Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan (left) meets Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during their bilateral meeting in Vientiane on July 27. - Photo: Vivian Balakrishnan Facebook
VIENTIANE, (Laos): Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has commended Singapore for the smooth transition of the premiership from Lee Hsien Loong to Lawrence Wong on May 15, saying that it could be a model for the West.
During a bilateral meeting with Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Saturday (July 27), he said that Western media and analysts were studying the Singapore political model to find ways to deal with their own countries’ shortcomings.
Dr Balakrishnan, however, replied that Singapore does not pitch itself as a model for other countries.
“Singapore does not offer ourselves as a model to other places, nor do we seek to emulate other people’s political systems,” he told reporters, recounting his reply to Wang.
“Every country is unique, has unique national circumstances.
"The purpose, the ultimate objective, of any political system, is to deliver good governance.
"And in order to deliver good governance, whoever is in charge must understand the circumstances, the vulnerabilities, the limits and the potential,” he said.
The government of the day must also make decisions in the national interest for the long term, he added.
“So we have evolved our system, and I’ve said we do not hold ourselves out as a model for anyone else because every country is unique,” Dr Balakrishnan said.
“We do not intend to cut and paste political models from elsewhere.
"We will evolve our own model, fit for purpose and fit for the future.”
Dr Balakrishnan was in Laos to attend the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Asean Regional Forum, and other related meetings from July 23 to July 27. - The Straits Times/ANN
