Comments on: MM Lee on “assortative mating”

By: George

George — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:51:10 +0000

I supposed to talk rubbish in old age is an old man privilege.We Sinkaporean had grown up and is capable of independence thinking unlike our fore father, first generation from China, India or other part of the world. Many of us hold several degrees and held senior position in oversea companies. LKY is still living in the 50s and his ideas were out dated but no one dare to him. He may be surrounded by many ministers but how many dare to tell him he is wrong? His views and idea had way pass the “sell by date” as the modern world matches. The modern world had in store for us many surprises which we as a country had not even started to address it e.g Global warming and rise of sea level, potential food shortages as a result of global rainfall failure. These are issues countries like S Korean and Saudi Aradia had started to address e.g leasing land in Africa and Central Asia to grow food crop.

By: liangshan

liangshan — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:25:35 +0000

I couldn’t imagine MM (Mentalist Manipulator) Lee could look down on ordinary, honest, humble and hard-working human beings. No wonder, I understand he often seeks omen from the non-tertiary Abbot at the Bright Hill Temple regarding his life and future just like Macbeth who sought the witches in a cave about his future from warrior to lord to king hereafter.

I came from a family of 11 children among the poorest of the poor in Singapore, born of illiterate parents. Out of the 11 of us, 5 are college professionals, 4 undergrads and 2 postgrads and I’m one of the latter two. All of us married non grads with one exception. In fact, all my 8 nephews and nieces who have completed pre-U, are either in the universities or completed undergrad degrees. I did two post grad degrees concurrently in less than 30 months in one of the world’s best known universities in North America, Harvard. I married a non-grad and all 3 children possess undergrad degrees too. What has he got to say?

Did his albino grandson get to the university? I understand he has a sperm and egg bank for his family to ensure a super Lee race and dynasty. Is this true? Maybe, he believes strongly in producing a super race of Singaporeans who are all graduates.

Take for example, the USA, with the most number of graduates anywhere in the world and many of them have children who are non graduates.

Mentalist Manipulator (MM) LKY’s argument on assortative dating does not hold water, period. Only imbeciles and the gullible believe him.

By: bah

bah — Sun, 10 May 2009 04:46:25 +0000

I do not fully agree with his comments. However I have nothing to say to him. My mom is not uni graduate , only O level equilivant. My both bro are uni graduate with ideal job dream in spore and I am graduating end of this year in medical scientist in Australia. What MM Lee said is of subtle discrimination against us. That is fine if he wish to stick to his own opinion, any way I will not work in spore after graduating and will instead contribute my energy and time to Aust govt who certainly respect human rights much significantly more than PAP.
I would like to point out that MM Lee is not God, and he will face his Maker sooner or later. If he die, I am not going to feel sad or lament his great loss.

By: Fyodor bingoffsky

Fyodor bingoffsky — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 13:11:25 +0000

What is your ideal of eugenics? ARe scientists encourages to marry scientists, humanities and artistic people with the same sort, or are intimate relations encouraged between two people of different fields of intelligence? What is Singapore’s reproductive stance on the artistic and intelligent? Has the SDU considered that the most logical, passionate, dedicate, intellectual graduates are rebels and non-conformists? In that case surely they ought not be pressured into close proximities as that is selling oneself and ideals? How about creating a generation of truly dedicated professionals or researchers instead of people who merely do law for shallow recognition? Is not passion the main significance in a country’s development. The implementation of these idea may help Singapore to attain a Nobel Prize.

By: Talk rubbish

Talk rubbish — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 07:57:08 +0000

Ask this old fart, how many of his PAP ministers and mps whose parents are graduates.

By: noobsg

noobsg — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 07:23:57 +0000

its about time … u know … ppl make stupid comments when their time is almost there …

By: DP

DP — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 06:09:18 +0000

Not too sure if everyone is aware of the “Three women” story which the old man told long time ago. That story provided many an insight into the old man’s believes and his mentatlity. For all his rhetoric, there is always an underlaying motivation driving it. Here is a man who is obsessed to play god to ensure his strangle hold on power is not compromised by even the forces of nature. His social engineering policies and his immigration policies to ensure that the racial composition remains the same at all cost is but an indication of the obsession. I believe to call for graduates to marry graduates is but an indirect approach to ensure that the class structure remains the same. We need the ruling elite class, the super elites, the educated elites, the rich and finally the peasants. We have so many schemes to make sure that the peasants are taken care of including the NCSS, CDCs, WDA etc. But education can make progression up the class ladder possible. There is a difference when you come from say a family of doctors, engineers and lawyers or a poor taxi driver’s son made good. This is the social struture which has to remain. That’s why we need the China and Vietnam brides. We need the lower classes to reproduce to fill their numbers and the elites to do like wise. Movement between the two groups might not be too good to maintain power.

