Tun Dr M is a saint when compare to the Evil Emperor LKY ?

It is very amusing to see how Malaysians (probably of the minority races) have spasms of ecstasy when referring to Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) in Malaysian forums. From across the border in Malaysia, Singapore seems like Wonderland and LKY like a benevolent god.

As a Chinese Singaporean, born of Malaysian parents who took up citizenship here in Singapore, I can understand why they feel this way. The grouses are familiar: NEP, corruption and ineptitude in governance.

Let me provide an insight on how it is like to be a Singaporean. I must first stress that new immigrants or Permanent Residents (PRs) from Malaysia (like my parents) will not experience any disadvantages. It is the children of these people (like me) or new PRs’ children (who will be Singaporean) who will feel the disadvantages most sorely, and curse the fact they were born in Singapore:

On the relative development of both countries – Singpore developed well largely due to early good advice given to LKY, its strategic position, the lack of natural disasters and its easily-governable size.  Malaysia lags behind in spite of its natural resources because of its larger size, poorer planning/ execution, more difficult decision-making and corruption.

However, Singapore has problems at present because its development model is outdated. As LKY still insists on the methods recommended tens of years ago, trouble is looming. There is no impetus to change because there is no one  who dares to disagree. The media prints only propaganda, the courts will always find the government blameless as the government runs 70% of the economy.

The opposition has been persecuted to the point where only those with nothing to lose will dare to oppose, and the common people are scared to death of arbitrary arrest.

Yes, corruption is more widespread in Malaysia. But in Singapore, it also exists – though restricted to the top political elite and in a legalised form. In Malaysia, many get a share of the cake but in Singapore, only a select  few get a share of the cake.

Many scoff at the position of the Malay rulers. But are they aware of the many dubious acts of LKY and his cronies – his ‘cooperation’ with the wartime Japanese, then the Communists and then the British (he betrayed the latter two in the end)?  

And the actions taken by him and his courts to destroy the opposition, moves which are reported in a twisted manner by his press? A shining example of good character?

Yes, up till recently, Singapore was performing excellently. But at the same time, the ordinary people had the fruits of their labour taken away. We seem rich but yet are in debt. The government apartments are now exorbitantly priced. Cars are a necessity (given the poor performance of the profit-oriented public transport companies) but are also exorbitantly priced.  

Much of our money is locked in the Provident Fund and it is becoming impossible to get it back while we are still alive. Yes, all races are treated equally – and they are sucked dry equally. This is the pivotal point in times when things became bad.  By the way, the money in the Provident Fund (as well as in the reserves) is used for investment – for which there is almost no transparency and accountability.  

Huge losses have been incurred in the current crisis yet the ruling party still baulks at spending a million or two on the poor. Oh, and we spend twice as much on defence as Malaysia despite being at least 400 times smaller.

Instead of addressing the root of the problems, LKY’s son (yes, his son – by the way did Dr Mahathir install his son as prime minister?) decided to take action on only one aspect of the problem, in a negative manner. Instead of lowering costs for citizens, and therefore maintaining wage levels, he decided to import foreigners to lower cost.  

It is effective – foreigners earn much more per hour than they do back home. They are stuck with the same employer for the duration of  their visa, hence they are obedient.  If they are sacked, they have to go home. And home means facing unpaid debts which they incurred in getting to Singapore. So which foreign worker will dare to resist exploitation?  

This  means the ‘choosy’ Singaporeans get to twiddle thumbs at home. And would the Singaporean ministers care?  They are paid $S$2 million basic per year, a performance bonus of up to eight months, and get a pension when they reach retirement age. Good clean governance, huh? Oh yes, the judges are paid the same too so not surprisingly they always find for the government.

Malaysians are LKY’s top choice. It gratifies him to poach bright minority students which his old pal Dr Mahathir had educated. They get good jobs (there is supposedly a quota to be filled), will not get sacked (as it means they go  back to Dr M) and are favoured by corporations, as they do not have national service obligations.  

None want to be citizens – at the end of the day, they will retire to the Malaysia (which they hate so much) to enjoy the Singapore dollar’s strength. God have mercy on the children they leave behind!  
Currently one person in three is a  foreigner in Singapore. The press chooses to obfuscate matters by lumping citizens and PRs together in their reporting (as ‘resident population’) so the huge number of foreigners in Singapore is understated.

To all Malaysians who love LKY, you have to be ruled by him, not as a PR turned citizen, but as a born and bred Singaporean, to understand that he is not what  you think.Y ou curse Dr Mahathir because you know LKY will treat you like lords. You are correct but very shortsighted and shallow.  

Dr Mahathir may be much less than perfect, but only ignorant fools will say LKY is better than him. Singapore residents receive two broadsheet pages daily on how bad things are in Malaysia, but no Singaporean commentator will blast LKY and compare him to Dr Mahathir.  

