Goh Chok Tong said yes to the casino

Prime News
Cabinet made decision on casino last SaturdayAzhar Ghani
435 words
13 April 2005
Straits Times
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(c) 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
KUWAIT CITY - THE Cabinet reached a decision on whether Singapore should have a casino last Saturday, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong revealed here yesterday.
He kept mum about the final verdict, but said he welcomed the opposition to the casino idea as a sign that Singapore had moral ballast.
Speaking to the Singapore media at the end of his four-day visit to Qatar and Kuwait, he said: 'I gave my view to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong before I left. There was a meeting last Saturday where they took a decision on the casino.' The decision will be announced in Parliament next Monday.
Mr Goh was also asked about the reported split in the Cabinet over the issue. Could it be along generational lines as there were indications that older Singaporeans seemed to be against thecasino?
Mr Goh said the split was not by age. 'Some older members support, and some argue against, thecasino on principle because of the social costs,' he said.
The split emerged in late January when Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew spoke of the divide between the 'moralists' and the 'pragmatists'.
On his own stand on the issue, Mr Goh told the media that he would make it known later, 'probably in Parliament' following Monday's announcement.
His position was based on the longer-term good of Singapore, after balancing economic benefits against social costs, he said.
He also told the media he was 'very happy' to see the number of people strongly opposed to thecasino. Describing them as 'people who give ballast to the country', he said he would have worried if very few people had protested.
'That means we have become so practical that we forget about the social costs, about the moral and religious values, ' said Mr Goh.
The Government has to give weight to such views, but it has to ask whether Singapore can continue to attract tourism investment. The decision is not something one can make on costs and benefits.
'It's a judgment.'
Ground is good
"I would say Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has done very well. He has reached out to younger people and he has also been able to reassure the older people... There's a certain resonance to his approach to governance. In that sense, if he wants to go for elections early, I think the ground is good for him. If he wants to go later on, the ground may be better. "
SM GOH, on whether this is a good year to call for elections