Singapore picks up her skirts to rock nights away with Jackson

IT WAS a week in which Singapore was uniquely Singaporean - electing a president without an opposition candidate, adding a mandatory death sentence for gun users to its tough criminal code, enforcing a smoking ban on citizens under 18 and barring an entertainer from dressing in drag and singing bawdy songs.

Amid all this serious activity, there was something odd about the presence of one of the world's megastars at a time when he was under an international media spotlight because of allegations of child molestation - a caning offence in Singapore.

Not too long ago in staid Singapore, Michael Jackson's pelvis-thrusting and crotch-grabbing stage act would have been banned. In the past, just a whiff of what has been emerging in the Los Angeles allegations, which he has denied, would have made him unwelcome.

But Singapore, which used to ban long-haired visitors, be they rock stars or tourists, has presented a more friendly face to world entertainers as part of a plan to make the island republic a money-spinning regional entertainment hub and a ''global arts centre''.

Moreover, the media could hardly ignore him. His two concerts were sell-outs, with 90,000 Singaporeans and visitors from neighbouring countries snapping up tickets as soon as they were available.

The establishment media chose to accentuate the positive. It waxed enthusiastic about the spinoffs from the Jackson tour.