http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1066520/1/.html
Key challenge in Singapore's transformation is public support: MM Lee
SINGAPORE : Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has said a key challenge in transforming Singapore from a third-world to a first-world city is getting people to support the government's policies.
He said it depends on the amount of discipline the people are willing to observe to fit into a first-world structure.
Mr Lee said this at a dialogue jointly held by the World Cities Summit and the International Water Week on Tuesday evening.
He said: "We had a very untidy city - litter, filth, people urinating on the streets. To stop all that, to have a litter-free country, and no vandalism, no graffiti, you need discipline.
"We had graffiti experts from England and Switzerland to try to break our laws. Well, we caught one of them and he has to pay the penalty. It's harsh, but that's the way to keep it as it is."
On the challenge of managing Singapore's low birth rate, Mr Lee said the country has been absorbing immigrants from Malaysia, India and China.
These number about 1.5 million presently, compared to the resident population of 4 million.
He noted their children will grow up as Singaporeans, but said the concern is they may also have one child only.
“They get into our scale, our values and they say the Singaporean family is right - let's settle for one. And so we may have to keep like this for years and years,” said MM Lee.
Mr Lee later presented a prize, named after him, to Spain's Bilbao City Hall for its success in transforming the former industrial city. The award is called the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize.
He also presented the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize to China's Yellow River Conservancy Commission for its work on managing the water supply in the river basin.
- CNA/al/ls
but they also need to start looking at others where they do better and listen to e people on ideas.
I think e former part was how we got today.