« Tak Boleh Tahan Press Statement by Chia Ti Lik | HomePage | There is a conspiracy to do us in, says MM Lee »
12/07/2008
There is a conspiracy to do us in, says MM Lee
Listen to this article
[A few weeks ago the argument in court was slightly different ... “Your honour, the International Bar Association decided to honour Singapore and hold its annual conference in this city and you [Dr Chee] were given an opportunity to present your case, with your complaint that Singapore lack the rule of law. There were some 3000 lawyers there.
I think they left Singapore with a very different impression from what you have projected because we have a letter from the President of the International Bar Association to the organisers, namely the Law Society of Singapore, how successful the meeting was and how impressed they were by the standards they found to obtain in the judiciary - "…” Minister Mentor.]
Someone doesn't respond well to 'constructive' criticism... As for whether or not 'Can the Chinese and Russians do it? DO WHAT EXACTLY? Run authoritarian and oppressive regimes? We already know the answer to that question.
Can you?
Minister Mentor rebuts human rights groups' criticism of Singapore
By Sue-ann Chia
MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew last night dismissed human rights organisations' criticisms of Singapore's style of governance, saying that they were trying to 'do us in'.
In a robust rebuttal of these groups' assertions that Singapore is not a liberal democracy, he said that they had never run a country and did not know what was needed to make Singapore tick.
'There is a conspiracy to do us in. Why?... They see us as a threat,' said Mr Lee at an hour-long dialogue during the Economic Society of Singapore's annual dinner.
Explaining why these groups regarded Singapore as a threat, he said it was because they saw that the Russians and Chinese have been coming and studying Singapore's success story and picking up pointers.
The leaders of these countries ask 'how does this little country with so little talent keep its ruling party in place and run a tight ship, honest, and effective, and make progress?'
'Can they (the Russians and Chinese) do it? I don't know. But they are picking up points here and there.'
INTEGRITY, HONOUR
'That integrity and the sense of honour and anti-corruption has remained a characteristic of the PAP till today...
... more
Mr Lee was responding to a question on whether Singapore needed a Western-style liberal democracy to succeed.
He said groups which advocate the need for liberal democracies were prescribing universal rules for the whole world.
But he threw down this gauntlet:
'My question is to them, have you ever run Singapore? Do you know how we got here? What were we? What we are now? And how we can become better?
'We are not stupid people. They give us all these advice... Who are they? Have they ever run a country, created jobs for community and given them a life? We have and we know what it requires.
'Nobody (who) advocates this has any idea what they will do to a society if you implement these rules.'
Mr Lee believes each country will have to decide which political system suits it best.
'Different people have different cultures and forge different consensus and seek different solutions to their problems,' he said.
But he was also quick to acknowledge that the People's Action Party (PAP) will not always have the answers:
'I'm not saying the PAP government will always be supreme, will always be honest, will always be A-plus.
'The day it is no longer honest, it should be out. And another party should come in, with equally honest people.'
Turning to the opposition, Mr Lee said:
'We are not trying to block them. We are trying to force them to collect a group of people equal in competence...When we fail, they have a team that can take over.
'But unfortunately, they can't do it. Because the people with ability, drive, ambition and energy don't want to come into politics. If they wanted to, they will join us (the PAP).'
For Singapore to continue to succeed, it needs to find the next generation of top notch leaders.
Mr Lee said the present generation of leaders could last at least two terms.
But if they did not find talented people with the drive and energy and integrity to match the demands of the job during this time, 'then I say, the future is in doubt'.
'The system is there, but it cannot run with mediocre men. You need top men.'
The PAP has managed to recruit good people and its leaders had, in turn, won the trust of Singaporeans through their integrity and honesty - values which the PAP still holds true today.
He said the task of finding new leaders is no longer his:
'I've done my job. I've passed it on to the next generation. Chok Tong has passed to the next generation.
