How did a sleepy little island transform into a high-tech powerhouse in one generation? It was all in the plan.
By Mark Jacobson
Photograph by David McLain
If you want to get a Singaporean to look up from a beloved dish of fish-head curry—or make a harried cabdriver slam on his brakes—say you are going to interview the country's "minister mentor," Lee Kuan Yew, and would like an opinion about what to ask him. "The MM?Wah lau! You're going to see the MM? Real?" You might as well have told a resident of the Emerald City that you're late for an appointment with the Wizard of Oz. After all, LKY, as he is known in acronym-mad Singapore, is more than the "father of the country." He is its inventor, as surely as if he had scientifically formulated the place with precise portions of Plato's Republic, Anglophile elitism, unwavering economic pragmatism, and old-fashioned strong-arm repression.
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From: ltlee1
On Dec 31 2009, 10:01 pm, Free Tibet
> Hash: SHA1
> On Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:30:19 -0800 (PST), baldeagle
> >Singaporeans have a better deal....have 250,000 maids, ...
> >over 500,000 guest workers to do the dirty work...own their
> >own homes...most have good jobs (only 3 % jobless)...
> >Against these, they are screwed by LKY and his cronies...
> >no free speech (no satellite TV).....no street demo....
> >KIasu Singaporeans chose to stay with LKY's gang..
> >a better life.
> >Have they chosen wisely ?
> Have they chosen?
Of course they have found a balance point which suit them best.
In reality, 'free speech' does not exist. Of course many in the west
have successfully kid themselves into believing the fairy tale of"free
speech."
Every country have drewn some line on what is protected speech and
what is not. The only difference is where do they draw the line. Or to
put it another way, whether the government toward certain speech is
proactive or reactive.
Timothy McVeigh and his bombing victims are America's price for having
a reactive policy toward free speech.
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From: baldeagle
Subject: Re: The Singapore solution (Singapore way)....Free speech vs a better life? Singaporeans chose better life.
On Jan 1, 10:52 am, Penang
> You must be kidding right?
Kidding ? No.
Singaporean enjoy better life than many in the USA,
Japan, UK or Germany.
We could afford to have maids to do our housework,
foreign workers to do the dirty works...95% Singaporean
have their own house....almost every household have
a computer...there are more handphones than our entire
population....
Our per capital income for (2008) is $51,600, well above
those of the USA $47,500 : UK $ 36,700 : Germany $35,500 :
Japan $ 34,100: Malaysia $15,200 (see CIA website below)
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sn.html
It is for these reason why Kiasu Singaporean chose LKY
and his cronies as leaders for the last 45 years. They
have delivered better lives for most Singaporean.
National Geo is factual in their report on Singapore.
There is no point in comparing, really. The most important point is that the basic human needs must be met - a secured place to live in, no internal fightings, a personal space (or home), an opportunity to make a living and fill our stomachs. Once that has happened, then others levels of existance can follow, such as education, debates, etc. Like it or not, LKY and PAP has achieved the basics while some countries have not.
ReplyDeletewell said!
ReplyDelete