My loyalty is first and foremost, to the people of Singapore. It has always been so, and will always remain so.
For more than 60 years, the United States has stood by our allies and partners in the Asia Pacific. That includes our defence partnership with Singapore, which stretches back more than two decades.
Singapore is the happiest place in Asia
Sometimes, some foreign reporters who come to Singapore to interview me, and they wonder, why we conduct Meet-the-People’s sessions at the void deck. So much for a first world nation.
New Singapore will be one of the world's finest, most liveable cities. Arts, theatres, museums, music and sports will flourish. Singapore will be a lively and exciting place. . Our city will not only have depth, but also the richness of diversity. But above all, Singapore will a home for Singaporeans.
Retrenchment is good for singapore. If there is no retrenchments, then I worry.
I was very surprised Barack Obama called Donald Trump "unfit to serve" during a press conference with the prime minister of Singapore. That is the sort of full-weight-of-the-presidency thing that I don't necessarily expect from Obama. So, why did he do it? I think he not only genuinely dislikes Trump but believes Trump would be dangerous as the commander-in-chief.
At the end of the day, what have I got? A successful Singapore. What have I given up? My life.
Perhaps Singapore could learn from us a more relaxed way of life.
Between being loved and being feared, I have always believed Machiavelli was right. If nobody is afraid of me, I’m meaningless.
This distraction is what one wants, which is very, very bad for the muse, because the muse hates not being in the line of sight. It's no longer an external conflict, like, oh, I have all these demands and I don't like them. The split is in the self. This may explain why, when I was in Santa Barbara before I went to Singapore and then now to Hong Kong, there was a writing moment when I was writing a poem a day. I had never done that before.
I was very impressed with the street food of Singapore. I was very impressed with the dishes that they did.
We're living in a world where conservatism is on the rise - from America to Europe and in Singapore, too. People are finding it hard to accept the 'other': those who are different, or who don't conform to societal expectations or norms.
Singapore is a pretty fantastic place, and the race is always a challenge.
I look forward to hosting Prime Minister Lee [Hsien Loong], whose friendship and partnership I appreciate very much and with whom I've worked throughout my administration. This will also be an opportunity for me to reciprocate the hospitality that the Prime Minister and the people of Singapore showed to me during my visit to Singapore for the APEC summit in 2009.
