It was a phrase he announced at the 1988 Republican National Convention when he was acclaimed the presidential candidate. The speech became famous not only because it helped him to win the presidency, but more importantly because Bush decided to raise taxes after he became president.

Ever since, "Read my lips" has been a famous, or infamous, line.

But people often retract their words. Promises are not always honoured. But if you are a world leader, be careful what you say.

Remember recently when Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was asked by reporters whether Temasek Holdings' takeover of the Shin empire would jeopardise Thailand and Singapore's relationship?

The reporters' curiosity was legitimate. Temasek Holdings is not only the investment arm of the Singaporean government, but chief executive Madame Ho Ching is Singapore's First Lady.

But Lee dismissed the connection between the Singaporean government and Temasek, citing the "commercial reason" behind the Shin takeover, and thus the government would not intervene.

But when Lee met Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont on the sidelines of the Asean-China summit in China yesterday, Lee apparently did the opposite. Lee raised Temasek's investment in Shin during his meeting with Surayud.

Lee was apparently worried about a Thai probe into whether Temasek employed "nominees" to buy Shin and circumvent laws on foreign business ownership. He asked Surayud to look into the deal.

In response, Surayud basically repeated what Lee had said some time ago. After Surayud assured Lee the investigation would be done in accordance with the rule of law, he said that the Thai government would not intervene in the matter.

Wink wink.

jeerawat@nationgroup.com