Normally, I try not to pour cold water on any efforts. However,
the comparison with Mandela, Gandhi and King in some cases may be
out of point, in my opinion.
They, along with most other well-known civil rights activist,
fought against acute racism.
In Singapore, racism, to any extent, is not acute. I have worked
under Malay and Indian bosses who were my superiors because they
were graduates and more capable in the first place. This is
arguably meritocratic minus acute racism.
Hardly any labelled or self-proclaimed civil rights leader in
Singapore fought anything along those lines.
There are, of course, civil rights leaders who fought for political
freedom. But their names do not stand out compared to Mandela,
Gandhi and King at the international level.
The concept of non-violence also does not come without flaws. In
Gandhi's case, non-violence became the catalyst for violence. Else,
why did he have to fast? One needs to read Gandhi's story or watch
the movie starring Ben Kingsley for a quick briefdown. But I
surmise that all the bloodshed was necessary.
Regards
