President William Ruto hosted the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong at State House on Thursday, May 18. The visiting PM was on a two-day official state visit to strengthen bilateral ties.
Singapore is famous for banning chewing gum. The ban was introduced in 1992 in Singapore’s bid to become a clean city.
Lee Kuan Yew, the first PM of Singapore, was famous for leading Singapore from a small city in Malaysia, to gaining independence and thriving to become a first-world country.
Loong was only 13 years old when Singapore broke away from Malaysia on August 9, 1965.
He led an interesting life that saw him rise to the highest office in Singapore.
Facts about Singapore's Prime Minister
Firstly, Singapore PM Loong is the highest-paid politician in the world. The PM of Singapore receives a salary of Ksh302.5 million ($2.2 million) inclusive of bonuses.
The government of Singapore pays this huge sum to discourage the embezzlement of funds in the PM’s office.
Secondly, Lee Kuan Yew is the father of Lee Hsien Loong who is the current PM. He was born on February 10, 1952.
Thirdly, the 71-year-old Loong holds the record of being the youngest Brigadier-General in Singapore’s history. He was in the army between 1974 and 1984. He served in various capacities in the army at the time his father was the PM.
Fourthly, Loong is serving his fifth consecutive term as Prime Minister. He is currently in his eighteenth year as PM.
Additionally, he is the third PM with only one person between him and his father. The list of PMs in Singapore is Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Chok Tong, then Lee Hsien Loong.
Fifthly, he is famous for his 2006 economic package that had a budget surplus. The surplus money was distributed as a bonus to citizens. It was also channelled into healthcare and housing programmes.
Ruto stated that Kenya would borrow from Singapore’s housing programme.
“We have also agreed to actively explore methods of acquiring knowledge and support from Singapore’s highly prosperous housing model.
“Kenyans are currently engaged in the housing debate with approximately 6.5 million Kenyans lacking affordable and decent housing,” stated Ruto.