Why? Because it is stupid to compare – we have not been ruled by Dr Mahathir or Umno so how are we able to compare? Using anecdotal evidence supplied by privileged fellow countrymen is poor practice.

Malaysiakini letter by Olinda Brazil , ‘I curse the day I was born a Singaporean’ 

Read the very quick rebuttal by a professional journalist?

Singapore much better than other countries

I refer to the letter  .

First of all, I would like to remind Brazil that Singapore is indeed a fantastic place to be born. Acco ‘The Economist’ Intelligence Unit’s 2005 Quality of Life survey ranked it the best country to live in Asia. In fact, in global rankings Singapore did better than the US, Japan, France, Britain, Germany and a host of developed, wealthy countries. Singapore is wealthy, peaceful, progressive and spared of natural or manmade disasters.

Malaysia falls behind Singapore in almost any meaningful measure – per capita GDP (nominal or PPP), average wage, quality of life, standard of living, human development, productivity, efficiency, economic freedom, ease of doing business, you name it.

One would imagine that with our national obsession with wealth distribution, Malaysia would do better than the ultra-capitalistic Singapore. In reality, Singapore ranks higher in terms of the Gini coefficient (a measure of income equality) in separate studies by the UN and the CIA.

Can you then blame Malaysians for looking enviously at their next door neighbour? We were equals just a 40 years ago, but look at the differences now!

I am not saying that Singapore is without its problems. Indeed, there is no one perfect country in this world. Every country from the war-torn Muslim countries to the wealthy West, all have their own set of problems to deal with. However, some countries are clearly doing better than others.

Singapore is clearly doing better than Malaysia who is in turn doing better than Indonesia. It is then almost insulting for someone from a rich and advanced nation to gripe about their issues and envy their poorer counterparts.

I don’t think any sane Malaysian would complain about our government to friends from Iran. We shut up and listen to their complaints, for no matter how bad we are, we are clearly better off than them. In the same sense, I don’t think any Singaporean should tell a Malaysian how Singapore isn’t really much better.

Perhaps the most telling evidence of our relative strengths are the immigration patterns. How often do you see Singaporeans permanently migrating to Malaysia (for reasons other than retirement?) Contrast that to the thousands who make Singapore their permanent home yearly.

My second point is on immigration. Unlike most people, I think immigration is fantastic. I like diversity and multi-culturalism. I like people, and I like to know their lifestyles, their cultures and their beliefs. I like that I can enjoy authentic food from all parts of the world without having to leave my neighbourhood.

I am sure the average xenophobe, when he drops his emotional hatred and instead looks at the positives, will learn to appreciate the cultural richness of the world. No one culture in the world is superior and I live in continuous awe of the sheer diversity that is this Earth.

It saddens me that certain people in the world are treated with more respect than others just because of the colour of their skin. It saddens me even more that some people actually think they are superior or that they deserve certain rights just because they were lucky enough to be born into a particular nationality, race, family or gender.

It angers me that Malaysian politics revolves around ethnic rights (Umno, Hindraf etc) when in reality the only right we should have is the right to work smart, work hard and be duly rewarded for it.

Take for example recent threats by Malaysian ministers against foreigners driving taxis in Johor Baru. I am sure all Johorians will agree with me when I say that most taxi drivers in JB are both lazy and greedy. They sit at the coffee-shops all day sipping coffee yet complain that they can’t make a living. They grossly overcharge and are grossly under-worked.

Now if a foreigner is willing to work when the Malaysian is not, is not greedy when the Malaysian is, why deny him a fair go just because of where he was born? Did he choose to be born where he was born? Did the foreigner do something wrong? Does being born in Malaysia automatically give one the right to lead a better life than those born in Indonesia and Bangladesh?

I currently work for a decent wage and I believe I do my job fairly well. However, if someone else came to compete for my job, would I demand to keep it based on my nationality, gender or race? I won’t. I will double my efforts and show my employer why I am better than anyone else.

Failing that, I will happily cede my position to whoever is better than me. There is absolutely no reason why my nationality should even be an issue to consider!

I can understand why some people can feel threatened or displeased with immigration, but I would urge them to resist that xenophobic tendency. I recently read an American professor explain that since the 1600s, each batch of immigrants to America has tried to keep the next batch of immigrants out.

What a condemnation of human nature that we cannot live at peace with people different from us. If we could only look beyond where someone was born and embrace the diversity that has been bestowed upon us.

My hope is that Brazil recognises just how lucky he/she is to be born in Singapore and how priviledged it is to share one’s country with the rest of the world. True, Singapore like any country is not paradise. But it certainly is much better than most parts of the world.

Singapore much better than other countries, Malaysiakini letter by Yih Feng Low