Survey: Singapore among top countries admired by Indonesia, but China and the West fare worse

Singapore’s appeal to Indonesia lies in how safe, clean and economically successful it is, said Chief Economist of PermataBank Josua Pardede. - Reuters

JAKARTA (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Singapore’s economic success, safety and cleanliness have placed it among the top countries admired by Indonesians, along with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, according to a new study. But the US and Europe fared poorer than Russia, while suspicions of China left it the least admired country.

The Indonesia National Survey Project by the Iseas–Yusof Ishak Institute found that 89.1 per cent of 1,620 respondents said they respected Singapore, which came in third after Saudi Arabia at 95.7 per cent and Turkey at 90.1 per cent.