Khairulanwar Zaini / Photos by Damien Chng
They clamour for his wisdom: O Father, whither Singapore in 50 years? The patriarch smiles and holds up a mirror: the minds and hearts in the auditorium his masterpiece, the technocratic utopia will persist, the nation of Lee will prevail – Lee created the nation in his own image, in the image of Lee he created the young; soulless and depoliticized he created them.
Conducted with the clinical efficiency that only Lee’s Singapore could muster, the forum was heralded as an “opportunity for intellectual discourse” – and how intellectual and precious were those nine questions that Lee was subjected to – all pre-selected, pre-vetted, (pre-sanitized?) There were no questions from the floor, only the penetrating questions of anointed cubs. But this is only to ensure quality, the organizers said. And if those nine questions were the best that the leading youthful minds of today could muster, it would be a sad indictment – and a dire warning – for our state of affairs.
But it was an orchestra no doubt, the lion playing to the gallery, revelling in his triumph over his subjects and history.
How do you want your legacy, O Father, how do you want to be remembered? asked a young cub, with unabashed awe. Lee demurred coyly, saying that he does not think about it. History will judge, Lee said, in 20 and 30 years, history and its army of researchers and students. History, and National Education, and school curriculums and a nation-building press compliantly singing hosannas, and the two-tome autobiography that appropriates a national story. Lee does not think about his legacy – he does not have to – because the Lee Kuan Yew’s Story is the Singapore Story. History is truly his.
He reminded his cubs that Mao was revered for liberating China, but in building China, he almost destroyed it. But how about Lee, will there be such a revisionist tendency? He did afterall craft modern Singapore – the steward of material progress, the guardian of economic security. In our fawning enthusiasm, the country suffers a collective amnesia: Lee was only one of the many founding fathers that Singapore had, Singapore was only possible with the illustrious company that Lee fortuitously found himself in: the citizenry, all seeking to carve their collective legacy. Singapore today rests on the tenacity and initiative of millions, not the providence of one.
But to his credit, Lee is truly special: he is that one founding father that overstayed his welcome.
From her ambassadorial seat in the United States, Chan Heng Chee must be smiling ruefully. In 1975, she warned of the “steady and systematic depolitization” of the population with such compelling prescience. Administrative concerns always rising to the fore, politics only manifesting as the awkward negotiations of power in the bureaucratic hallways of technocracy. And Lee’s enduring vision of this technocratic utopia is a step closer to being realized: absent in the intellectual discourse of yesterday was the normative heart of politics. It was as though Singapore merely existed as an economic entity, or to borrow the eloquence of University of Michigan economics professor Linda Lim: Singapore is only a place, not a nation.
The Kyoto Protocol, economic niches, the financial crisis and the global hierarchy, the minimum wage: technical concerns that skirt politics and lionize Lee’s technocratic bent. Even the questions of national identity and psyche were reduced to materialist terms: the measure of Singapore has been, and would always be, economic. What do you make of a man who imposes a cold materialist vision upon a nation? What do you make of succeeding generations perpetuating that vision? Politics become the dirty by-word for chaos; democracy, the anathema to our sterile efficiency; voices and thoughts, ceded and disempowered.
Which is why the loudest applause from the audience last night came when Lee asked a Chinese national on scholarship whether she would remain in Singapore after her studies. The applause was the expression of resentment, of jealously, of worry against the influx of foreign immigrants; discontent hitherto misplaced and lacking ground for articulation in light of the compelling establishment rhetoric, that it is an indispensable and necessary economic evil. Only in a political vacuum could such an economically reductionist argument be made, and it was that political vacuum that compelled 500 pairs of hands to clap enthusiastically – the applause was an inchoate political argument that a nation is more than the sum of its GDP, and that the integration of immigrants should have come prior, not as an afterthought. The political argument that can never be assembled within the confines of a technocracy: our depoliticized society becomes our own oppression.
Could we fault the forum for selecting questions heavily imbued with such technocratic inclinations? Hardly. The organizers revealed that the most frequent questions in their collation pertained to employment prospects; the questions that were aired, for better or worse, reflected the consensus. There is no reason to doubt the veracity of this: the depoliticization of the forum was not contrived, but was only the expression of mindset already long embedded.
The power of efficiency, so sterile, so clinical, so enticing, has arguably been the bedrock of our economic transformation. It will also be the impediment to our national identity – a nation does not grow with GDP, a nation does not live in skyscrapers: a nation is only born when it has a soul. As long as we remain predicated and fixated upon material and technocratic concerns, Peter Schoppert will affirm that “Singapore is about routes, not roots”. Our national soul however requires roots.
