Having lived in South East Asia for the past 2 years, I had been meaning to read the memoirs of a giant political figure in the region, Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime Minister of Singapore. Under his stewardship, Singapore moved from a colonial backwater to a thriving first world economy. It is clear throughout the book that Lee harbours no regrets for being the architect of draconian policies in Singapore that have garnered widespread criticism amongst liberal outsiders. The results apparently speak for themselves as far as economic data is concerned. Singapore is top of the class, having started as a hopeless cause when they were expelled from Malaysia in 1965.
Of course along the path of Singapore’s transformation, there has been collateral damage; reduced free speech and personal freedoms, and for this Lee feels no need to apologise. It was all part of the greater good and those critical of the regime are always painted as troublemakers. Lee clearly has no time for the checks and balances system of governance in Western democracies.
Lee’s single minded strength of will resounds in his writing style, and love or hate his policies, one can only admire the way he has turned his vision into a reality. To do this in the context of a 4 million strong nation is undeniably impressive. Singapore is criticised for being sterile, and lacking in creativity and innovation as a result of the ‘nanny state’ mentality, but in fairness to the regime, within which Lee is still very influential despite stepping down as Prime Minister in 1990, they have introduced policies to make the Singaporeans more free thinking, something considered essential in today’s ‘knowledge’ economy. Furthermore, Lee never sought the cult of personality leadership style that has poisoned other such ‘fatherly’ leaders worldwide, whose egos far surpass their ability to deliver a better lot for the people they purportedly represent. His vision was entirely centred on the betterment of Singaporeans, not personal gain.
Of course along the path of Singapore’s transformation, there has been collateral damage; reduced free speech and personal freedoms, and for this Lee feels no need to apologise. It was all part of the greater good and those critical of the regime are always painted as troublemakers. Lee clearly has no time for the checks and balances system of governance in Western democracies.
Lee’s single minded strength of will resounds in his writing style, and love or hate his policies, one can only admire the way he has turned his vision into a reality. To do this in the context of a 4 million strong nation is undeniably impressive. Singapore is criticised for being sterile, and lacking in creativity and innovation as a result of the ‘nanny state’ mentality, but in fairness to the regime, within which Lee is still very influential despite stepping down as Prime Minister in 1990, they have introduced policies to make the Singaporeans more free thinking, something considered essential in today’s ‘knowledge’ economy. Furthermore, Lee never sought the cult of personality leadership style that has poisoned other such ‘fatherly’ leaders worldwide, whose egos far surpass their ability to deliver a better lot for the people they purportedly represent. His vision was entirely centred on the betterment of Singaporeans, not personal gain.
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