. ..

Mr Lee was responding to a Bangladesh delegate who asked if Singapore would continue to thrive in his absence. The delegate also expressed sorrow at the news of Mrs Lee’s illness, and Mr Lee thanked him.

In his reply, Mr Lee returned to themes he has spoken on often - the need for a system to ensure good leaders emerge, and the danger that voters plumping for more opposition MPs might end up with an unintended change of government.

Lee was speaking at the Singapore International Water Week.

UPDATE: Video now available on Channel News Asia.

As Lee Kuan Yew’s uncharacteristic absence from the public eye continues, his wife Kwa Geok Choo suffers a massive brain hemorrhage (her third) and the end looks near.  This time, the statement was issued with only a day’s delay, but as usual it’s not available to the public.

MM Lee’s wife critically ill

MRS Lee Kuan Yew suffered another stroke while in hospital on Tuesday.

A brief statement from Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s office on Tuesday night said it was a massive haemorrhage.

‘She is currently critically ill, with guarded prognosis for recovery,’ the statement said.