Minister-Mentor (what ever than means) LKY of Singapore recently criticized Malaysia over racial issues, while musing about how a coup might be required in Singapore if the opposition ever won the elections there.
Perhaps Lee Kuan Yew is attempting to divert attention from the $2 billion US dollars his daughter-in-law has squandered of Singapore tax-payer money in Thailand?
Seriously though, his message has been the same for more than 40 years. Some young Chinese Malaysians believe that Malaysia would be a more prosperous place if Lee's ideas had been accepted all those years ago. The older, wiser heads know that you can't run a large sophisticated nation such as Malaysia in the way Lee's family business (Singapore) is run, and his policies doing nothing to alleviate ethnic disparities in wealth - largely but not entirely the result of colonial legacies - would have led to disharmony and possibly bloodshed.
Having said all this, none of this excuses the actions of irresponsible Malay politicians (such as some of those in UMNO youth) who pretend that there is any other realistic future for Malaysia in a China-centric region than a true meritocracy, not like Singapore but a genuinely democratic nation where people are assisted based on need and not on race.
In the meantime, Lee should shut up and concentrate on improving human rights and social justice in his own kingdom (and no, that is not a typo).
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Lee Kuan Yew's comments about Malaysia
at 1:50 pm
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1 comment:
LKY's daughter in law squandered $2 billion? Must be the Shin Corp deal. I dont think anyone can blame her for that since it was done in good faith and nobody could foresee that it would lead too a coup de etat.
In Malaysia, the intention was clear at the onset where mega projects and deals are made to benefit the select few. Ofcourse there will never be a coup on Malaysia.
LKY should not need to divert the attention of his people. He should be man enough to say sorry to his people. In the business world, you win some and you lose some. This is the time to lose and you lose big.
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