Lee 'inappropriate' comments upsets Thais

BANGKOK -- The Thai government, responding to Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew's reference to this country in a recent speech he made on the region's economies, yesterday described his comment as "inappropriate".

A statement issued by Thai government spokesman Varathep Ratanakorn said: "Lee Kuan Yew's opinion that Thai economic problems had affected its neighbouring countries was not based on rational facts.

"These countries already have their own economic problems to begin with.

"His comment was inappropriate and had not considered the damage that could be caused to the relations between Singapore and Thailand."

However, it said the Thai government would not raise the issue with the Singapore government as it did not wish to harm the good bilateral ties.

As for Mr Lee's comments on Thailand's internal political problems, the statement said Thailand would not react to them as it considered these to be the Senior Minister's "personal criticism which did not reflect the views of the Singapore government".

In a keynote address to senior businessmen at a Fortune 500 Forum in Boston, United States, last Friday, Mr Lee had noted that in nearly every economic crisis, "the root cause is political, not economic".

Singling out Thailand to illustrate the point, he said that its financial problems had been ignored because the country had experienced a rapid turnover of prime ministers and cabinets in the last five years, with none that stayed in office long enough to tackle the problems.

He also said that many Thai leaders had personal interests in the fate of finance companies and banks and that there was "a natural reluctance to discipline them".

His speech was carried on the second page of the Thai Rath, the most widely read newspaper, and the front page of the Krungthep Thurakij business daily on Saturday.

The English-language Nation daily published an Associated Press report of the speech on the same day.

Contacted last evening by the Straits Times, Mr Varathep said that he had not been instructed by higher authorities to issue the statement.

"It is my duty to respond to such articles," he said.

Editor's note: Earlier this year Mr Lee made disparaging remarks on crime in the southern Malaysian state of Johor in an affidavit. He stated that Johor was a place famous for shootings, muggings and car-jackings. Those remarks led to strained ties between Malaysia and Singapore . Lee subsequently apologised and retracted the statement.

Published in the Straits Times. October 28, 1997