SM comments on IR, F1 as part of creating a new buzz for Singapore

When going for a buzz triggered an economic boom for Singapore ...
Today Online 28 Feb 08;

In an interview with the English-language newspaper, Korea Herald, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who visited South Korea last week, spoke on the challenges facing the Singapore economy. Below are edited excerpts from the interview.

"If we can't attract investments into Singapore, then how do you create jobs? So the No 1 priority for him (Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong) would be economic growth.

"An example I can give will be our Integrated Resorts (IRs), which include casinos. That was a very tough decision for him to take, because morally, we were against casinos.

"So he had to decide, how do you grow the tourism sector? … The Ministry of Trade and Industry suggested that maybe we should go for casinos, as part of the IRs.

"Half the country was against it … The other half were quite practical … So there was a huge debate in the country. In the end, he had to decide and he decided: 'Let's find ways to cope with the evils of casinos, and let's try and maximise the benefits'.

"I cite this as an example of how he has to take decisions to restructure the economy … And when he took this decision, the people — meaning investors and businessmen — were triggered by Singapore's boldness and pragmatism.

"And that triggered a boom in construction — because when you have these two big IRs, the construction industry took off … Financial services also boomed. So that decision caused us to grow by a huge 7.7 per cent last year.

"So there was a new buzz, a new excitement in Singapore — and then we said, well, from there what do we do? 'F1', somebody suggested — let's host Formula One. A city race, a night race. So we got excited — a night race within the city, but it's expensive … Again some people got unhappy, and he's got to decide.

"Then we were able to attract the Volvo Open — this is the sea race. Then we bidded for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games — again very expensive … If Singapore could succeed in hosting the first Youth Olympics, we'd get a lot of media attention … So, these are the decisions which he took to revitalise the economy and give it a new boost."