A False Portrait of Singapore

April 26, 2018

Letter

To the Editor:

Re “What Trump Is Learning From Singapore — and Vice Versa (Opinion, March 29):

Kirsten Han’s article paints Singapore as an authoritarian paradise, where critics of the government are squelched and drug traffickers are hanged.

However, more than 60 international media organizations are accredited in Singapore, and we debate issues vigorously, online and off.

The New York Times, including Ms. Han’s article, is available in print and online, as are all other online sites, except a few pornographic, jihadist and gambling ones.

Singapore, like many other countries, is trying to deal with the spread of falsehoods online, which can undermine democracy and social cohesion. As a multiethnic, multireligious society, we cannot give bigotry free rein.

We do impose the death penalty on criminals — not drug abusers — who traffic specific drugs above a prescribed amount. Singapore is a major port and financial center, in a region where heroin is produced and drug abuse a major problem. Without strict laws and enforcement, we would long have become a magnet for international drug traffickers.

The World Economic Forum describes Singapore’s public institutions as transparent and efficient. The United States government’s own “World Factbook” characterizes Singapore as remarkably open and corruption free.

I cannot recognize the country Ms. Han describes.

ASHOK KUMAR MIRPURI

WASHINGTON

The author is Singapore’s ambassador to the United States.