Possible Singapores, beyond Lee Kuan Yew
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SINGAPORE: A People’s Action Party (PAP) split by internal schisms. Future leaders bereft of the "huge political legitimacy" that could be gained from endorsement by the man with unmatched moral and historical authority. These are some of the leadership fates that could befall a post—Lee Kuan Yew Singapore, as hotelier Ho Kwon Ping sees it.
And such "imponderable" scenarios could help explain why a "system of elders" is now taking shape in the political landscape.
"Perhaps it is to restrain factionalism, arbitrate disagreements, groom and assess future leaders, that the positions of senior minister and minister mentor have been institutionalised," said Mr Ho, who feels the PAP’s "extraordinary cohesion" over five decades has owed much to "the forceful personality of Lee Kuan Yew".
Mr Ho, who is also MediaCorp chairman, was speaking on Monday alongside Professor Kishore Mahbubani at a seminar organised by Nanyang Technological University’s Asian Journalism Fellowship programme. The topic? "Singapore Beyond Lee Kuan Yew: Institutionalising the Singapore Way".
Of this future, Prof Mahbubani, who Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, would not rule out a "significant reversal" of Mr Lee’s legacy, or the rise of a stronger Opposition usurping the one dominant party system — though he gave each scenario only a "one—sixth probability".
While a "smooth and seamless transition" was a two—thirds likelihood, Prof Mahbubani harked back to the words of former Deputy Prime Minister Goh Keng Swee, after the PAP’s long monopoly of parliament was broken in 1981. "As (Dr Goh) has wisely told us, failure happens when we fail to consider the possibility of failure."
So, for instance in the unlikely event of a strong opposition arising, would Mr Lee’s legacy be weakened? In fact, the "sharper political debates" arising could make Singaporeans more aware of the "precious political legacy they have enjoyed", said Prof Mahbabuni.
On the other hand, as has happened in South Korea and Taiwan, it could also lead to the old legacies being quickly lost and forgotten by the new generation. "I am frequently shocked when I meet younger Singaporeans who have never heard of Dr Goh," he said.
Both speakers were not alone in expressing uncertainty over how Singapore’s future, sans Mr Lee, would play out. During the Q&A session, which was off—the—record, the audience raised concerns such as how the country would be deprived of its most astute and influential critic — and whether Mr Lee’s legacy, or indeed Singapore, could unravel.
While Mr Lee’s retirement would "create a huge political vacuum", Prof Mahbubani believes Singapore has "done a lot" to protect his legacy, such as instilling a deep culture of meritocracy and incorruptibility.
And Mr Ho had no doubts Singaporeans could "muddle their way through", even if the PAP’s leadership renewal "fails to deliver what it has done for the past 50 years".
Mr Lee’s greatest legacy, he said, "is that the Singapore which he so passionately shaped will outlive not only him, but even his own party, should that ever come to pass".
The reason: In his single most critical imperative — nation building — Mr Lee has largely succeeded, said Mr Ho, who has found young Singaporeans to own a strong sense of involvement and ownership in the country, contrary to stereotype.
"Equally contrary to some people’s wishful thinking, there is not likely to be dramatic, broad—brush social or political liberalisation," said Mr Ho. "This is not a pent up society waiting for the demise of the strongman in order to overturn highly unpopular laws."
Rather, the government has the support of the politically—vital heartland in its pragmatic, incremental approach to change, even as it responds to tomorrow’s generation, he said.
Source: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20090420/tap-769-possible-singapores-lee-kuan-yew-231650b.html
Hmm.... Preparing for LKY's departure?
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no.
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Wah, that was fast that u reply...
Beyond LKY... why no leh?
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dying soon?
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Originally posted by seyKai:
dying soon?
he's been having a transplant of his organs for the past years...... so ya, maybe his time is coming to an end. he is aging after all -
Originally posted by theme_and_guess:
he's been having a transplant of his organs for the past years...... so ya, maybe his time is coming to an end. he is aging after all
Organ transplant?What i heard was blood transfusion too.
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Originally posted by theme_and_guess:
he's been having a transplant of his organs for the past years...... so ya, maybe his time is coming to an end. he is aging after allbought from blackmarket?
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without him singapore wouldnt be singapore today
lucky got his son
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Originally posted by Hawk Eye:
Organ transplant?What i heard was blood transfusion too.
ya and that also!! -
Originally posted by seyKai:
bought from blackmarket?
no.... from ramli burger stall -
Originally posted by Hawk Eye:
Organ transplant?What i heard was blood transfusion too.
