Singapore Minister Sticks Up for US Envoy After Scathing Report

(Bloomberg) -- A senior Singaporean official took to social media to defend US Ambassador Jonathan Kaplan after an internal watchdog in Washington reported the envoy had threatened staff and poorly promoted American interests in the city-state.

Most Read from Bloomberg

• America Blew Almost $2 Trillion. Make It Stop.

• Supreme Court Rules Trump Can Appear on Presidential Ballots

• Wall Street’s DEI Retreat Has Officially Begun

• China Scraps Premier Li's Briefing, Breaking Years of Convention

• Chicago to Go Ahead With Plan to Revamp Empty Downtown Towers

Law Minister K Shanmugam said he recently had a “very useful meeting” with Kaplan, in one of the first public remarks by a Singaporean official since the State Department’s inspector general released its report on Friday. Kaplan “developed poor relationships with some Singaporean ministries,” which hurt progress on US efforts in the strategically important Asia-Pacific city-state, the report found.

“Have always found the Ambassador proactive and helpful,” the minister said in a Facebook post. “Based on my dealings with him, I have found that he, like several of his predecessors, has tried to ensure that the relationship between the two countries continues to be strong.”

Read more: US’s Singapore Envoy Is Said to Berate Staff, Waste Money

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

• Humanoid Robots at Amazon Provide Glimpse of an Automated Workplace

• Private Equity’s Green Star Started It All With a Database

• The Monaco Royals Whose Deals Have Brought Peril to the Palace Doors

• Chocolate Makers Try a New Recipe: Less Chocolate

• Top Takeaways From Businessweek’s Investigation Into Monaco’s Royal Family

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.