Lee Kuan Yew Watch

BN unveils its secret weapon – Lee Kuan Yew

leewatch — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:55:44 +0000

The fallout from Lee’s Malaysia trip refuses to end. Malaysia Insider on its impact on the by-elections in Manek Urai, Kelantan:

Less than 12 hours before polling begins in this rural constituency, Barisan Nasional (BN) put up banners showing picture of Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat shaking hands with Lee Kuan Yew in an attempt to drive the Malay voters away from the Kelantan Mentri Besar.

“Why does he like him, but refuse to listen to Umno,” reads the message referring to the PAS spiritual adviser meeting with Lee and Nik Aziz continuous rejection to attempts to work closer with Umno.

Kuan Yew’s half-century

leewatch — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:10:19 +0000

Move over Fidel Castro, Omar Bongo and Muammar Gaddafi: Lee Kuan Yew is now the longest-reigning (non-royal) ruler in the world. The Star:

The Lee Kuan Yew “era” reached its 50-year mark on June 5, making Lee the longest surviving national leader in the world.

It was on this day in 1959 that the Cambridge-trained lawyer was sworn in as the first Prime Minister of a self-governing Singapore.

Lee is, of course, no longer the head of government after having given up the post in 1990. He now serves as an “advisor” in the Cabinet, with the title “Minister Mentor”.

For the last half-century, Lee has been Singapore’s undisputed force, shaping events, irrespective of who the designated leader is. …

Lee’s historic half-century, however, has not come at the best of times. Singapore is in the middle of one of its worst recessions – and Lee is getting more public brickbats by the day.

Economic hardship to the middle class, the bedrock of his support base, and huge losses of public money in several ill-timed global investments are causing discontent – and are being partly blamed on him. …

So why is the image-conscious government so reticent about Lee’s political longevity?

Party insiders say it is because he is bent on avoiding doing anything that will promote a personality cult.

“There’s been no road, statue or street named after Lee Kuan Yew,” a community leader noted.

Critics, however, give a different reason. One said the government would rather not mention the subject for fear it would renew calls for him to leave.

In a Yahoo online poll, 53% of Singaporeans said they wanted their founding father to quit politics either immediately or very soon – and that was five years ago. …

In recent years, the political icon has become noticeably slower both in speech and movement – but his global perceptions remain sharp.

Bhumibol Adulyadej

‘I curse the day I was born a Singaporean’

leewatch — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:38:45 +0000

Interesting opinion piece in MalaysiaKini:

It is very amusing to see how Malaysians (probably of the minority races) have spasms of ecstasy when referring to Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) in Malaysian forums. From across the border in Malaysia, Singapore seems like Wonderland and LKY like a benevolent god. …

However, Singapore has problems at present because its development model is outdated. As LKY still insists on the methods recommended tens of years ago, trouble is looming. There is no impetus to change because there is no one who dares to disagree. The media prints only propaganda, the courts will always find the government blameless as the government runs 70% of the economy. …

Many scoff at the position of the Malay rulers. But are they aware of the many dubious acts of LKY and his cronies – his ‘cooperation’ with the wartime Japanese, then the Communists and then the British (he betrayed the latter two in the end)?

And the actions taken by him and his courts to destroy the opposition, moves which are reported in a twisted manner by his press? A shining example of good character?

MM Lee speaks of need to restructure airport operations

leewatch — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:35:20 +0000

Lee Kuan Yew on Changi, complete with obligatory dig at foreign experts. CNA:

Speaking at the launch of the newly restructured Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Changi Airport Group on Wednesday, Mr Lee – who was instrumental in developing Changi as an aviation hub – noted that the economic crisis has seriously dampened air travel. ..

The minister mentor also stressed that one of the best investments that Singapore made in 1975 was to write off the S$800 million that was spent on Paya Lebar Airport – which was later handed over to the Air Force – and to build Changi Airport with two runways for S$1.5 billion.

At that time, he said, it was big money. If Singapore had followed foreign experts’ recommendation and had built the second runway at Paya Lebar Airport, the country’s airport would not have become a global aviation hub.

