SINGAPORE : The Cabinet has received many good proposals on building an integrated resort, where a casino is a relatively small component, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean has said.
Shedding more light on the government's thought process, he said such proposals helped the government make its decision, which will be announced on Monday.
He said while the proposal would bring in several billion dollars in investments to Singapore, it was important to present both sides of the casino debate.
Mr Teo said, "Because there were a number very good proposals, I think this also had an influence on the decision that the Cabinet made. If the proposal were sort of not serious proposals that focused only on gambling and the gaming portion, then I think we would have come up with a different consideration. But because the proposals were very serious ones, which have considerable contact beyond the gaming, this merited very serious consideration.
"Even though we have various activities in Singapore, the social life of Singapore, the religious life of Singapore, the values that we hold -- they continue to be strong. And I do not think that this would change Singapore, no matter what the outcome is for the decision tomorrow." - CNA /ct