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Lee Kuan Yew .. R I P

LincsaddickLincsaddick
in Not Sports Related
The political and economic genius who founded the modern city-state of Singapore from a war blighted backwater after the British withdrawal, has died aged 91.

He managed to form an alliance between Malay, Indian and Chinese communities which had been at loggerheads for many years. He understood that the one thing they all had in common was a desire to make lots of money and to secure prosperous futures for the next generations.
He succeeded in making Singapore one of the world's most prosperous, clean and law abiding cities on earth.
In truth, the inherent Chinese capacity for business along with co-operation from the other ethnic groups, made the whole experiment into a working, thriving reality.
To hell with democracy and multi party states, first put the infrastructure in place and in the long term, the politics could take care of itself. This is what happened in Singapore.

Many Middle East and African nations should study his life and work as an example of what unity, brains and sweat can achieve. Come to think about it, we in Europe could learn a lot as well.

R I P

Comments

  • ChizzChizz
    Thanks to him, Singapore is an astonishing place. I spent some time working there a few years ago. One story that sticks in my mind is with regards to insects! I asked my host why malaria wasn't a problem in Singapore, whereas it seems to be a big problem in Malaysia. Her reply was, "the government had all the insects killed". What they actually do is have insecticide injected into the air at ever road junction, from street furniture.

    He might have taken it too far, with laws around chewing gum and flushing the loo. And, while I was there, someone was sentenced to twenty years in jail for throwing litter out of his window. Seemed a bit harsh; then I noticed how much litter there is in the country: almost exactly none.

    RIP
  • HastingsaddickHastingsaddick
    edited March 2015
    RIP...we actually lived round the corner from LKY (2008-2009) when Mrs H worked out in Singapore.
  • LincsaddickLincsaddick
    Just checked his wiki entry .. he was educated at Cambridge University and practised for some time as a barrister in the UK .. also, his son is the present 'prime minister' of Singapore .. the Yew dynasty perhaps ?
  • stonemusestonemuse
    Truly great man ...I spent a number of years working in Singapore and its a fabulous place in so many ways. Always happy when I return there.
  • The_PresidentThe_President
    Cant see that 'laws around chewing gum' is a bad thing myself.
  • killerandflashkillerandflash
    He's a rare example of a 'good dictator' in that Singapore was run as a very strict society, with restrictions we in the UK would find hard to take...but this was done to create a successful country and not to line his own pockets.
  • Brendan_O_ConnellBrendan_O_Connell
    RIP
  • ct_addickct_addick
    I found Singapore to be an Asian city devoid of any 'asian' character. You may as well have been in LA. I was disappointed when I visited even Raffles was undergoing a facelift when I was there. The strict laws of a dictator were not my cup of tea. Give me Bangkok any day !
  • RivieraRiviera
    killerandflash said:

    He's a rare example of a 'good dictator' in that Singapore was run as a very strict society, with restrictions we in the UK would find hard to take...but this was done to create a successful country and not to line his own pockets.

    What were his views on Homosexuality? Yeah really great dictator. The LGBT Movement are still persecuted in Singapore in the 21stC for goodness sake. It's not just chewing gum banned there.
  • HastingsaddickHastingsaddick
    edited March 2015
    killerandflash said:

    He's a rare example of a 'good dictator' in that Singapore was run as a very strict society, with restrictions we in the UK would find hard to take...but this was done to create a successful country and not to line his own pockets.

    Indeed the house that he lived in was somewhat modest considering who he was. Though he did have a guard posted outside, always smiling and always said hello whenever I/we walked by....the guard not LKY.
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  • HastingsaddickHastingsaddick
    ct_addick said:

    I found Singapore to be an Asian city devoid of any 'asian' character. You may as well have been in LA. I was disappointed when I visited even Raffles was undergoing a facelift when I was there. The strict laws of a dictator were not my cup of tea. Give me Bangkok any day !

    This is quite a common view particularly amongst those that do a 'stopover' ie a 2/3 night stay on a longer trip. Once you get out of the main city and go out to what the locals call the heartlands you can find plenty of that 'Asian Character'. I guess you need time to do that and believe me I had plenty of that for 18 months.
  • stonemusestonemuse
    edited March 2015
    Hastingsaddick said:

    ct_addick said:

    I found Singapore to be an Asian city devoid of any 'asian' character. You may as well have been in LA. I was disappointed when I visited even Raffles was undergoing a facelift when I was there. The strict laws of a dictator were not my cup of tea. Give me Bangkok any day !

    This is quite a common view particularly amongst those that do a 'stopover' ie a 2/3 night stay on a longer trip. Once you get out of the main city and go out to what the locals call the heartlands you can find plenty of that 'Asian Character'. I guess you need time to do that and believe me I had plenty of that for 18 months.
    absolutely right ... stopovers see Raffles and the main shopping centres ... spend some time there and you will find a very asian country
  • SaladSalad
    Chizz said:

    And, while I was there, someone was sentenced to twenty years in jail for throwing litter out of his window. Seemed a bit harsh;

    reckon?

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