SM Lee spotted flying Scoot to China, drawing praise from Singaporeans online

SINGAPORE: Earlier this week, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong flew to China for a series of meetings. He may have been the highest-paid country leader when he was Prime Minister of Singapore, but he had flown to China on Scoot, the budget arm of Singapore Airlines, for which he received a lot of attention online.

SM Lee posted photos of himself on social media on a Scoot flight on Monday (May 18). One showed him sitting at a window seat, and in another, he was seen with three crew members,” whom he tagged and thanked.

“Arrived in Nanning, Guangxi, for my visit to China this week. As a regional capital close to Southeast Asia, Nanning is a main gateway for cooperation between ASEAN and China. It is a green city with lush green landscapes, reminding me of our own #CityinNature.

Looking forward to the meetings and visits over the next few days to learn more about Guangxi and explore how we can strengthen our ties,” he wrote in the caption to his post.

SM Lee’s mode of travel appears to have gained him the respect of many online.

“Wow! SM Lee flew Scoot… respect!” a Facebook user wrote, adding that she “thought he would be flying SQ Business class or First Class.”

“Flying with Scoot Airlines,” commented another, along with a thumbs-up emoji.

The carrier itself also chimed in with a comment, writing,  “We’re grateful for moments like these. It was our privilege to be part of your journey, sir!”

A commenter, however, suggested that SM Lee flew Scoot as Singapore Airlines does not fly to Nanning. Upon checking the SIA website, it shows that its next flights to Wuxu International Airport in Nanning will be in July.

Since arriving in China, the former Prime Minister has visited the Beibu Gulf International Port Group HQ, where he said he was “happy to see the success” of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, which is part of the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative that he and China’s President Xi Jinping launched in 2015.

“When the Pinglu Canal is completed this September, it will be faster to ship goods from western China through Guangxi to Singapore, the region, and the rest of the world,” he wrote in a social media post.

On Thursday morning  (May 21), SM Lee wrote that he was in Shanghai, where he is attending the JP Morgan Global China Summit. /TISG

Read also: SM Lee: Singapore and Malaysia are ‘forever neighbours & working friends’