The Kent Ridge
Ministerial Forum was the first time many had met Lee Kuan Yew in
person.
LKY: through the eyes of an Outsider
Through a series of peculiar occurrences, I ended up in a
Chinese tutorial with Lester Lim. Lester is a Singaporean
Senior who had studied abroad at the University of Illinois.
As a former exchange student, Lester knew how hard it is to get
acclimated to a new environment, and sought to cure my confusion
and friendlessness.
In an attempt to make my experience memorable, Lester got me a
press pass to the NUS Kent ridge Ministerial Forum to hear Minister
Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. As an honorary member of The Kent
Ridge Common staff, I ventured to have one of my most memorable
Singaporean experiences. As I was told by my fellow
classmates before the event, “This is like getting to see
Obama!”
So what makes MM Lee so special? “In the 1960s, Singapore was a
third world country with a GNP per capita of less than US$320.
Infrastructure was poor, there was little capital; the handful of
industries produced only for domestic consumption. Low-end commerce
was the mainstay of the economy, and there was little or no direct
foreign investment.” (Economics and Development Board of Singapore,
2009) After MM Lee gained power in 1968, he led Singapore to
great heights, making it a model for economic and infrastructure
development. Currently, Singapore has one of the
highest GNP per capita in the world, and was recently named the
most innovative country in the world. Because of the way MM
Lee helped develop modern Singapore, he is still widely recognized
as the most powerful man in the country, despite the fact that he
holds no direct political power.
The grandeur of the situation didn’t really hit me until the day
before, as I was contacted by an anonymous figure in order to
verify my identification information. Moreover, when I got to
the event, we had to go through two levels of security that
reminded me of an airport during the holiday season.
Once we got inside the venue, the light refreshments and soft
classical music helped put the mood at ease. Once the music
stopped, everything seemed to cease as the room went silence.
Seconds later, the side door to the auditorium opened and all eyes
were on the 86 year old Lee Kuan Yew
As he made his way to the stage, he was nothing like I
expected. Instead of an uptight dignitary, what I saw
before me was a regularly dressed guy with a coy smile and an
inviting aura.
As he raised his hands to greet the audience, the room erupted
in applause and a sort of excitement seemed to fill the room.
Over the next hour, MM Lee went on to answer nine handpicked
questions from the crowd of students, teachers, and dignitaries.
Although his answers were rehearsed and covered somewhat mundane
topics, he still said them in a way that served to draw you
in.
The questions asked covered topics such as American hegemony,
the Kyoto protocol, minimum wage, and the LKY legacy. On the
question concerning American hegemony, MM Lee expressed the general
idea that America is in decline. He believed that in 20 to 30
years, China would have a GDP equal to that of the US; furthermore,
he expressed the idea that the current/past (depending on who you
are) financial crisis has only shortened that time frame.
Perhaps the most controversial topic discussed was the lack of a
minimum wage in Singapore, and how that has led to increased income
inequality. Nevertheless, to call that question controversial
would be equivalent to calling Duke Basketball a good team.
His answer only served to solidify his very laissez-faire view of
government, as he made it clear that in the end, it is better to
have a low paying job then not have one at all.
Despite his age, MM Lee was a great orator; through his
linguistic charm, one could easily see how he handily won over a
country. Almost every answer was answered with a joke, and
his laid back manner made it very easy to relate. MM Lee is
one of the few people with the rare ability to turn any
conversation topic into something interesting, and being able to
experience that firsthand made the evening worthwhile.