By: Observer (SG-HK)

Observer (SG-HK) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 06:04:39 +0000

As long as we people have a fundamental principle that we strongly believe and upheld, no one, no policies and no any amount of satirical comment is going to influence you in achieving that ultimate goal you had set forth whether with or without being a graduate. May be, just may be, with a graduate degree things might just be a little easier but hey, paper qualifications these days are everywhere, nothing so unique about it but a person’s characteristic is distinctively unique and that is what counts at the end of the day. To say the least, linking paper qualifications to the sanctity of marriage and the intelligence of re-production is just baseless

There are already ample proofs that paper qualification has no direct link to the success of a person. The “success” measuring factor is very individual. Some people equate success with insatiable material wealth, some are practically happy with just pure LOVE and just-enough material wealth to make ends meet.

May be “globalization” had really taken root and became a vicious virus that is quietly infecting the once much caring and compassionate society that it had instill nothing but the bad genes into those GRADUATED COUPLES and their off-springs and fooling them into thinking that is the ONE and ONLY WAY to GUARANTEED a SUCCESSFUL living “in a well may be”. I recommend them to go watch MATRIX and understand thoroughly how it came to an end.

By: Andrew Loh

Andrew Loh — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 03:32:54 +0000

I come from a big family of 12 children.

None of us are graduates.

Yet, all of us are happy in our lives. And all my brothers and sisters are happily married – and with wonderful kids as well. We meet regularly for family dinners, picnics, etc. And my mom is 72 years old. She too married my dad – both of them were not graduates.

Relationships, in any case, is a complex thing. To conveniently distill it into just a sort of “paper-qualifications eligibility” issue is kind of well, simplistic.

By: oracle

oracle — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 03:14:21 +0000

I really don’t understand why he will say something like this. So what about graduates? Isn’t all the structured products like High Notes and Jubilee Series created by these so call “intelligent” people. Highly paid to create junk.
Education does not determine a person success or failure in life! If we have a person with high IQ but no good values, isn’t the person similar to Osama bin Laden?

By: tiredsingaporean

tiredsingaporean — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 10:01:08 +0000

187) logicalman on October 27th, 2008 9.11 am from the heated reactions to this topic, it’s not hard to see that it’s an excellent distraction. Just days ago, we were discussing about the 21% electricity tariff increase, now that seems history, as though we have let SP off the hook. I can’t think of any company that can raise prices by 21% during a recession and still have captive customers and not just stay afloat but grow.

yes, you are damn right, MM is infact trying to divert the ppl from other more important hikes issues so you ppl would not be able to be united together against him and his ruling party, so all singaporeans must not fall into his trap again and stay united as one voice, no more lies, no more bullshits and stop all the twisting and turning tai chi moves, we citizens of singapore are very sick and tired of it.

By: graduate with fake degree

graduate with fake degree — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:19:34 +0000

No worries lah.

MM trying to promote the sales of fake degrees that Chan Soo Sen was peddling the other day.

When our enconomy goes to the shithole in the next 2 years, selling fake degress is recession proof. May even flourish in such difficult times.

We can become the next hub for fake degrees and everyone will be happy that there will always be a university for their children to go to in Singapore.

By: zhummmeng

zhummmeng — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 04:07:30 +0000

he forgot that his parents weren’t graduates but yet they bore all graduates. His theory is flawed, senile and is a sign that the day is near.Let us put up with him for a little while more and he will be history. Let us not get distracted . The issue is still the minibomb structured products.

By: gemami

gemami — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 03:00:26 +0000

The A team refers to only one man – LKY.
Why don’t the PAP change its name to PAPA A team or PAPA?

By: gemami

gemami — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 02:58:19 +0000

187) logicalman

i think we can handle this – we are so adapt at multi-tasking remember? thanks to pap?

anyway I think you’re right, we have to get back to focus and give a larger portion of our time to more important issues.

