Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam posted a cutting rejoinder on Apr. 19, 2024, criticising The Economist's piece on Singapore's leadership transition.

The 740-word article, headlined "Lawrence Wong will be only the fourth PM in Singapore’s history", included a line that said Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Lawrence Wong "was not the 4G’s first choice".

It also described how the People's Action Party (PAP) will win the election because of its "unrelenting attacks on the opposition" among other reasons.

Shanmugam opined that the British publication "can't resist sneering at us" because of  "an instinct lodged deep in the unconscious of the British commentariat class."

"They can't stand that people they were accustomed to lecturing are now doing better than they are, across the board", he wrote.

Shanmugam then listed several areas in which Singapore is doing better than the UK.

Governance

He wrote that DPM Wong will be Singapore's 4th PM in 59 years. The UK? Rishi Sunak is their 4th PM in 4.9 years.

He added that former PM Boris Johnson accepted a holiday worth £15,000 (S$25,420), and £50,000 for renovations of his residence, from donors.

"In Singapore, anyone who did what Mr Johnson did would have been charged in court," he wrote, highlighting Singapore's consistent zero tolerance against corruption.

Economy

Next, the economy.

As a British colony, our per capita GDP was US$500 (S$680), he wrote, and now it's more than US$80,000.

He then cited a Forbes report that stated that Singapore has the fifth highest GDP per capita in the world by PPP (purchasing power parity) terms.

"Well ahead of the UK," he said.

Media

The Economist article wrote that the PAP will win the General Election because of its "formidable organisation, unrelenting attacks on the opposition, a docile press, a record of good governance and a not always subliminal message that its survival and that of Singapore are synonymous".

"It obviously prefers a situation like in the UK, where one person can control major media outlets, and have politicians pay court to him, and where media owners can influence who gets elected, and who becomes PM," he retorted.

Public safety

Shanmugam then expounded on how safe Singapore is, adding that 95 per cent of adults in Singapore feel safe walking alone at night.

According to Shanmugam, investigations into more than 330,000 vehicle crimes across England and Wales last year, or 85 per cent of all cases reported, were closed without any suspect caught.

"In more than a hundred neighbourhoods, 0 per cent of reported car thefts were solved. A situation like that would be unthinkable and unacceptable in Singapore, which has been ranked by Gallup as the safest country in the world since 2015."

Social cohesion

His final point was on social cohesion.

He cited the example of what a Conservative Party donor said.

"In the UK, a Tory party donor recently said, of a black MP, that looking at her makes him “want to hate all black women”. His party said all should just move on from the comments. That’s it."

In Singapore, a person who makes such a comment is likely to be charged in court, Shanmugam added.

As a kicker, he asked this salient point: "What price your sneer?"