Suck people blood yes blood transfusion where did you hear that from?
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Originally posted by Short Ninja:
Suck people blood yes blood transfusion where did you hear that from?
http://sgforums.com/forums/10/topics/322920I've heard from somewhere too. Needed time to find out the source.
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Originally posted by Short Ninja:
Suck people blood yes blood transfusion where did you hear that from?
Yes suck people blood.
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Cross between a vampire and bugs bunny.
WTF!!! After looking at the picture, I think I am going to get nightmares tonight.
Does he go "what's up doc?" with each feeding frenzy?
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Mr Ho, who is also MediaCorp chairman, was speaking on Monday alongside Professor Kishore Mahbubani at a seminar
Wow, this Mr Ho is really behaving like a running dog of the dog, sings his praises so much. MediaCorp Chairman.
Too bad, your pro-dog pro PAP regime propaganda is completely, totally and fully worthless to me.
Carry on, carry on, sing praises, repeat PAP propaganda. Be my guest.
The reason: In his single most critical imperative — nation building — Mr Lee has largely succeeded, said Mr Ho, who has found young Singaporeans to own a strong sense of involvement and ownership in the country, contrary to stereotype.
"Equally contrary to some people’s wishful thinking, there is not likely to be dramatic, broad—brush social or political liberalisation," said Mr Ho. "This is not a pent up society waiting for the demise of the strongman in order to overturn highly unpopular laws."
Rather, the government has the support of the politically—vital heartland in its pragmatic, incremental approach to change, even as it responds to tomorrow’s generation, he said.
Might as well say the dog is god lah. What the hell.
Pui.
You think you broadcast state propaganda on TV I then go brainwashed?
You wait long lah Mr Ho Ho.
So you got eat frozen meat or not?
Eat more okay, frozen meat good for you, according to your own propaganda lah.
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Sorry I couldn't help it Mr Ho.
Sorry sorry.
Tolong. Tolong.
Got the itch lah Mr Ho.
Lee Kuan Yew: a ratbag to the end
It seems the Australian government-academic establishment is running out of Asian autocrats to fete. Chancellor Allan Hawke and Vice Chancellor Ian Chubb of the Australian National University (ANU) are the latest to join the Australian movers and shakers who laud distasteful people -- in their case, former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kwan Yew, who now holds an ANU honorary doctorate.
That the ANU could impugn its reputation for excellence in Asian studies and human rights law to further the ambitions of its top two officers is surprising enough. That these men should ram through the award by shelving university processes of review and then praise Lee's "integrity," "commitment to advancing the causes of peace and prosperity" and "international statesmanship [sic]" is downright contemptible. But credit where credit's due: Lee would applaud their methods.
Hawke and Chubb, no doubt, will be unmoved to hear of Lee's most recent slur against a head of state -- hardly proper protocol, one might think, for the recipient of a gong for statesmanship. Nonetheless, on April 4, Lee trotted out an attack on President Chen Shui-bian (陳水�), saying that he was duping Taiwanese into believing that independence from China is possible because war would result and the US would not intervene.
The problem with this salvo was that it wasn't just personal; it was a bouquet to China and a put-down directed at millions of Taiwanese people who believe in democracy and liberty. So a personal attack on Lee for his cardigan despotism and hubris is perfectly in order -- because so much of Singapore and its neuroses are linked to Lee's person.
Lee's record on human rights is poor. He, like other autocrats in the region, demeans his people by labeling liberties of press and academic freedom as Western conceits that are not conducive to "Asian" societies.
This mentality -- culturalist bordering on racist -- set up one of the more enduring intellectual hoaxes of the 1990s, namely that there exist "Asian values" (as opposed to Western or Judeo-Christian values, presumably, though his argument was never coherent). And these values, funnily enough, seem to absolve people such as Lee for oppressive behavior -- as long as an economic return is delivered.
Lee's legacy of authoritarianism lives on. This week saw the banning of a documentary about a long-time political prisoner in Singapore, Said Zahari. Suffice it to say that Singapore's credibility is shaky if it can't face up to events of 30 years ago and cites social order as a pretext for shutting down debate.
And if it wasn't clear before, it should be now: With the latest pay rise that lawmakers have awarded themselves (justification: lavishing millions of dollars on the "most talented" legislators and executive officials beats corruption), the Singaporean state can now be dubbed the world's most lucrative -- and sanitized -- protection racket. Lee, who these days goes under the risible title of "minister mentor," will himself pocket another small fortune. But even by Singaporean standards, this self-aggrandizement is so brazen that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has promised to donate his new riches to charity.
