Who can we count as our friends
?
The following extract is quite telling, and is taken from an
article published in the FEER in Year 2000 - ''Lee Kuan Yew: Measure of the
Man''
A STORY MADE THE ROUNDS in Singapore a few years back that went
like this:
Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew returned from a private visit to India
with a small bolt of silk of extraordinary design. He consulted his
tailor immediately, who assured him there was just enough fabric to
fashion a suit that would fit him perfectly.
Ecstatic, he dashed off to an official meeting in Hong Kong with
Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, bringing the silk with him.
Following the meeting, he couldn't resist sharing his excitement
with Tung, and asked if he could see his tailor for a second
opinion. Tung's tailor was flabbergasted at the beauty of the silk,
took Lee's measurements, and told him he could easily make him a
suit and an extra pair of trousers.
Although Lee was perplexed, he said nothing because he was already
late for a flight to Washington, where he was scheduled to see US
President Bill Clinton. Following the meeting, he asked to see
Clinton's tailor, who took his measurements, and confidently told
him he could make two suits and an extra pair of trousers from the
bolt of Indian silk.
"What is it about your tailors," Lee later asked the American
president, "that makes them so much better than tailors in
Singapore and Hong Kong? Mine said he could make me a suit out of
this bolt of silk. Tung's tailor said he could make me a suit and
an extra pair of trousers. Your tailor, Mr President, can make me
two suits and an extra pair of trousers. Is it your technology?
Your superior productivity?"
"Certainly not, Senior Minister," replied Clinton. "It's
simply that the further away you are from Singapore, the smaller
you become."
Can we depend on the opinions or
views of friends who prefer to be polite ?
Can one take friendship on a superficial basis ?
Are the deep seated values of LKY for real - that it can be brushed
aside to praise a friend who has made an impact on the larger
landscape despite personal failing ? Suharto was already known to
be corrupt even by his own peers in the Indonesian Military in the
1950s - see reference site below.
Or is the friendship between Suharto and LKY more then skin deep,
perhaps even a personal debt ?
On 26 August 1965, which is about 20 days after it was decided to
evict Singapore from the Federsation of Malaysia, it was announced
that the Singapore Government had uncovered a ''local Communist
Plot'' backed by Indonesia to assassinate LKY.
In less then 20 days after being evicted from Malaysia, Singapore
had no SAF except for 1SIR, a skeleton Police Force, and hardly an
invincible ISD for Internal Security.
How was this assassination plot uncovered ?
Was there outside help ?
A foreign leak arising from internal betrayal ?
Suharto, who was earlier by-passed and transferred out of the
military power circle in late 1950s, had by October 1964 regained
his military influence, commanding the best Indonesian elite force
to safeguard Jakarta.
With deep seated resentment within the Indonesian Army towards the
rising influence of Indonesian Communisit politicians over
President Sukarno since the 1950s, the Indonesian Army was divided
in their allegiance to the Military Command and towards
Sukarno.
Did Suharto hedge his political future and exposed the Indonesian
assassination plot against an already weakened Singapore leadership
recovering from the shock of being recently evicted from Malaysia
?
It is very unusual to see such rare LKY allegiance and friendship
towards Suharto - despite the stark differences in personal values
that led to LKY even brushing aside Suharto's reputation to give
credit where he felt it was due.
Comparing this unusual LKY's change in his personal values to that
of his derisive behaviour towards corrupt President Marcos from the
Philippines, and African Statesmen - it can only be seen as a bond
of a person, whose life is indebted to the other.
Reference: Snapshots of Indonesian History: 1951 -
1965