By: The perils of Lee and his theory on assortative mating « Readings From A Political Duo-ble

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 02:53:17 +0000

[...] by Charles on October 27, 2008 After Lee was quoted in a broadcast news report that he believed assortative mating will produce beneficial result, I was eager to do some research [...]

By: gemami

gemami — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 02:53:16 +0000

176) Pei Kiah

my answers to your question is found in my earlier post #113.

i think your take and understanding of the uttered words, totally misses the point. what we have here is someone declaring the comments he uttered as ‘Truth’, yes, truth with a capital T – with an added punch by the manner in which he giggled like a small boy who thought he had uttered something very intelligent at the end of the comment. It is not anger but repulsion that i feel. . . i still feel like vomitting discussing this topic.

having said this, i agree with your take as described in para #1 – but is this the same as what lky would have us believe? i do not think so but of course we can continue to subject ourselves to a lenghty debate over this. we have to take the words at the face value that it was uttered.

your other comment:
“…I must say that most people are too emotional to accept general statements even if it were true…”

i do not think this is a general statement at all. if you read the comments again you will notice that there are 5 ‘intents” before he issued the pucnch line. it is a deliberate and direct statement, made with the intent to sway the audience into believeing that what he is proclaiming is the ultimate ‘Truth’.

1. “This is the way the world is” – the world is like that?
2. “I have explained this” – his word is Truth?
3. “I think I lost votes after …..”People do not yet understand the depth of my intelligence?
4. “nobody believed it” – “Not one of the people is as intelligent as me”
5. “…it slowly dawned on them, especially the graduates …”now people especially the smart ones begin to believe that I am Truth……
6. “that you are going to worry about your son ……….” – BANG! This is the TRUTH!

it is good to know that you have made yourself clear that he is wrong, even if your discernment is base on political correctness. and, you are right that emotional sentiments are at play here but then again, would you blame anyone for being emotional with a statement that precisely stabs at the emotions of all and sundry?

By: Kaffein

Kaffein — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 02:37:05 +0000

To #176 who wrote:
“Political correctness aside, I must say that most people are too emotional to accept general statements even if it were true. Just as in general statements about race and religion, people can easily fill in connotations as negative as anyone can imagine.”

I do not think people get emotional or worked up over general statements. However if one has been proned to frivalous, sweeping, over the hill statements too frequently over the years, then expect to be face a public whiplash.

And I assume he mouthed off based on statistics? Yeah right.

I feel insulted because it makes me feel like a figure, a mere number and digit in policy making. In this instance, just because 60% (just say hypothetically) of kids with graduate parents perform better DOES NOT equate we should implement/encourage a policy for graduate parents to pro-create.

This is the most idiotic statement.

Seriously speaking, those words that have sprouted from his mouth – it is very similar to the ‘people live longer with avg 85 yrs old’. All based on statistics, so let’s move the goalpost to 85 yrs old.

Are you telling me that just because each day 1000+ planes landed safely, we should do away or have very minimal payout for air crash deaths? Or just because most people don’t drown in swimming pools, we should reduce the no of lifeguards? Or even better, most IT courses have just only <20% females. So the schools should increase the quota for guys entering into IT courses and discourage females?

With this new pro-graduate statements, does it mean there will be more benefits for graduates? Hey not all are academically inclined. Why force people to regurgitate back on paper when they are not interested and have absolutely no inclination in the subject of study?

In all honesty, I don’t know what train of thoughts he has, or from which hole he’s pulling the rabbit out from .

Stop trying to be God, LKY. Some things are beyond you. You have already stuffed up with the stop at two policy and the speak less dialects policy (I know only a smattering of Cantonese. Thanks to you that my parents refused to speak to me in that dialect!)

Duh.

Kaffein

By: A-Team stands for Arrow Team

A-Team stands for Arrow Team — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:26:18 +0000

Yes. Please vote in the A-Team at the next General Election, so that the Lees can remain shielded from their gross policy oversight and other undoing of theirs.

DC (#188),

I am stretching a little about Lee Kuan Yew being the founding father. No doubt after WWII, there was a wave pro-independence movements in every colony of the world. Many people from the colonies felt betrayed by their colonial rulers. Lee Kuan Yew is one of the many emerging leaders who ride the post-WWII colonial independence wave.

By: DC

DC — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:21:16 +0000

#186,

Founding Father? Really?