We are all Lee’s children, and as far as we remain so, we will be cursed to settle for the pale imitations of a nation, one never true, never substantive, never moving. We are all Lee’s children, and this knowledge must have been of great comfort to the Father as he laid last night to repose, for every cry “For Singapore!” is one “For Lee Kuan Yew!” – the nation of Lee will prevail, that mechanical, technocratic and bureaucratic edifice, it lives on in the meek and soulless monotony of the young.
——
Views and opinions from others who attended the forum:
“Frankly, I didn’t learn anything much, as the questions felt ‘standard’ – asking about how the financial crisis affected global balance of power, how negotiations in Copenhagen could proceed, and general threats of national identity arising from immigration and so on… He did mention several worries about demographics and the work ethic, but more importantly, the forum informed me about his frame of mind.”
“My disappointment stems primarily from how the Forum appeared to be stage-managed (and, based on my interaction during the post-event reception with those of my friends who also attended the event, I am not the only one with such a sentiment).”
- Blogger, Searching For Enlightenment
98) preston loon on October 22nd, 2009 11.28 am
Just because I have an opinion which based on facts about how Singaporeans are doing better than many countries,wow
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Mr Preston, just like our elites, your views of Singapore a rather skewed. Your see things from your own perspectives. District 10 houses, fat salaries, expensive cooking classes in France and chauffeured luxury cars.
You must have been away for a long time not to notice the sufferings of your fellow countrymen in the lower income brackets. Because of the deliberate action of the PAPies to keep wages here low, many Singaporeans are now struggling to put food on the table for their children. Many others have lost their jobs to cheap foreign imports and are not receiving any salaries.
How would you know this or do you even care? You probably have a nice cushy job in the government and spent all your time thinking about how to spend your fortune.
The Singapore electorate is no longer ignorant. Thanks to new media and sites like TR, we are fully aware of what the PAPies are doing. MM Lee may win accolades from foreign businesses but let him see how popular he is here by contesting in a single seat ward in the next GE.
When the masses are suffering and living miserable lives, I suggest you keep your PAP propaganda to yourself.
Thank you.
To 89) preston loon on October 22nd, 2009 8.42 am
Well…
Singapore did throw a lot of its citizens hard earn money to help save the 1st world economic model during the financial meltdown…even ho ching dun have the final say to throw so much money away without LKY nodding away in agreement especially to get on the good side of some 1st world politicians…
dun forget either, that singapore political masters goes where the wind is the strongest…1st with the 1st world like america, england etc….then to the almost 1st/2nd world china and india…but after getting shafted repeatedly by china….back to the 1st world again to be buddy…then try china again, got shafted again…so back to taiwan…
speaks volumes of the these politicians integrity, honor and loyalty…
singapore was nothing…if the 1st world did not help singapore in the 1st place 40+ year ago…there will never be singapore as it is now…and where was china then 40+ years ago…exporting communism and getting proxies to fight in wars….did china help singapore 40+ years ago…no…did it help malaysia no….so far i don’t see malaysian and indonesian politicians sucking up to china like mad…at least these politicians know their citizens comes first….singapore…you can forget it….citizens comes last in the minds of sadly a lot of the current singaporean politicians in the current incumbent gov’t now…
so that is your answer.
Haiz.
[i]Try spending some months living in city ghettos like New York city,
chicago(hometown of Prez Obama},New Orleans,or any other black communities
in USA the great.I can rest assured that you come back to Singapore with a
better perspective about our government.[/i]
yeah right..onLEE you lived in the ghetto..by any chance was you ever robbed @ all?
i was a permanant resident of great britain lived in london real life ghetto in W6 for nearly a decade..was snatched my gold chain thin type bought from singapoor in a government similar housin hit and run… was housebroken in the same block by colored people who kicked 1/2 your socalled council flat..got your household appliances stolen and carted off with that 1/2 door they kicked open
i paid 33% weekLEE tax never claimed a single social welfare seekout @ all
i came home simply because i was BORED….
so please lark..don’t booast how you SUFFERRED…
by the way whatever happenned in london…i enjoyed my stay..i have many good friends there..black white brown yellow includin east europeans…
## 89) preston loon on October 22nd, 2009 8.42 am
“Can those anti-MM.LEE name me another politician that could build up a country
from a 4th world to a first world in one generation”
===========
Sorry to disappoint you..
..but MM Lee was not the Man who walked on water.
Can you recognise these names :
Goh Keng Swee
Toh Chin Chye
S Rajaratnam
Ong Pang Boon
Lim Kim San
Yong Nyuk Lin
Hon Sui Sen
E W Barker
Othman Wok
MM Lee may claim all the credit … but without the abovenamed gentlemen, there is no modern day Singapore.
