Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was invited to the G20 Summit in India. But during his introduction, the YouTube channel of weekly Indian English news magazine India Today made the mistake of calling Tharman Shanmugaratnam the “next Prime Minister” of Singapore.
First, let’s clarify something. Mr Tharman is actually the next President, having won the presidential election on 1 Sep.
We’re not sure how the error came about when Mr Tharman was not even at the summit.
The actual prime minister, PM Lee, met several world leaders at the summit and congratulated India prime minister Narendra Modi on hosting a successful summit.
A user on Reddit’s Singapore subreddit posted the gaffe on 10 Sep.
The video shows PM Lee walking out for his introduction at the G20 summit, arriving at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
A commentator explained that PM Lee was the outgoing Prime Minister of Singapore and that Mr Tharman, an ‘Indian-origin man’, would be Singapore’s next PM.
The person even made sure to add that Mr Tharman is of Tamil origin.
“Tharman Shanmugaratnam is the new Prime Minister, [Lee Hsien Loong] is the outgoing one now,” someone said.
What the commentators failed to add was that Mr Tharman is a fourth-generation Singaporean of Sri Lankan ancestry dating back to the 19th century.
He is also, of course, not the next Prime Minister, nor is PM Lee stepping aside for him.
PM Lee announced his intention to step down as Prime Minister after the next General Election, which must be held by 2025.
Some comments weren’t too impressed by the blunder.
However, these seemed to be outweighed by PM Lee’s model walk down the aisle.
One person jokingly said his walk had a “model vibe”.
Source: Reddit
Another even said his walk can put those of supermodels to shame, although we believe they’re being hyperbolic.
Source: Reddit
PM Lee did meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and said he congratulated him on a successful summit.
Source: Facebook
He also mentioned meeting other leaders, such as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Source: Facebook
“UK PM Rishi Sunak and I met on the sides of the Summit and issued a Joint Declaration to elevate our bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership,” PM Lee said.
He called it a “new era for both sides”, noting that they would strengthen cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, science and technology, and work in new areas such as sustainability and green economy.
Additionally, he said he welcomed the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in July.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook.
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