RIP Lee Kwan Yew
(image credit: Wikimedia commons)
Lee Kwan Yew, the first Prime Minister of Singapore, and father of our current one passed away at 3.18 am (GMT + 8:00) this morning. Whatever else we may say about him and his politics, it is difficult to deny that he left Singapore a better place than he found it. It was he who secured independence from the British by arranging a merger with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia. It is he, in his refusal to submit to a Malay-Muslim apartheid state and his commitment to racial and religious equality, who triggered the separation from Malaysia 50 years ago. And instead of making the mistake that lots of political giants do, he did not hang on to premiership. He eased himself out, becoming Senior Minister, then Minister Mentor (a somewhat advisory and diplomatic role) and finally withdrawing from Cabinet altogether, content to be MP for his constituency in Tanjong Pagar. In some ways, his passing is not unexpected. After the passing of his late wife Mdm Kwa Geok Choo 4 1/2 years ago, his health visibly deteriorated. In the past month he was admitted to the ICU after getting pneumonia and was at the end probably suffering from multi-organ failure. At least in death he will be with her. His ashes will be interred next to hers (according to her last wishes) at Mandai Crematorium and Columbarium. And if there is an afterlife, we can hope that they are reunited there. Many Singaporeans wished that he could have held on for another 5 months to see Singapore turn 50, but I suppose, in his case, it could not have been helped. I offer my condolences to PM Lee Hsien Loong and his family. Rest in Peace Mr Lee. You were a giant amongst men.
Thanks for this. Singapore is not a place I know much about, but the outpouring of respectful condolences and personal reflection I’m seeing from people I know who are from or have spent time in Singapore has been very affecting.Report
One of the great, terrible milestones of the journey into adulthood is burying one’s father. Now Singapore must shoulder that bleak burden and join the majority of orphaned nations who’s giants have passed into memory. I’m sure there will be statues but the Nation itself is the greatest testament. Rest in peace.Report
He’s not the autocrat that Southeast Asia deserved, but the one it needed. And literally the exception that proves the rule for all things Hayekian.Report
There are only so many Cincinnatis out there.
When one does get power, it’s difficult to *NOT* see him as the standard rather than the exception.Report
Shouldn’t David Marshal have a role as a founder of Singapore? He was the first head of government with democratic legitimacy.
Malaysia isn’t exactly an ideal multicultural state but calling it a Malay-Muslim apartheid state is a bit much in my opinion.Report
Can we call them “dirty flag-stealers” instead? 😉Report
Seems they’re not the only ones.Report
[shakes fist ignorantly and impotently]Report
But Marshall didn’t get us independence from the British. LKY did.Report
Marshall did help the Singaporeans achieve democratic self-rule though, that is a non-trivial achievement.Report
AFAIK Marshall was not involved in drafting the Rendel constitution. In fact, his Merdeka talks ended in failure. It is Lim Yew Hock, who after cracking down on the communists successfully negotiated with the British government for complete internal self government. He promptly lost the first elections which would have resulted in a fully elected parliament to Lee Kwan Yew.Report
So, it doesn’t exactly disenfranchise non-Malays or prevent them from entering the city, but it is an extremely racist system. Not an ideal multicultural state is a severe understatement.Report
My reading of Malaysian history informs me that the British pursued a deliberate policy of keeping Malays as rice-cultivating smallholders for nearly all of the British colonial period. They weren’t really allowed to enter or interact much with the modern but colonial economy. That was left to Chinese and Indian immigrants. This put Malaysians in the position of being a majority but an economically and culturally disadvantaged one at the time of independence and they felt they needed to catch up fast, so they implemented policies to do so.
A lot of the Malay complaints about Chinese immigrants are the same as the Palestinian and Arab complaints about Jewish immigrants before Israel declared independence. That the indigenous population didn’t invite them but that a foreign occupying power, the Ottomans and British for Israel/Palestine and the British of Malaysia did, that the immigrants are dominating the culturally and economic spheres at the expense of the older population, and that the liberal/leftist values of the new comers conflicts with that of the native population. You seem to understand Palestinian complaints about Jewish immigration. It isn’t really that different from Malaysian issues with Chinese and Indian immigration.Report
I’m not that sympathetic to such complaints even from Palestenians. My objection is to the building of new settlements, disproportionate retaliation against Palestinians and the unequal treatment of Palestenians within Israel. In a one state situation, unequal treatment of minority Jews by a majority of Palestenians would be just as unacceptable.Report
RIPReport