The Toxic Legacy of Lee Kuan Yew

If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who
are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.
Malcolm XWhen the strongman of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew(LKY), died at the age of
91 at the Singapore General hospital, the flood gates of tear jerking,
sycophantic tributes opened up to torrential proportions overwhelming
critical scrutiny of the man and his achievements. Obama, the President of
USA, described LKY as a true giant of history which is perhaps a
ridiculous endorsement given the fact that his campaign promise of Hope
and Change soon dwindled, during his own unremarkable presidency, to
no hope and no change for most of those who voted for him.
David Cameron, the prime minister of Britain- which is less of a democracy
and more of a corrupt oligarchy noted without irony Lady Thatcher once
said that there was no Prime Minister she admired more than Mr. Lee for
the strength of his convictions, the clarity of his views, the directness of his
speech and his vision of the way ahead. His gift for black humor should
not be underestimated as Maggie went on a wrecking spree by breaking
the working class and entrenching the financial elites on the top of
illegitimate wealth pyramid.
Other sobriquets tossed in the air like confetti by the world leaders were
legendary figure in Asia(Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the United
Nations- a largely failed world body given to vacuous and long winded
debates instead of stopping wars waged by its powerful member
states),great leader (Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who presides
over a zombie economy), visionary statesman (Ms Christine Lagarde,
Managing Director, IMF under a cloud of financial scandal during her tenure
as Finance Minister in former President Sarkozys cabinet).
The unmeasured hyperboles of the worlds worthies praising the Iron Man
of Singapore should not blind us to the fact that Singapore under Lee was
(and still is) a brutal one party dictatorship where any opposition to his
regime meant exile (if you were lucky) or a permanent guest of the
notorious Changi prison (if you werent).
But the spanner that was thrown at the nonsensical LKY hagiography was
a hard hitting documentary film titled One Nation under Lee which

revealed LKY as a brutal despot addicted to power mongering and self

aggrandizement. The film was directed by a courageous Singaporean
Seelan Palay who came under the unwelcome attention of the Singapore
Police who interrogated him for hours under duress. The private screening
of the film was disrupted by the police and the officials of the Media
Development Authority seized the video and prevented the screening.
The film charts the career of LKY who employed guile, cunning and
ruthlessness to grab power. His exploits would have made a hardened
political cynic like Machiavelli to blush with shame.When the Peoples
Action Party came to power in 1959, Lee Kuan Yew used the Internal
Security Act to deadly effect. A colonial legacy from the British, Lee used
ISA in 1960 to round up around 130 of his political opponents whom he
could imprison indefinitely without trial. Some of the notable political
opponents locked up under ISA were Lim Hock Siew (19 years), Said
Zahari (17 years), and Chia ThyePoh (32 years) five years more than
Nelson Mandela.
Freedom of speech and the freedom of press are actively denied by
imposing fines and instituting politically motivated defamation action.
Political opposition is subject to libel action for expressing any opinion
against the interests of the ruling party (PAP). Some of them were also
imprisoned under national security legislation. The right to lawful assembly
is severely curtailed and freedom of expression in public without police
permit exposes the citizen to the severe penalties of criminal action.
A human rights document titled Singapore: Asias Gilded Cage, the Asia
Pacific Human Rights Network says, Human rights violations in Singapore
are rife: the country detains conscientious objectors to military service, has
mandatory corporal and capital punishment for many offences, has some of
the most draconian security legislation in the world (and uses it) and
institutional discrimination against ethnic Malays results in their poverty and
often imprisonment.1[1]
The combined onslaught on democratic rights and civil liberties of political
parties opposed to PAP could be seen in the bleak political landscape of
Singapore where an emasculated opposition was practically decimated
paving way for the one party rule of Lee and his cohorts.
Very early in his political career Lee realized that to control the mind of the
citizens he had to control the media. He took hosts of measures to close

down independent press like UtusanMelayu, Nanyang Siang Pau,

Singapore Monitor, Singapore Herald and the New Nation. By 1980 all the
local presses came under the government controlled Singapore Press
Holding. Lee also planted spies like Chua lee Hoong who was attached to
the Home Ministry to be the eyes and ears of his internal security. The
domination of the press was complete when The Straits Times was made a
mouthpiece of the Ruling Party.
In his ruthless quest of power LKY left no stone unturned and quickly
turned his attention to place pliant judges in judiciary who were docile and
ready to serve the interests of the state under Lee. Explaining how
seriously compromised the judges were during Lees dictatorship, Francis T
Seow in his book Beyond Suspicion- the Singapore Judiciary says that in
politically sensitive cases which involved the interests of Lee and his ruling
party, the Singapore judiciary has repeatedly demonstrated a singular
facility of bending over backwards to render decisions favorable to the
Singapore Government and its leaders. Their judicial contortions acquired
such an international notoriety that Human rights organizations like
Amnesty International have sent their Legal representatives to observe the
trial proceedings at first hand to see if trials were fairly conducted.
If trampling on political freedom and clamping down on the freedom of
expression were not bad enough, more shocking disclosures followed
which dented the anti- corruption credentials of LKYs Singapore. The
Nation in its article titled Singapores Blood Money-hanging drug couriers
but investing with their suppliers- disclosed the sordid details of the cozy
relationship of LKY with Burmese drug lords-The Nation has learned that
the highest levels of the Singaporean government, using the New
York-based Morgan Guaranty Trust Company, a subsidiary of J.P.
Morgan, as a custodial operative, are engaging in joint business
ventures with one of the world's most notorious drug lords and with
the drug-backed military dictatorship of Burma (Myanmar). This has
been confirmed by corporate, government and legal documents from four
countries and was contended by high-ranking US narcotics and
government officials in private interviews. 2[2]
More shocking details emerged-This dual-track policy is condoned and
encouraged at top levels of the Singaporean regime, including by Lee
Kuan Yew, the country's undisputed strongman. Lee, whose antidrug
policies are among the strictest in the world, is participating in the

