
Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Father and First Premier of Singapore, Dies at 91 - janineyoong
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/23/world/asia/lee-kuan-yew-founding-father-and-first-premier-of-singapore-dies-at-91.html
======
jpatokal
Singapore is in for some seriously _interesting_ times. Lee Kuan Yew did a
masterful job of getting Singapore up to speed after independence, but like so
many leaders over-identified with their nation, he overstayed his welcome. The
Lee family's tentacles are firmly entrenched in the politics and businesses of
Singapore, and while I hope they will have the common sense to tolerate the
inevitable rise of the opposition -- which is already occurring, despite the
steep odds stacked against them -- I'm afraid they're much more likely to
lurch into outright dictatorship and fulfill Lee's own prediction:

"if there is a freak result [and the opposition wins], within two or three
years, the army would have to come in and stop it”
[http://leewatch.info/quotes/](http://leewatch.info/quotes/)

That date is not far off: Singapore's next general election must be held by
January 2017, and the opposition is all but guaranteed to take a sizable
portion of seats. Thanks to Singapore's first-past-the-post politics, if they
grow from the current 40% to tip over 50%, they'll suddenly have an
unassailable majority... and what then?

I'll give the final word to Lee's last standing arch-enemy, Chee Soon Juan:

 _“Why is he still so afraid? I honestly think that through the years he has
accumulated enough skeletons in his closet that he knows that when he is gone,
his son_ [Lee Hsien Loong, the current Prime Minister] _and the generations
after him will have a price to pay. If we had parliamentary debates where the
opposition could pry and ask questions, I think he is actually afraid of
something like that. ..._

 _Mr Lee Kuan Yew fights all his demons within himself to try to shore up his
reputation. In the process, however, he destroys the very legacy that he so
desperately desires to establish.”_

– Chee Soon Juan, Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party

~~~
jpatokal
The opinion above was formed by living in Singapore for ~8 years and
continuing to take an active interest in its affairs for the next 5. You're
welcome to disagree, but please tell me why then instead of just downvoting...

~~~
skinnylatte
I'm a Singaporean. I've worked in opposition politics. I'm going to be voting
this year.

Here are a few thoughts:

\- your understanding of the Lees in Singapore have no historical context. You
cannot view his leadership in a vacuum. You cannot look at Singapore politics
and say it needs a dash of 'Western liberalism & democracy' and proclaim Chee
Soon Juan one of its administrators. LKY, and the Singapore of his time, was a
product of the times. There is no other place like it.

\- No other place like it: that at the point of independence, we could have
become "either a Palestine or a Switzerland". He was prescient on that. Few
other small states are sandwiched between two giants (India and China), few
other small states are at the best spot of an important shipping route, and in
that sense he — and Singapore — had a leg up

\- The most successful opposition party in Singapore is the Worker's Party, a
party which is nearly as old as the ruling party. They are just as organized,
if not more, and they are gaining momentum and strength. Like Lee's party,
they have no overwhelming 'ideology', it is about 'what works for Singapore'.
Voters like that. Voters don't like SDP, and they don't like Chee. Singapore
voters don't trust loose cannons, and I as someone who has been in the
'opposition' most of my life would rather vote for the PAP if it presented a
better candidate than the opposition, which is usually the case.

\- Odds are stacked against the opposition, that is true; but the odds are
lowered now, Lee Hsien Loong is not his father and the media is not nearly as
powerful now. I would say that other than the Worker's Party, every single
opposition candidate and party is unelectable. God help us if they do.
Personality cults and horrible politics. No ability to execute. Voters will
not give them the benefit of the doubt; we do not see the 'ability to govern'
in them, and that counts more than 'what party one is from'

\- Throughout the land there is a profound sense of mourning. Even among the
ones who have spent their lives on the fringes of Lee's Singapore. He was a
lion, and Singapore will not be the same without him.

\- It will not descend into chaos, it will not swing the popular vote for the
opposition. My read is that the PAP will still be in majority power for then
next two elections.

\- In the meantime, the work that has to be done is about how we ensure that
we are ready for a post-PAP future. The reality of post-LKY is upon us today,
and that changes things. Rapid destruction of our institutions isn't the
answer. The building of our capacity with our people, institutions and
processes may be.