The abovenamed Old Guard PAP leaders have all retired gracefully from the Singapore political scene and are still fondly remembered and respected by Singaporeans who know of their contributions to the nation.
Unlike them, MM Lee has overstretched his unsefulness and has become destructive in recent years.
Most Singaporeans have lost their respect and admiration of the MM and this is the reason why you see so many negative posts about him in this and other online forums.
We still admire and respect the Old Guard PAP… but we have little or no respect for the present day New PAP.
If you are a true-blue Singaporean, you will understand the reasons why.
//They have their independence from the colonial masters long before us and yet their people are still living in abject poverty under corrupt politicians. If PAP is so corrupt which some of you are pointing the finger at LEE,how come we are the one of best in everything which a 1st world could offer.//
Please enlighten me by defining the term “1st world”:
First World Countries in terms of their Gross National Income, based on purchasing-power-parity (PPP) per capita in int’l Dollars?
First World Countries in Terms of their Human Development, in three basic dimensions of human development – A long and healthy life as measured by life expectancy at birth; Knowledge as measured by the adult literacy rate (with two-thirds weight) and the combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio (with one-third weight); A decent standard of living as measured by GDP per capita* (PPP US$)?
First World Countries in Terms of Press Freedom, according to their respect for press freedom.?
Secondly to get a feel of our very own poverty, take a tour of our PA holders’ homes, and our destitutes or more appropriately beggars at Buangkok Green.
Next, corruption – inducement (as of a public official) by “improper” or in our case “legitimate” means to violate duty. For example, how does one feel when CPF is managed by an trustee which does not publish annual reports, has the rights to amend its terms arbitrarily, and deny beneficiaries full access to their pension monies?
Oh, by the way, I used to admire Lee before I turned 30, worked in social service, and read foreign press. I’d to suggest reading Animal Farm, a dystopian novella by George Orwell.
That Malaysian writer, Do you know majorities of singaporeans are out of job (try visit our heartlander or library), we have make huge sacrification to serve Army with damn super cheap allowances (my times S$135 – S$300++)with no insurance coverage as we have to used that tiny allowances (S$600K was claimed to be a penut, then our allowances are just like microdusts) to cover our own life. How many youth during NS has had sacrified their life during National Service (2 1/2 years + 13 years reservists) but was not publisted in News. Besides, education was given out free to foreigners with no string attached but majorites of singaporeans find themselve can’t afford to further upgrade their U. Therefore, U got to be gracious and lucky that U got an opportunity to work here and do understand our frustration. Irregardless neighbouring corruption, but can anyone imaging our leaders are getting world highest salary but there are people here getting less than S$100 salary doing off job….so are u call that equal…
Sounds interesting…
Can someone kindly email me what MM said to teckguan76@yahoo.com
Thanks~
(Don’t point me to what blog site, ain’t got acess to those sites in this censored regime.)
LKY does not talk WITH students, because there is no match to his AUTHOURITY.
He brushes off anyone when he disagrees with, once he told the house, to choose trusting a 20 years MP ( a good retired PAP MP Dr. Tan Cheng Bock ) or a PM who was in power for 31 years ( 1959 to 1990 ).
So, every dialog between he the majesty with students, is like a Lion ( more like a cunning wolf ) with the curious lambs, he aimed to brain wash as much as he can ( his time is decreasing for sure ) and he would punch anyone who dared to raise critical questions.
Again and again, he will do this before any GE to sway the young voters, somehow, he makes it work for his motives … hope this time round, his voodoo majic will diminishes.
LKY does not talk WITH students, because there is no match to his AUTHOURITY.
He brushes off anyone when he disagrees with, once he told the house, to choose trusting a 20 years MP ( a good retired PAP MP Dr. Tan Cheng Bock ) or a PM who was in power for 31 years ( 1959 to 1990 ).
So, every dialog between he the majesty with students, is like a Lion ( more like a cunning wolf ) with the curious lambs, he aimed to brain wash as much as he can ( his time is decreasing for sure ) and he would punch anyone who dared to raise critical questions.
Again and again, he will do this before any GE to sway the young voters, somehow, he makes it work for his motives … hope this time round, his voodoo magic will diminishes.
they are earning millions of dollars year after year from who?from us singaporeans who work this country up. without us they are simply nothing and what can they earn? maybe merely just a couple of hundred a month maybe. they are just riding on our back all this years and what we get is just a goodies bags before each election. we get wash brains before each elections. we get threaten that our future will be destroy and suffer if we make change. this is just crap! pure crap!
just make the change and see who will suffer the most and who’s future will be destroy. all the ministers and the rest will lost millions unlike us just a small fly. so who fear the biggest lost? not we singaporeans but they will. PAP and LKY and his relative and inlaws will feel the greatest pain and lost but for us singaporeans we can make the change to lift up our head.
vote them out or fellow singaporeans and their generation to come will suffer more pain and suffer.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!