MM Lee said Changi Airport has set the benchmark for service excellence and operational efficiency internationally. It has won over 300 awards since 1987, including 13 awards in the first half of this year.

“The corporatised Changi Airport Group must have the drive and initiative to capitalise on the new opportunities and meet the increasing competition. As a corporation, it is better able to aggressively pursue overseas business ventures and investment opportunities,” Mr Lee said.

“It has the advantage of Changi as a brand name to enlarge its international presence. This will give greater flexibility to respond quickly to changes in the industry and in the global business environment. It will also attract and retain top talent to compete with global airport operators.”

Changi Airport Group is fully owned by Temasek, another arm of the government.

Constructing Singapore: “pragmatism” and personalised power

leewatch — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:26:18 +0000

The SDP provides some excerpts of Constructing Singapore: Elitism, Ethnicity and the Nation-Building Project by Michael D. Barr & Zlatko Skrbis (previously reviewed here).

The oil that lubricates the Singapore system is the exercise of personal power. The personal character of power is demonstrated without much effort in the person of Lee Kuan Yew, who remains in Cabinet 15 years and two prime ministers after his retirement from the premiership, with the creative title of “Minister Mentor”. He was previously “Senior Minister” for the duration of Goh Chok Tong’s premiership, but now Goh holds that title.

His presence in Cabinet must be most uncomfortable for Lee Hsien Loong. Not only does he have to work in the shadow of the founding father of modern Singapore, as did his predecessor, but in his case the man in question is his father. Even if Hsien Loong is really his “own man”, who is going to believe it? Hsien Loong did not even get to announce this Cabinet line-up. It was Lee Senior who announced that he would continue in Cabinet for as long as he was fit and able to serve, and it was Lee Senior who announced the new hierarchy (for protocol purposes) within the Prime Minister’s Office, whereby he would be third in line behind Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong. An anonymous “government official” was left to confirm Lee Senior’s announcement six days later.

Why does Lee Hsien Loong not simply remove him from Cabinet, as is his constitutional right? Why did not Goh Chok Tong do so when he was Prime Minister? Regardless of the power they notionally possess or possessed by virtue of their institutional positions, they both understand that in or out of Cabinet, Lee Kuan Yew retains his personal networks and his personal power.

Malaysia Did Not Overwelcome LKY

leewatch — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:12:56 +0000

Malaysian PM Najib denies allegations that he was too hospitable to Lee Kuan Yew during his visit. Bernama:

Malaysia did not overwelcome Singapore Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew during his eight-day visit to the country, early this month, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The prime minister said Lee was not accorded more than what he deserved.

“I don’t think we gave him more than (what) he deserved,” he told reporters after opening the 7th Heads of Mission Conference at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre here Monday.

He said this when answering a question on whether Malaysia had overwelcomed the minister mentor.

Najib said he did not think Lee wanted to interfere in the country’s internal affairs when the latter made some comments.

“I don’t think so…(that) he wanted to interfere. I think he knows that any suggestion that he is trying to interfere would be counter-productive.

“His visit was for a fact-finding tour of the situation in Malaysia. We allowed it,” added the prime minister.

Lee Kuan Yew Malaysia visit roundup

leewatch — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:08:22 +0000

A few final opinions on the fallout from Lee’s trip. The Star has a piece called Negotiating with Singapore:

Lee offered his advice, whether unsolicited or not, and in not-so-diplomatic language – which is his style – laid out what he expected in return for cooperation with Malaysia.

You see, we are dealing with Singapore and Lee here. Cooperation for its own sake is not enough, there must be a price to cooperation.

Here’s Lee’s price, but it is not likely to be the full list of things that Singapore wants in exchange for a watered down bridge project instead of a replacement of the Causeway, which former prime minister Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad had envisaged.

