Congrats to Indian PM
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May 20, 2009Congrats to Indian PM
By Diana Othman 
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong have both sent congratulatory letters to India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (left) on his party's recent victory during the general elections there. --PHOTO: RETUERSPRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong have both sent congratulatory letters to India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his party's recent victory during the general elections there.
'The victory is a strong affirmation by the Indian people of the Congress-led government's policies. As you form your next government, this strong mandate augurs well for India's regional and global position,' said PM Lee in his letter.
He added that bilateral relations between India and Singapore have expanded and deepened in 'all levels' under Dr Singh's leadership.
'We would not have some so far without your personal oversight. I look forward to working closely with you again to further strengthen the cooperation between our two countries and to have India firmly engaged in our region,' he said.
SM Goh, in his letter, said the people of India have 'clearly endorsed' Dr Singh's government and its development-oriented and forward-looking policies.
'I am confident that India is poised for even greater growth and leadership in the region and globally,' wrote SM Goh.
He also said that Singapore and India enjoy 'excellent relations' and much had been achieved under Dr Singh's guidance.
'I look forward to working closely with you againto further strengthen the cooperation and friendship between our two countries,' added SM Goh.
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EDITORIAL: India's national election
2009/5/20
In the first Indian parliamentary election in five years, the ruling coalition led by the Indian National Congress (INC) captured enough seats in the House of the People, the country's lower house, to form a majority, contrary to pre-election predictions of a tough showing by the opposition.
It has become certain that Manmohan Singh, 76, prime minister since 2004, will remain in office.
The INC, which was the leader of India's independence movement, has been in cutthroat competition for decades with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), or Indian People's Party, which advocates supremacy of Hindu beliefs. In recent years, however, the emergence of smaller regional parties and leftist parties has destabilized the political order, forcing major parties to join forces with these newcomers.
Pre-election predictions pointed to the continuation or intensification of this trend. However, the INC single-handedly secured more than 200 of the lower house's 545 seats. The party will still remain in coalition with its junior partners, which are medium-sized and small parties. But its base has been substantially strengthened to enable it to maintain a stable administration.
While the election outcome was due to many interrelated factors, we believe the public ultimately approved the Singh administration's stance to focus on dealing with poverty and policy achievements.
The previous BJP-led administration had been blamed for widening the gap between the rich and the poor by seeking to develop the nation through a market economy. In the face of the current global economic crisis, the public must have been reassured by the Singh administration's economic policy that preached caution against both deregulation and privatization of state corporations.
Singh dramatically improved India's relations with the United States by signing a civil nuclear agreement. He also worked hard to get on good terms with China. The Indian people must have welcomed his diplomatic flair.
During the election campaign, the INC promoted 38-year-old Rahul Gandhi as its future leader. Gandhi is the fourth-generation scion of the "Nehru-Gandhi Dynasty" that began with Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India whose daughter Indira Gandhi also became prime minister.
Rahul Gandhi apparently helped the INC shed its image as an old-time political party.
India's immediate neighbor countries are all extremely unstable. Pakistan and Afghanistan are threatened by Islamic extremists; Sri Lanka is still reeling in the immediate aftermath of its decades of civil war; and Myanmar (Burma) is controlled by a military dictatorship.
There is great significance in the existence of India, a nation of 1.1 billion people, as a stable democracy in this very troubled region. We hope the Singh administration will continue to play a constructive role in stabilizing South Asia.
The Indian economy has grown phenomenally around its information technology industry, but the waves of the global economic crisis are now washing on its shores. Its gross domestic product growth rate, which exceeded 9 percent in 2007, is expected to drop to around 5 percent this year.
Still, high hopes are pinned on India as well as on China to eventually help pull the global economy out of the present doldrums.
While India needs to continue focusing on poverty at home, it must also keep up its economic reforms to further liberalize its market.
In combating global warming and reinforcing free trade, too, India bears heavy responsibility to the international community as a leader of newly emerging economies. The country must take advantage of its stable administration to exert bold leadership.
--The Asahi Shimbun, May 19(IHT/Asahi: May 20,2009)