Reply to #105-cheaper better faster
#103-sturmtruppen
Those old guards you have mentioned in your post had made a choice to
worked along side and under the helm of then PM LEE.The knew that if their politics
went well and succeeded in making Singapore a success story,ultimately Mr.LKY
would be the Indian Giver and got all the glory as he was the PM.But do remember,
there is a saying:the Buck stops here at the PM office and he is the one who also takes
the blame if some of his cohorts had made a major boo-boo.I knew who they were
and most of them were not born in Singapore.
#103-sturmtruppen.The financial meltdown was caused be the anglo-
sphere,unfortunately Singapore caught in it and the rest of Asia too.Losing one’s pension is a ripple effect of it and is worldwide.So do not just blame the Singapore Government.Did you not hear about former workers of Nortel and the
three big Auto makers are fearing for their company pensions being loss totally
or reduced.What to do,when our government was asked to prop up US and British financial sector.In fact,we have more to lose than gain if we say no to help them.They have difficult decisions to make.
MM Lee started as anti communist, prosecuting & prostituting them to take power.
50 yrs later, singapore looked more communist than china.
What a loser, always thinking of past glories.
Quote: And what are the opposition parties’ ideas should Singapore actually collectively elect them to power? Because with the quiet opposition, PAP is the lesser of two evils.
Because I’m too used to one brand of a particular product. I fear the possibility of getting undesirable results from trying another brand. So in the end, we have “customer royalty” which may or may not bring out the best in ourselves. Sometimes, it just take a big K.O. before everyone awakens. Take the case of Madoff, Allen Stanford, Sunshine Empire, etc.
To side track a bit. Some recent developments in our local scene have sent some chills through my spine. Calling for CPF top-ups, CPF Life, Temasek bond issue. Anybody who invest in public listed shares would share my concerns.
Anyone remember Jaime Han? That boy gave it straight to old man’s face, plain and simple. And how the old man squirmed and huffed in great discomfort. It was a great sight.
All of us think our ministers and government is corrupt free. Time will tell when the lee dynasty is no more. Look what indonesians and filipinos founf out after marcos and suharto left and were forced out of the government.
So lets not speak too soon about our corrupt free government and ministers. No one dares open the books on them , yet!
One wonders hor rich MM is or for that matter how much the lee dynasty is worth. It would be interesting to know. Guess we all have to wait for awhile. Is it coincidence that the estate duty death tax was removed or we would know how much the lee ‘s estate is worth. Just thinking out loud about all of this.
The Estate Duties was removed because when a person dies, if he has more than 1 million dollars left in his estate, his offspring or relative has to declare the total worth of his estate, and pay the estate duties.
By removing this Estate Duties, nobody will now know how much the Old Man or his Old Woman is worth. Their wealth, and how they were invested or spent, will forever be hidden secrets to all and sundry, except his own children. Period.
That was a very clever and cunning move.
In addition, the same applies to all the Millionaire Ministers. How much they are worth, not just in terms of salaries and bonuses but also other side incomes that, will be forever hidden from public knowledge.
I see this as another form of legalised corruption – amending the laws to suit own purpose – to hide own secrets from the public and the civil servants. This is similar to amending the laws to make ministers become millionaires in double quick time by paying them indecent salaries higher than the worlds’ top leaders’.
If one day a new government is to run our country, this Estate Duties amendment must be revoked and back-dated to the day it was amended by the present incumbent.
All assets of the present ruling elites and their minions must be frozen and investigated upon, so as to ascertain how much estate duties they have ‘evaded’. But most importantly how much they were worth and how their wealth were accumulated, channeled and spent.
Let us hope that day will come. Justice shall be done for the commoners who have been cleverly disregarded through ‘legalised’ ways at whims and fancies by the ruling elites.
That day must come, the sooner the better. May God have mercy upon us. May justice be done in Singapore as it is in Heaven!
Life under Lee…
one possible reason some Singaporeans torture cats to let off steam…
We are in a manner of speaking, in the era of Mao in the twilight years of his decline.Most Asian societies are saddled by this ‘strongman refusing to go’ syndrome.
But, to me, the biggest disappointment has got to do with Tommy Koh. He appeared to have sold his soul to the devil. Either that, or LKY has got his balls, to quote Richard Nixon, agood friend of LKY.
Guys, great insights and certainly reflect courage and thought leadership . Very pleased our new generation are a thinking bunch .
Remember the only one thing Papa is afraid of is that 1` vote in your hands .