Speech by Law Minister K Shanmugam at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) Conference on Governance and Anti-Corruption

Assoc Prof Simon Tay, Chairman, Singapore Institute of International Affairs,
Ambassadors and High Commissioners,
Distinguished Guests,
Sponsors,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Having this conference is to be welcomed. Corruption is one of the key reasons why there has been under-development in many countries, particularly in the newly independent countries in the last 50 years.

2. It is a scourge, a blight which is based on greed and really sucks the blood out of the state. Therefore, every effort, big and small, to talk about it and reaffirm the commitment to eradicate it would be helpful. We are not going to eradicate it today; we are not going to eradicate it tomorrow because it is really based on fundamental human greed. But every effort to make it transparent, to talk about it, to create a value and culture needs to be welcomed and would be key steps.

3. Today, in my speech, I'll share with you our Singaporean experience, how we dealt with it, then we can have some common discussion.

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