Our time will come, when
Singaporeans are allowed a chance to contribute - but can we
?
Judging by what MM LKY had said in an extensive interview with
TimeAsia Magazine, can we seriously believe a person who believe in
himself so seriously as being the cleverest and shrewdest person in
the First World.
An Extract from TimeAsia
Magazine:
TIME: But the U.S. is a very non-Singaporean society. It's
messy and noisy, and it has turmoil.
LEE: You must have contention, a clash of ideas.
If Galileo had not challenged the Pope,
we would still believe the world is flat, right? And
Christopher Columbus might never have discovered America.
TIME: You don't allow much contention
in Singapore.
LEE: [The lack of contention] here could be a problem.
But I do not believe you must have that
degree of contention and political viciousness to be creative
... The exaggerated exploitation of political positions,
just to do the other side in, it's so counterproductive,
unnecessary. Take Hurricane Katrina. The politicking was
incredible. So George W. Bush was not quick off the mark when
Katrina struck. But I don't think his adversaries were simply that
worried about New Orleans; they just wanted to put Bush down.
TIME: But you would concede that Singapore now needs
more contention and turmoil?
LEE: Surely, surely. Ideally we should have Team A, Team B,
equally balanced, so that we can have a swap and the system will
run. We have not been able to do this
in Singapore because our population is only 4 million, and
the people at the top, with proven track recordsnot just in
ability, but in character, determination, commitmentwill not be
more than 2,000. You can put their biodata in a thumbdrive.
We also have a different culture, a different way of doing things.
The individual is not the building block. It's the family, the
extended family, the clan and the state. The five crucial
relationships are: you and the prince or the ruler, you and your
wife, you and your children, you and your parents, you and your
friends. If those relationships are right, everything will work out
well in society.
Was the creative political
viciousness displayed by the Alternative Parties in the recent
Singapore Election 2006, or was it a star display of the vicious
trait that is characteristic of MM LKY himself ?
Is it not typical MM LKY brilliance in weaving a tall tale to an
external audience - that knows nothing in depth of Singapore and
Singaporeans - and attempt to convince the world at large about the
supposed paucity of Singaporean Talents and Righteous Characters
?
Surely, again, in the recent Singapore Election 2006, the
Alternative Political Parties have proven his views wrong again
?
As far as I know, other than his insistence on a strong central
government (which pretty much has done right by us), he hasn't
stumbled much yet. Point to the bad economic condition and look at
the economies of Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia and China. Still think he did such a bad job?
His vanity and insecurity is
displayed in his attitude of insisting in the exclusive
capabilities being only in the Ruling Party, and politicising every
public institution in Singapore.
This can only result in a shrivelling of Singapore similar to the
Communist Countries ruled by the Supermacy of the POWER OF
ONE.
For your information, the Singapore economy is still relatively
shaky, and an unemployment situation still worsening with continued
quiet retrenchments.
Where did you get your information from concerning the
deteriorating economies of our neighbors ?
Did you not read of the optimistic outlook in the economies of
Japan; Thailand; Malaysia;
Indonesia; and least of all Peoples' Republic of China.
I find that too many singaporeans want change in government just
for the sake of change, without thinking what this would bring. You
speak about having more say in government policies. I would rather
have elite intelligent representatives deciding public policy
rather than a system which caters to every idiot with an opinion
like the US. A government that can enact policy with speed and
efficiency, instead of being locked in endless argument or
nitpicking.
Unfortunately, when the elite
begin to believe too much in their own infallibility, and believe
that everyone else is an idiot - except themselves, that is the
beginning to the end.
MM LKY had enacted policies with speed and efficiency, and
bull-dozed aside all opposing views, only to admit forty years late
that perhaps he should have listened to those voices.
Two lasting ruinous policy caused by LKY's willful and dogmatic
rule have left us with a declining population caused by the 2-Child
Family Planning Policy of the 1960s; and an employment situation
that is constantly dependant on multi-national corporations as
Singapore's own small and medium enterprises were wiped out by
Government Owned Companies that were established to provide
lucrative support services to the MNCs.
