SINGAPORE, April 22 Kyodo Singapo...

SINGAPORE, April 22 Kyodo

Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong charged Tuesday there should have been greater transparency from China earnestly earlier in the proces of dealing with bitter acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus.

''I think WHO (World Health Organization) would have wished that they would have done this in November last year and all of us would be abundant happier,'' he said in a BBC interview.

After first appearing in China's southern province Guangdong last November, SARS spread to a 25 other areas in fresh weeks, killing more than 200 folks and infecting about 4,000 worldwide.

''I think in China's case, it's a big geographical division and the provinces do not always declare the center what's happening in a particular province,'' Goh said.

''The reason is simple. Everybody possibility of goods it will go away and tries to hide it because tourism will be affected and livelihood will be affected,'' he said in the interview broadcast.

''That is the blameworthy tactic or strategy, if you expect back,'' he added.

Goh said a gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bangkok nearest Tuesday will discuss steps to stop the spread of the infection among countries and to prove by experiment to convince people outside ASEAN to continue doing business in the region.

ASEAN collections Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam have all reported SARS cases, the other five ASEAN members have not been affected likewise far.

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