\- In many ways, we are more ready than the world thinks for that future

\- You'd think that well-educated well-travelled Singaporeans who have the
world at their feet (can live and travel and work anywhere, pretty much) would
immediately switch allegiances and vote in 'democratic figureheads'. We will
not.

\- That doesn't come from conservatism. It comes from a practical belief that
these figureheads, like Chee, will be the end of Singapore as we know it — and
that's not from believing the propaganda of the state. It comes from knowing
that the Singapore model works, but needs tweaking; and that the situation you
have described above isn't going to end well.

\- After working on the ground for the opposition in the last elections, I
believe Singapore voters are rational and no longer afraid.

\- The odds are good, but the goods are odd. That's the Singaporean opposition
right now.

~~~
jpatokal
Oh, I actually agree with most (but not all) of what you say. The Workers
Party is the only viable opposition at the moment, but this is largely because
they are very careful to "play by the rules" and not antagonize the Government
too much.

What worries me, though, is that they are allowed to exist at the Government's
forbearance. If they start to pose a _real_ threat to the PAP's dominance,
everything I've seen leads me to believe that the PAP _will_ play dirty and
strike them down as hard as is necessary. As said, I hope I'm wrong, but...

I'm also not sure I share your belief in Singapore voters being "no longer
afraid". I've had Singaporeans tell me, entirely seriously, that they can't
vote for the opposition because their votes are recorded and then they won't
get government jobs.

~~~
judyzhou
You must have met ignorant ones amongst the population who have no inkling of
how the system works here . I'm an opposition party campaigner in my 50s ..
votes are secret... nobody will know. We have observers party from both sides
throughout the whole process of balloting and counting till the results are
announced and we can protest if there's peeking at particulars or foul play

------
kiyoto
For all his shortcomings, LKY has shown the world how well a tiny city-state
can do economically with geopolitical leverage and strategic thinking.
Especially when it comes to diplomacy vis-a-vis the West, most Asian political
leaders are confused (and confusing) at best and belittled (and bewildering)
at worst, but no leader of the West fucked with LKY in his prime.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VexrmTacOAA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VexrmTacOAA)

Once in awhile, I watch that footage of Meet the Press to remind myself what a
sharp political leader he was. RIP the benevolent dictator.

~~~
walterbell
That was impressive, thank you. Is there a way to search YouTube for other
_Meet the Press_ videos from the 1960s?

------
jmgtan
I've lived in Singapore for almost 5 years already and have recently switched
citizenships (my son would have to serve in Singapore's military service once
he reaches the appropriate age). I have come to appreciate Singapore's style
of governance. The sheer efficiency and reliability of government service
still surprises me to this day. Having come from the Philippines where bribing
somebody in the government to get things done is part of normal life. I am all
too willing to sacrifice a bit of freedom to gain stability, reliability, and
peace. Not worrying about the safety of my wife and child when they come home
late is a huge thing for me.

Yes Singapore has it's own set of societal problems, but I'd rather have that
than the numerous problems that is deeply entrenched in Philippine society
nowadays.

Rest in peace Mr LKY. Your accomplishments are legendary.

~~~
judyzhou
Thank you for coming and being part of our singapore family

------
DevX101
One of the greatest leaders of modern times.

Singapore was a backwater country with no natural resources when he came to
power. It's since evolved into one of the primary economic hubs in Asia, with
a higher per-capita GDP than her former colonizers, Great Britain.

To transform a country in such short a time is nothing short of remarkable.

~~~
CyberDildonics
You might want to look deeper into that. Economically Singapore has been well
run, every other way is up for debate.

~~~
skinnylatte
Every other way is up for debate?

We have a good education system, and I would not trade our healthcare system
for what you're likely used to; as a gay Singaporean, I have no curtailing of
my social freedoms. I cannot marry or adopt legally yet, but that's the
conversation that we're soon going to have (and which the "West" has only just
recently gotten). The civil service is good. More can be done for the low
income, and that's happening at the moment. The roads are clean and everything
gets fixed. I walk around the city at any time of day and night with no fear,
in any neighbourhood. Which ways are up for debate?

~~~
LLWM
Most people here are ideologically committed to western concepts of freedom.
It doesn't matter how good the results are as long as things aren't done their
way.

