A Day in the Life of an Australian Prime Minister in Singapore

Tip to any politician visiting S'pore: When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Martino Tan| June 29, 04:38 PM

Remember the viral video that documented a day in the life of Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam?

a-day-in-the-life

Step aside K Shanmugam, because it appears that Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott had an even more hectic day when he was in Singapore on June 28, 2015.

And there is no Special Assistant/MVP/top O level student Wong Kai Jiun to help him.

wong-kai-jiun-01wong-kai-jiun-03

wong-kai-jiun-06

While you are having Sunday brunch and chilling at home, check out what PM Abbot did all in one day during his two-day visit in Singapore:

Morning: Cycle through the stifling Singapore heat

Abbott’s first appointment was to cycle for 30km with 30 Australian and New Zealand cycling enthusiasts.

Prime'>
Minister Tony Abbott started his visit to Singapore this morning with a bike ride around town.

Posted by Australia in Singapore on Saturday, June 27, 2015

 

Late morning: Paying his respects to the Australian war heroes at Kranji War Memorial cemetery. 

Abbott honoured Private William Martin Burke — who died at just 17 years old — with the help of two Australian students in Singapore, 11-year-old Ary White and 10-year-old Jordon Scott.

PM'>
Tony Abbott at Kranji War Memorial

Posted by HO Ching on Saturday, June 27, 2015

 

The PM pauses in front of the grave of 17yo Private WM Burke at Kranji War Cemetary, Singapore @ABCNews24 pic.twitter.com/izp3gGhm74

— Nick Haggarty (@NickHaggarty) June 28, 2015

 

Afternoon Appointment 1: Officiated the opening of James Cook University (JCU)'s new campus. 

Tony_Abbott_JCU_2 Source: JCU Singapore Facebook

Abbott unveiled the plaque and officially opened JCU Singapore campus at Sims Drive.

JCU is the only wholly owned and independently run foreign university in Singapore

Abbott also took a selfie with some of the local students at JCU. According to The Straits Times, about a third of its 3,700 students are local.

Tony_Abbott_JCU Source: JCU Singapore Facebook

 

Afternoon Appointment 2: Meeting with Singapore investors and Australian CEOs

Tony_Abbott_business_meeting Source: Tony Abbot Instagram

Abbott became the chief marketing officer for Northern Australia as he plugged the region as the “next frontier” for investments.

The Australian noted that there were seven Singapore investors, Australian CEOs from Woodside, Lend Lease and Healthscope, among others, as well as Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb, West Australian Premier Colin Barnett, Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk at the meeting.

 

Evening Date: Bromance with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at Bishan Park

First, the two PMs took a couple photo at a scenic spot at Bishan park.

Abbott_PM_LHL Source: Tony Abbott Facebook

Then they wore matching aprons.

Abbott_PM_LHL_2 Source: Tony Abbott Facebook

After that, they barbecued some steaks together, as part of 50 barbecues held simultaneously around Singapore.

Abbott_PM_LHL_BBQ Source: Lee Hsien Loong Facebook

The effort was an Australian High Commission programme to celebrate 50 years of bilateral ties.

Other couple things they did together include:

Watering the plants

pm-lee-abbot-balloon-watering

The Australian way is the nonchalant way: Check out how Abbott is going about it.

Playing the drums

pm-lee-abbot-drums

Grown men beating stuff, nice.

Wearing the balloon hats

pm-lee-abbot-balloon-hat

When in your host's country, do what the leader does (after some hesitation).

Smell the Mao Shan Wang durians

pm-lee-abbot-balloon-durian

So brave.

 

Lastly, they adopted beautiful kids for the photo.

Abbott_PM_LHL_3 Source: Tony Abbott Facebook

 

Top photo from Lee Hsien Loong Facebook.

If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest updates.

If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram to get the latest updates.