The Passing of Lee Kuan Yew and Reflections of a Malaysian
<Written in March 2015 but remains poignantly relevant today>
The founding father of Singapore Mr. Lee Kuan Yew died this week.
Throughout Sunday I could not help but get drawn to the television time and time again when almost every station in Hong Kong showed snippets of his life and the extraordinary eulogies delivered by his sons, his colleagues and ordinary citizens. Throughout the week we watched as Singaporeans showed the world what they are made of as they queued in the hot sun for more than 8 hours just to have a few precious seconds to pay their respects to their founding father. They helped each other by giving priority to the elderly and handicapped and gave out food and drinks to each other. Singapore showed the world what a civilized society is all about. This was no hero worship a la North Korea and its neighbor. This was as genuine as it gets especially for the generation who grew up and watched the country progress after its separation from Malaysia.
I admit I got emotional watching all of this. How can one not be affected when a great leader such as him leaves the world? Though I am compassionate to my Singaporean friends this was not the primary reason for me to get all welled up. No disrespect to you guys but the primary reason of my sadness as a Malaysian is because of the inevitable correlation and comparison with our own country. We were once a single country. However it belies belief how far Singapore has progressed and how far we have gone the opposite direction since the two countries stopped becoming one. Moreover Malaysia had all the natural resources one can name whereas Singapore had none. In the multiple speeches given about Mr. Lee I could not help but contrast everything they said with everything we could have and should have done in Malaysia. Allow me to illustrate.
My former colleague and friend Masagos Zulkifli who is now a cabinet minister spoke about Mr. Lee’s achievements as a Singaporean Malay. He talked about Mr. Lee’s dream of a “Malaysian Malaysia” which he carried forward in Singapore. The emphasis in Singapore was a multi-cultural, multi-racial country for all. The choice of English as the national language met with opposition from Chinese educators who called him a “traitor”. Nevertheless English took its place as the neutral language for all races and it served not only as a unifying force but also made Singaporeans who spoke the language fluently competitive in the world market. Across the causeway the special rights for the Malays brought only wealth for the inner circle, the cronies and nothing for the downtrodden and the needy. This does not even include the downtrodden and needy from other races. The flip-flopping of the medium of instruction for science and math education has made Malaysia’s education system one of the worst. Despite our advantage as a former British colony the standard of English has deteriorated over the years so much so that a 2011 study by the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) found that 60% of firms surveyed said an applicant’s low command of English was the main reason the applicant failed the interview.
Mr. Lee’s son the Prime Minister and his colleagues spoke about his frugality. Many mentioned his worn out furniture in his office. His colleague Sidek Sariff mentioned that he was told by Mr. Lee to borrow a pair of winter boots from Goh Chok Tong rather than buy a new pair when he was representing the Singapore government on a trip to Beijing. Up in Kuala Lumpur the citizens of Malaysia watched in the worst of economic times the Prime Minister of Malaysia buying a new private jet with a multi-million upholstery while his wife laments about paying her hairdresser the amount equivalent to most families’ monthly wages.
Even Mr. Lee’s opponents acknowledged that with his talents he would definitely have a better quality of life as a barrister or a businessman. Instead he chose to devote his life for Singapore and had foresaken material wealth for the integrity of the institution that is the government. Corruption is almost non-existent and it starts from the top and goes all the way down. In Malaysia bribing the policemen to get out of traffic tickets and paying middle man for government contracts is almost a way of life.
Many speakers spoke about meritocracy being the foundation of Singapore. Critics point to his son being Prime Minister and his daughter-in-law being the CEO of the Government sovereign fund but it would be difficult for the same critics to prove that these two are not qualified for their job. In Putrajaya we have nothing more than a group of sycophants and religious extremist who will stop at nothing to advance their own agendas. Former PM Dr. Mahathir, once called the Father of Development for Malaysia but we now know better, is dead set on making his son the next PM for his legacy. He is doing this using populist politics and cronyism. The consequences are deadly as he fans racial tensions in Malaysia. The present PM of Malaysia is the son of a former one and a nephew of another. His cousin is in line to be the next one if we the citizens do not put a stop to it.
Mr. Lee’s grandson spoke about his grandfather’s adversion to monuments. He remembered his grandfather talking about the sonnet Ozymandias to point out the inevitable decline of all leaders and of the empires they build with their pretensions to greatness. Lee Hsien Loong in his eulogy said, “To those who seek Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s monument, Singaporeans can reply proudly: “look around you”. “ In Malaysia we have a whole development zone three times the size of Singapore named after a royalty who was convicted of violent crimes. We also have a former PM who built a national car and a pair of twin towers which were at best a waste of taxpayers’ money and at worst the perfect excuse for cronies to loot the country.
They spoke of Mr. Lee’s steadfast belief in doing the right thing despite going against popular opinions. After separation from Malaysia Mr. Lee could have embarked on pandering only to the Chinese community who were the majority to stay in power. That would have been the “easiest thing to do”. During the years after the separation the powerful people in Singapore were those in the Chinese educational institutions. Fortunately he almost never chose the easiest path but the correct one. In this respect the leaders of UMNO in Malaysia chose the easiest thing to promote the country for the Malay majority and to be more Islamic than their opposition. The consequence is the rise of bigots and rampant racism. This is probably the main reason that over 1 million Malaysians have become citizens of other countries with Singapore being the biggest beneficiary.
They spoke of Mr. Lee’s unrelenting quest for economic development, education, healthcare and housing for all. These are fundamental objectives to provide jobs, shelter and food for the citizens. The public housing estates in Singapore is one of his shining monuments. Meanwhile in the Malaysian state of Kelantan the pursuit is for a flawed religious law with no regard for the more important issues at hand: Poverty, spread of HIV, floods and environmental destruction. Need I go on?
Last but not least Mr. Lee was a family man who loved his wife dearly. He set an example for the rest of his country what a strong family unit can do to one’s resolve. In the process he has left his legacy in the children and grandchildren who are well educated for all to follow.
All in all Mr. Lee has made Singapore into almost everything we are not. So you see where my sadness comes from?