Lee Kwan Yew, his son and their supporters can keep their city-state kleptocracy and their largely pliant people. And long may he be courted by foreign academic powerbrokers and governments dazzled by his connections.
But Lee Kwan Yew is no friend of Taiwan. Until Singapore learns to deal with domestic political opponents other than by intimidating, bankrupting, arresting and torturing them, there is little to learn from Lee's fiefdom or his lectures. Taiwan has seen it all before -- and left it behind.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/archives/2007/04/14/2003356611
Sorri hor Mr Ho.
Your propaganda on TV make more powerful next time lah, maybe I next morning wake up suddenly become pro PAP?
Hard to say you know.
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Ho. Ho.
Everything Ho Ho.
lol.
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I am sure when Mr Ministor Master Lee has gone to St Peter's, we'll all remember him with respect for a time, until the ensuing critiques and literature books come out, unless ofcourse his kindred can sue critics for defamation even in death ;).
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It is pee ay pee that allow ho there so understandable this guy is singing praises for them.
I am a little disappointed with Mr Ho. I admire him but . . . . . .
Rather, the government has the support of the politically—vital heartland in its pragmatic, incremental approach to change, even as it responds to tomorrow’s generation, he said.
Ha ha ha, pragmatic???? ha ha ha ha, pragmatic in their approach to suck money from the people. ha ha ha ha
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democracy is an integral part of the natural world. The natural world operates on free forces, and through In mathematics, chaos theory describes the behavior of certain dynamical systems – that is, systems whose states evolve with time.Chaos theory is applied in many scientific disciplines: mathematics, biology, computer science, economics,engineering, finance,philosophy, physics, politics, population dynamics, psychology, and robotics.
One of the most successful applications of chaos theory has been in ecology, where dynamical systems such as the Ricker model have been used to show how population growth under density dependence can lead to chaotic dynamics.
Chaos theory is also currently being applied to medical studies of epilepsy, specifically to the prediction of seemingly random seizures by observing initial conditions
Turbulence in the tip vortex from an airplane wing. Studies of the critical point beyond which a system creates turbulence was important for Chaos theory, analyzed for example by the Soviet physicist Lev Landau who developed the Landau-Hopf theory of turbulence. David Ruelle and Floris Takens later predicted, against Landau, that fluid turbulence could develop through a strange attractor, a main concept of chaos theory.
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our present ruling party does not believe in democracy. Democracy stands in their way so they loathe it.
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Originally posted by Fantagf:
our present ruling party does not believe in democracy. Democracy stands in their way so they loathe it.
Democratic countries are doing fine.
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Originally posted by Worldlybusinessman:
Democratic countries are doing fine.
I know but our self serving leaders are strongly against democracy and never fail to speak against it.Damn it LEE KUAN YEW AND BLOODY USELESS SON, LEE HSIEN LOONG! Singapore will be a better place without you the bloody Lees. Shitt you!
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Originally posted by Fantagf:
I know but our self serving leaders are strongly against democracy and never fail to speak against it.Damn it LEE KUAN YEW AND BLOODY USELESS SON, LEE HSIEN LOONG! Singapore will be a better place without you the bloody Lees. Shitt you!
But democracy alone will not help. U need international relations to make it work. if u lookedclosely @ the western nations, the democracy found there is a collective thing done throught th EU, UN , amnesty international orgs ect. U need collective support
But singapore is seriously lacking in this international relations thing. They just dont have the bargaining power. Bargaining power needs active involvement in international affairs. Not just in trade and economy but other matters as well..
On international view, we are just as weak as the 3rd world countries.
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Originally posted by Worldlybusinessman:
But democracy alone will not help. U need international relations to make it work. if u lookedclosely @ the western nations, the democracy found there is a collective thing done throught th EU, UN , amnesty international orgs ect. U need collective support
But singapore is seriously lacking in this international relations thing. They just dont have the bargaining power. Bargaining power needs active involvement in international affairs. Not just in trade and economy but other matters as well..
On international view, we are just as weak as the 3rd world countries.
I agree. Any way the ruling party does not give a damn about it. All they care about is money making.
Not sure if you have read the report from UN on democracy in Singapore which was released last year. That was an unfavourable review of Singapore. Thanks to pay and pay.