'If you have a competent team on board, honest and dedicated, it will last. If you have bums, then even with best of institutions, it will fail.'
sueann@sph.com.sg
09:30 Posted by soci | Permalink | Comments (6) | Trackbacks (0) | Email this | Tags: Lee Kuan Yew, IBA, Criticism
Trackbacks
The URL to Trackback this post is: http://singabloodypore.rsfblog.org/trackback/1591974
Comments
>'My question is to them, have you ever run Singapore? .... They give us all these advice... Who are they? Have they ever run a country, created jobs for community and given them a life?
since I have not done any of these, I guess I am not qualified to provide advice
however, people who are "sombody", e.g., Ivy League professors and bosses of multinationals, are at least able to receive a polite hearing, even though they also might not have done those things; william safire, once Nixon's speech writer and later NYTimes columnist, got the chance to have a polite dialog with LKY despite his previous tough criticisms of LKY and LHL
Posted by: yuen | 12/07/2008
It's hilarious, oops I mean, it's a pity to see an addled brain rambling along through such inane question-begging and senile conspiracy theories...
The plot? He's lost it. Embarrasing.
Someone should shuffle him off to an attic Sentosa and lock the gate to the tower.
Posted by: E@L | 14/07/2008
"an attic IN Sentosa", do'h! Am losing it myself!
Posted by: E@L | 14/07/2008
I am going to make a BIG RANT about this.
Thanks for throwing out Singapore's thinly hanging facade of democracy! Of course we are not a liberal democracy. We are just a perfect running commun... no I mean capitalistic state. Woah... SHITAPORE is really a THREAT to the global society. I mean we totally teach countries like China and Russia! Oh yeah and China and Russia in the cold war aren't no DEMOCRACY LOVERS! As tiny little island, we inspire them to improve, and soon they will gain POWER and take over the world. Woah, human rights organisation should fear us. We will give some pointers to preserve death penalty, deny trial, etc. We are practically amazing little PUBLIC RELATIONS EDUCATION country.
Our government is honorable, honest and earn millions so they are not corrupted. Please praise that you give your government millions in tax so they don't have to cheat the millions out of you! Woah what makes Singapore what it is today, definitely shutting up our people works, you have gotta apply to protest if you dare. You better get ready to pack and leave on the next flight, seeking asylum. Singaporeans don't seek different solutions to their problems, they just have to wait for the DECREE OF SOLUTION which is the best policy in the world. Including taxi stopping in town area, ohh that wasn't a boo boo.
We don't deny our opposition, we just show how wonderful it is to join PAP as because you won't get your ass kicked out of singapore and end up bankrupt. We seek for the same type of people, self indulgent with their ' I-love -singapore-see-I-am-doing-my-best- for-you' act to show the media. THE OPPOSITION are crazy, koo-koo and dumb, because they fail to see the brillance of our party, so vote for them at your own risk.
Somebody has DONE his job. But still yammers, and all his whims are done immediately. WOot, F1 totally will work out! Remember vote for TOP PEOPLE!
Top people are generated from the tras..h.. wonderful crop of rich people who by coincidence are all connected around the top because of the small island. TOP PEOPLE ARE their people, since young, feed by the state with scholarships they don't need, and brainwash since young to believe. " I want to work with our GOVERNMENT and we make the best policies in the world! Ohh yeah middle income people struggling with their life woes, they are just plain dumb, my parent is a minister. Yeah!"
REMEMBER, we are have RIGHTS that are righter than other countries because our righter RIGHTS help us to get jobs, progress the country and all that. Good, let's celebrate now for the righter RIGHTS we have than other country. Wait, don't forget my words, sweden is the way to go. Got to make someone clean up the mess of Aging population, the government aren't sponsoring or nothing. Taxes up, we have a long way to go!
Posted by: X | 14/07/2008
I dunno..
It makes me cringe whenever someone calls Singapore "Shittypore", "Stinkapore" or "Sinkapore". I mean I like Singapore, which is why I live here. I don't like the present government, but since when did one equal the other? Calling Singapore names like that does nothing for the modicum of pride some of us have living in the little red dot. Protesting the government's megalomaniacal ways is one thing, but why hammer the land we live in?
Posted by: Hades | 18/07/2008
The senile old fart now wears q tin foil hat? A "conspiracy" theorist?
What a joke! Ahh... the ol' "us-versus-them" political gambit. Unite people by fear, loathing and xenophobia. Not original, but perennially effective against a brain-dead, dumped-down, "true-believer" population.
30 years ago the "enemy" was the communists, and the fundamental Islamics of Malaysia and Indonesia.
Oh well, a good statesperson needs to invent demons, to scare the shit out of gullible people. In that way, the cunning politico makes himself and his gang of thugs "essential" to the security and success of the nation-state.
Every grifter knows that "There's one born every minute".
Posted by: Matilah_Singapura | 18/07/2008