~~~
CyberDildonics
What is your version of freedom?

~~~
LLWM
A comfortable enough life that you can actually choose what to do rather than
having your hand forced by circumstances.

------
thesumofall
Singapore is an incredible state and I enjoy every stay there, but the
principle where "the good of society [takes] precedence over individual
rights" has its scary downsides: [http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/07/29/the-
social-laboratory/](http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/07/29/the-social-
laboratory/)

~~~
seanmcdirmid
Lee did good and bad: he successfully set up a stable productive state, but to
get there economized certain liberties that seem fundamental. The problem is
that Singapore remains stable and successful, becoming the role model for
developing autocratic countries like China.

~~~
sanxiyn
Why is that a problem?

~~~
kyllo
Go to Singapore and see how the immigrant laborers from South Asia live, how
the native Malays live, and then how the ethnic Chinese and Western expats
live. It's a highly stratified society where money makes the rules.

~~~
orcdork
You could say the same thing for the UK.

Yes, i do realize there are vast differences between immigration in the UK (or
the west overall) and Singapore, but find that blaming class differences
and/or the mistreatment of poor immigrants to policies is to simplify the
issue.

~~~
crdoconnor
>You could say the same thing for the UK.

You really can't. There's no comparison to be made between the way Singapore
treats Bangladeshis and the UK treats Poles.

~~~
kyllo
Or the way the UK treats Bangladeshis for that matter.

------
queryly
I haven't been in Singapore and have read very little on why Singapore is so
successful.

Three of Four Asian Tigers (Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea) are more
democratic/free and equal in prosperity comparing with Singapore.

IMHO, a great strategic port and super effective government are probably key
reasons that power the its great achievements. I hope people don't consider
quasi-dictatorship style of governing the cause of economic miracle.

~~~
crdoconnor
One trade policy that they followed that was identical to that of Hong Kong,
Taiwan and South Korea was the suppression of the value of their currency by
purchasing US treasuries. That gave a much needed boost to their exports and
allowed them space to create an industrial ecosystem.

China did this too, later.

------
l10nf15h
Lets not forget that Singapore executes a higher percentage of its population
than any other country on earth and canes people slicing into flesh.

~~~
seanmcdirmid
I thought they mostly executed foreigners getting caught running drugs through
the airport?

~~~
l10nf15h
Singapore will also execute anyone for simply possessing a firearm.

~~~
ptaipale
Not quite, Wikipedia: "Trafficking in arms (Section 6) is a capital offence in
Singapore. Under the Arms Offences Act, trafficking is defined as being in
unlawful possession of more than two firearms."

~~~
l10nf15h
That is still shocking to anyone in the US where the ratio of guns to people
is 1:1.

~~~
ptaipale
Yes, but note that the offense is for _unlawful_ possession of firearms, not
lawful possession (though I imagine the conditions for lawful possession in
Singapore are extremely restrictive).

Where I live (Finland) the ratio is 2:5 (2 million legal guns, 5 million
people). That's the highest in EU. We also have among the highest homicide
rate in EU, but these two rates are not really connected (i.e. very few of the
homicides done with a gun.).

~~~
adventured
I think Sweden and Germany have you matched or beat on guns per capita in the
EU

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_guns_per_capita_by_co...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_guns_per_capita_by_country)

------
contingencies
Asshole's dead. Good riddance. Stole power on a platform of communism, moved
to totalitarianism / familial nepotism, set up his 'wealthy, modern' state by
money laundering for Burmese junta, struck up a cheap friendship with US (easy
sale: naval positioning for the straits, cable taps on comms, aggressively
purchasing regional comms providers in places like .au), did a PR job on .sg's
great 'democracy'. His biography - _Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going_ \- is
a disgusting exercise in narcissism attempting to rewrite history. Dirty man,
dirty state, dirty legacy.

~~~
thisrod
> set up his 'wealthy, modern' state by money laundering for Burmese junta

D'oh! I've been wondering how Singapore's low-taxing government accumulated
all the capital that it invested, and that answer is so obvious: they took it
from people _somewhere else_. Would you mind pointing me to a book that fills
in the details?

~~~
thisrod
I found the real answer: the low taxes were all lies, and Mr Lee actually took
half of everyone's salary for his family to invest.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Provident_Fund](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Provident_Fund)

