Mr. Lee Hsien Loong temporarily steps down as Prime Minister of Singapore
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will temporarily step down from his position from June 10 for a week's leave.
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| Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong |
The above information was just published by Straits Times. This newspaper said that Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat will assume the responsibilities of the head of government during this time.
In a Facebook post, Lee Hsien Loong also confirmed his leave. He wrote: "Looking forward to spending time with family and catching up on reading. Maybe I'll see some of you when I go #jalanjalan."
Recently, while chairing the Shangri-La Dialogue Forum in late May and early June, Mr. Lee Hsien Loong made a controversial statement, causing hurt and indignation in the regional public opinion when he said that Vietnam had "invaded" and "occupied" Cambodia.
The Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation issued a statement criticizing the Singaporean Prime Minister's statement as being against the revival of the Cambodian people, showing that Singapore supported the genocidal regime and wanted the genocidal regime to return to Cambodia, as well as insulting the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who sacrificed their blood to help liberate Cambodia from the genocidal regime.
Regarding this, Vietnam also sent a diplomatic note to the Singaporean Embassy regarding Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's statement. Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang said: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant agencies of Vietnam have had official and unofficial communications with Singaporean partners. We have also sent a diplomatic note to the Singaporean Embassy in Hanoi and I believe that the Singaporean side clearly understands Vietnam's message."
Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs later had to explain its official stance: “Singapore highly values its relations with Cambodia and Vietnam. Despite our differences in the past, we have always treated each other with respect and friendship. Bilateral relations have grown in many areas and we have worked together with other Southeast Asian countries to build a united and united Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
