During elections:
“You look at all the countries around us…Currencies collapsed, property prices ces collapsed, unemployment, economies slowing down, riots, clashes between people. Singapore did not go through that mangle. Why? Because in Singapore, we had a competent government in charge, anticipating events.”
– SM Lee Kuan Yew on the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, Straits Times, Nov 1 2003
“In a global economy, we are not trendsetters. We follow what others do.”
– Minister and labour chief Lim Boon Heng, Straits Times, Jul 2003
“Data released by the Ministry of Manpower last week was by far the bleakest to date. Eight straight quarters of job losses and a staggering 24,800 jobs wiped out over the April to June period – more in a single quarter than in all of 1998, the peak of Asia’s infamous financial crisis.”
– The Edge, Aug 4, 2003
“Singaporeans are also the most pessimistic about their future income. In the Asia-Pacific region, only the Japanese are less confident than Singaporeans about the outlook for regular income. These are among the findings of MasterCard International’s latest biannual survey of consumer confidence in 13 markets around the region.”
– The Edge, Aug 4, 2003