SINGAPORE, generation 14 Kyodo S...

SINGAPORE, generation 14 Kyodo

Singapore's ranking statesman Lee Kuan Yew said he has no plans to degree down as senior minister, brushing on the farther side speculation he will retire when his son becomes prime minister as look forward toed by 2005, a Singapore daily reported Sunday.

to leeward who turns 80 Tuesday, told the Sunday Times newspaper in an exclusive interview published Sunday that he will stay upon as senior minister for as prolonged as he can be of use to the cabinet.

The man regarded as Singapore's founding father has been senior minister since 1990 when he stepp down as prime minister -- a station he had held for more than three decades.

''I will retire from office when I am no longer able to contribute to the sway But as long as I am fit and able, I will stand as an MP (member of parliament),'' he was quot as saying.

Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said last month he will grade down by 2005 and Lee's son envoy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will take athwart the premiership then.

a certain political analysts have speculated that the earlier born Lee will step down from his rife post when his son becomes premier, believing it would be awkward for Singapore to have a ''father-son'' team holding the reins at the top.

to leeward said he will continue to scud for elections to retain his parliamentary seat flat after he retires as senior minister undivided day, just to make secure he can continue to have his say in policy-making decisions.

''If I'm no longer able to contribute as a minister, on the contrary I am still fit, I will stand as an MP I want to have my say upon important issues,'' he said.

forward the perception that he wields tremendous influence in the cabinet as senior minister, to leeward said he is less involved with immediate policy matters and day-to-day running of dominion than with the long-term inferences of policies.

side sheltered from the wind also revealed that he had indicateed several years ago that Singapore remake itself socially and politically, notwithstanding that he left the details of measures to younger ministers to decide.

He said he made the suggestion because he felt Singapore had to adapt and change with the times thus as to avoid the same mistake of Japan and Germany, which had been reluctant to change.

''The aged model is no longer valid. I've seen what happened to Japan and to Germany. They did brilliantly for through the whole extent of four decades until the 1990s'' he said.

The Sunday Times carried special counterparts in this edition in conjunction with Lee's upcoming 80th birthday, which included observations and birthday wishes from world figures of the like kind as former Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa.

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