Mentor of Singapore

I was in Singapore for almost all of last week, invited by the Singaporean government to attend their National Day celebration, which coincidentally came with the changing of the guard from Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong to (Ret.) Brig. Gen. Lee Hsien Loong, son of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Political analysts said that Loong’s installation heralds continuity in Singapore’s economic and fiscal policies. In addition, Loong’s appointing a fellow military man — Brig. Gen. George Yong-Boon Yeo - as Foreign Affairs Minister signals the city-state’s increasing security concerns. To the puzzlement of most Singaporeans, his son appointed Lee Kuan Yew to the newly-created position of Minister Mentor. Groomed all his life for leadership, Loong was enrolled in a fast track career in the military and in the Cabinet. With foresight, Lee Kuan Yew made sure that Loong learned the ropes and earned the right to be PM in order for his vision to be sustained. That is why up till this day, Lee Kuan Yew’s strong influence is unchallenged. After all, he planned, influenced, and directed his country’s progress from a shaky independence to the economic marvel of Southeast Asia. Many moons ago in 1973, I had the opportunity to interview Lee Kuan Yew as a news reporter for Channel 9. Then at his prime, I was absolutely impressed with his strong presence. His grandfather took so much pride in his birth that the old man declared that the child should be educated to become the equal of any Englishman: the model of perfection. He was aptly named Kuan Yew: "the light that shines far and wide."

Lee Kuan Yew — by now a complex combination of Chinese instincts and English training - returned in 1950 to practice law. His work got him into contact with labor unions and student groups. Fearlessly, he jumped into the world of communists, labor organizers, gangsters, and intelligence operatives. In 1954, he helped form the People’s Action Party (PAP), which targeted the poor and non-English speaking masses as its base. Ending colonialism was the first priority of Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP leadership. The future mentor of Singapore found his true vocation in politics. Despite internecine factional politics and an uneasy alliance between his PAP moderates and the pro-communists, Lee Kuan Yew eventually emerged as Prime Minister in 1959. Like Caesar, he knocked all opposition out of the ring before setting out to build one of Asia’s economic marvels.

The road certainly wasn’t smooth but Lee Kuan Yew was able to set the Lion City off the right way from the start. In Time Magazine’s "The Most Influential Asians of the Century" 1999 special, Terry McCarthy wrote "What really set this complex man apart from Asia’s other nation builders is what he didn’t do: he did not become corrupt, and he did not stay in power too long. Mao, Suharto, Marcos, and Ne Win left their countries on the verge of ruin with no obvious successor." I have always believed that for anyone - whether you are a president, a politician, a CEO or a top newscaster — there will always come a time when you must bow out from the scene when you are at your peak because it is then that you will be best remembered. Such was the case with Lee Kuan Yew, Mahathir, Sony’s Akio Morita and Walter Cronkite.

In 1959, Lee Kuan Yew’s first task was to instill a sense of unity and loyalty in Singapore’s diverse ethnic populace, which was comprised of the Chinese (76.5 percent), the Malays (13.8 percent), the Indians (8.1 percent), and other races (1.6 percent). His second task was to transform Singapore from an entrepot economy to an industrialized society. In 1965 however, his government had to deal with Singapore’s two-decade old reputation for labor disputes and strikes. When the British announced its withdrawal from its Singapore bases in January of 1968, the government called an election for April to gain a new mandate for facing the crisis. By August, new labor laws that were tough on workers and employers alike were passed to increase productivity. He then converted former military facilities set up the Jurong Town Corporation to develop Jurong and other industrial estates in the early 70s. Attracted by the labor situation, infrastructure, and incentives, firms from Western Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Australia, and the US invested in 1972.

Singapore became the phenomenon that it is today because of the discipline and the sacrifices endured by its people in the 60s and 70s under Lee Kuan Yew. It is a prime example of what a Southeast Asian country can do if it starts off the right way. In fact, we can learn a lot from them in just sanitation and population management alone. One of the most disgusting Filipino habits we have up to this day is the spitting everywhere. It is bad enough that we have to breathe carbon monoxide from factories and buses, now even the spit that evaporates into the atmosphere we inhale. Lee Kuan Yew made spitting, gum-chewing, and other uncivic activities illegal making Singapore one of Asia’s cleanest and greenest environment with its air quality well above the World Health’s standards for healthy living.

Singapore may just be a tiny spot on the map, but it’s size certainly worked to its advantage. It is more manageable, and had a low population growth rate of 1.26 percent in 2002. Total population in 2002, which included foreigners residing for one year, was estimated at 4.16-M. It was able to manage its population through clear tax incentives and a strong information campaign. Now they are reversing their falling birth rates by encouraging families to have more children. In typical Singaporean fashion, they are putting up daycare centers to encourage more children. Their sensible population management program is what the Philippines needs today. There is absolutely a direct correlation between population and poverty compounded by pollution. That of course is another subject that we can lengthily discuss in another article.

With everyone owning a home, jobs for all, and a stabilized population, Singapore runs like a Swiss watch. What most people aren’t aware of is that Lee Kuan Yew chose Switzerland as his development template. The Sustainability Institute reported that "Singapore Airlines aims to outdo Swissair. Singapore likes to list its statistics alongside Switzerland. His chief economic goal is to reach the per capita GNP of Switzerland, which will happen in one more economic doubling — about 10 years, if past growth rates continue. The downside, however, of having too much discipline and prosperity is that their youth are very restive. The main ambition of the 20-30 year olds is to live in a more liberal atmosphere abroad. Because they are so used to their Big Brother government planning and controlling their lives, the youth cannot seem to take the initiative without the approval of authority. They have lost the capacity to think for themselves and, more important, to take risks. In short, they’re in danger of losing that enterprising edge. To address this, the government has put up an entrepreneurs’ school to set the stage for tomorrow’s profits. Well, I guess you can’t have everything.

Just the same, we can perhaps get Lee Kuan Yew to be our "Consultant-Mentor" to help us get on track. But FVR will most likely not like the idea because after all it was during his time that Lee Kuan Yew lectured us that what we need in the Philippines is "less democracy and more of discipline". Many of us are beginning to believe that the Mentor of Singapore was right.

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