And a rare positive opinion from the Malay blogosphere by Ahmad Mustapha Hassan, Mahathir’s former press secretary and retired general manager at news agency Mernama:

Whenever Kuan Yew utters anything that deemed to be a slight on Malaysia, voices were raised admonishing him. Malaysia would never dare to face reality. That Singapore had shown that it could survive was a slap on those who believed that Singapore would fold up once it left Malaysia. Therefore it was natural that these doomsayers would try to rationalise their utterances to be in their favour to combat on whatever Kuan Yew commented. …

Lee Kuan Yew believed in calling a spade a spade. I was there in Singapore when the People’s Action Party won the elections in 1959. He was forthright in his briefing to party members as to what was expected of them and what Singapore would face in the future. Ideologically, I did not agree with him. We in the University of Malaya Socialist Club had a different interpretation of socialist reconstruction. But he was a pragmatist and wanted to bring development and welfare to the Singaporeans. Well! He succeeded.

Malaysia was so much embroiled in racial politics and due to the fear of losing political power, all actions taken by the main party in power was never targeted towards bringing wealth to all. Wealth was distributed to the chosen few only. They were the cronies and the backers of the party leadership.

And the Edge finally publishes a detailed schedule, after the trip ended:

Lee Kuan Yew’s eight days in brief

No Country for Old Men

leewatch — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:25:03 +0000

Asia Sentinel reports on the results of Lee Kuan Yew’s Malaysia trip.

Lee Kuan Yew, the 85-year-old patriarch and minister mentor of Singapore, might have thought he was taking a pleasant eight-day valedictory lap across several Malaysian states last week, but it has turned out to be anything but.

Not only did Mahathir release a blazing attack on Lee, but Mahathir’s former political secretary Matthias Chang, writing in a publication called Suara Keadilan [link to story], said even worse, saying that, “To many anti-colonial fighters of the third world, Lee Kuan Yew was contemptuously referred to as “ivory-skin Englishman” who “was and still is perceived as the lackey of the British power elites.”

Kuan Yew’s dream, Chang wrote, of “being the Overlord of Malaysia, comprising of Peninsula Malaya, Sarawak and Sabah was shattered and he has to be content with being a bully of a city state! Given such a traumatic experience, and possessing a vindictive disposition, it is a given that Lee Kuan Yew would harbor a secret agenda against Malaysia. And over the years, he has sowed and continues to sow discord among the races in Malaysia.”

But the Sentinel also points out that in many ways, all this has more to do with internal Malaysian politics than LKY himself:

Lee’s visit appears bound to stir up additional tensions between Mahathir and Najib Tun Razak, Malaysia’s prime minister, who extended the invitation to Lee and who has publicly said he wants cooperation with the island republic, especially over the massive Iskandar development at the bottom of Johor state which was begun by former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, which is being built partly on Singapore money.

Resurgence of Islam

leewatch — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:43:31 +0000

Lee Kuan Yew is surprised to encounter Muslims in Malaysia. Straits Times:

MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew yesterday related an encounter with women clad in black from head to toe in the swimming pool of his hotel in Kelantan to show how a society’s culture changed with rising religiosity. …

Mr Lee visited the Kelantan state capital, Kota Baru, on Sunday. The north-eastern state has been governed by the Islamic-based opposition party, Parti Islam SeMalaysia or PAS, since 1990.

While there, he went swimming in the hotel pool and saw some women clad in black.

‘So I stopped at the pillar and went back, but Dr Ng was bolder. He swam into their midst and they waved at him and said: ‘Oh, you’re from Singapore.’

‘They were clad, I suppose, in specially made swimsuits, showing only their faces, wrapped up to their wrists and ankles,’ he said.

Mahathir: The New Middle Kingdom

leewatch — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:20:07 +0000

Malaysian ex-PM Mahathir Mohamed blogs about Lee:

2. But we already have a new Middle Kingdom now. During Lee Kuan Yew’s triumphant visit to Malaysia he made it known to the Malaysian supplicants that Singapore regards the lands within 6000 miles radius of Singapore as its hinterland. This includes Beijing and Tokyo and of course Malaysia. …

7. All those who met the great man from the little country were lectured on how Malaysia should be run. We should not have anymore problems now. We have been told the direction to take. MCA must help UMNO to win because Singapore does not want an Islamic Party like PAS to win. We must ensure this. Sorry PAS. Working with the DAP, the offspring of PAP has not endeared you to Mr Lee.

8. I have a lot more to say about this little Emperor but I will reserve it for later.