SINGAPORE : The Cabinet has received many good proposals on
building an integrated resort, where a casino is a relatively small
component, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean has said.
Shedding more light on the government's thought process, he said
such proposals helped the government make its decision, which will
be announced on Monday.
He said while the proposal would bring in several billion dollars
in investments to Singapore, it was important to present both sides
of the casino debate.
Mr Teo said, "Because there were a number very good proposals, I
think this also had an influence on the decision that the Cabinet
made. If the proposal were sort of not serious proposals that
focused only on gambling and the gaming portion, then I think we
would have come up with a different consideration. But because the
proposals were very serious ones, which have considerable contact
beyond the gaming, this merited very serious consideration.
"Even though we have various activities in Singapore, the social
life of Singapore, the religious life of Singapore, the values that
we hold -- they continue to be strong. And I do not think that this
would change Singapore, no matter what the outcome is for the
decision tomorrow." - CNA /ct