country's deepening business relationships with renowned heroin

trafficker Lo Hsing Han of Burma and his son and business partner,
Steven Law.3[3]
The government of Singapore through GIC (The Government of Singapore
Investment Corporation) controlled by the Lee Kuan Yew family is the core
shareholder in the Myanmar Fund which is linked to the key business
ventures of Lo Hsing Han a notorious drug lord. On 29th of August 1997possibly fearing the exposure of the money trail- the Myanmar Fund was
formally placed in Liquidation.
Seow, the former Solicitor General of Singapore, sums up nicely The
Singapore government knows its having dinner with the devil, and sharing
a very short spoon. And it is a terrible double standard. Drug moneys are
being laundered apparently by the same drug lords who supply the heroin
for which small-time dealers are hanged. We are reaping profits as Burmas
biggest investor, but were being paid with blood money. 4[4]
The inconvenient truth of Lees despotic regime with its murky deals with
Burmese Drug dealers is rarely discussed in the mainstream corporate
media which maintains the conspiracy of silence to prevent any
embarrassment to Lee Kuan Yews carefully cultivated image of his regime
being corruption free and honest. For the global corporate elites and their
minions of the corporate media their silence is the quid pro quo deal for low
tax rates and ease of doing business for multi-national corporations
operating in Singapore.
For the global corporate elites who are strong supporters of the despotic
Singapore model of a police state with free market capitalism, there is a
card up their sleeve. And that card is the stupendous growth story of
Singapore. In news channels, the corporate sponsored anchor persons go
to great lengths to point out that Lee Kuan Yew transformed Singapore
from a malarial ridden British outpost to a smart city state brimming with
trade and commerce.
But this is a big lie as the British left Singapore with infrastructure intact
including its ship building facility- unlike other colonies like India which were
rapaciously plundered. Singapore with its strategic location and port was

ideally suited for trade and export. The British did not strip Singapore of its
assets as a back room deal was struck by Lee Kuan Yew that after its
independence, his government would protect the interests of the British.
The claim that Singapore is the epitome of functional efficiency and
capitalist success is rarely challenged in International forums. The
relentless PR machine of the Singapore Government spews dubious
statistics to create a myth that it has a cutting edge efficiency, global
competitiveness, economic freedom and transparency. The myth of the
Singapore Miracle is dinned into the heads of its citizens to serve as a
means of social control. The message is a stark one: you cant be politically
free and be affluent. So shut up and obey.
While there have been studies and reports of the Amnesty International and
other Human Rights groups critical of the authoritarian ways of the
government and its appalling human rights abuses, rarely had the
Singapore Miracle story been put to test until a prescient article titled The
Myth of Asias Miracle written by the economist Paul Krugman appeared in
the prestigious Council on Foreign Relations challenging the sustainability
of the Singapore growth story.5[5]
Krugmans point was that the flaw in the Singapore growth was that mere
increases in inputs, without an increase in the efficiency with which those
inputs are used - investing in more machinery and infrastructure - must run
into diminishing returns; input-driven growth is inevitably limited. As he
observes in his article, Consider, in particular, the case of Singapore.
Between 1966 and 1990, the Singaporean economy grew a remarkable 8.5
percent per annum, three times as fast as the United States; per capita
income grew at a 6.6 percent rate, roughly doubling every decade. This
achievement seems to be a kind of economic miracle. But the miracle turns
out to have been based on perspiration rather than inspiration: Singapore
grew through a mobilization of resources that would have done Stalin
proud.6[6] But like the Soviet growth rates recording impressive growth at
first, the dynamo of production soon spluttered in Singapore. The rich irony
was that Lee Kuan Yew who had a pathological hatred for communism
adopted the same flawed economic model of Soviet Russia namely- Input
elephant/Output mouse.

In a book titled The Singapore Miracle, Myth and Reality written by

Rodney King an Australian journalist who worked in Singapore for many
years which was published nine years ago there was a more
comprehensive critique of the Singapore miracle. Rodney King rubbishes
the assertions made the Singaporean Authorities that the city state is a
financial dynamo. As King says in his book, the rivers of dubious statistics
the PAP state generates to back its questionable claims have often been
uncritically accepted by journalists and Western neo-cons and the now
discredited Asia Rising theorists.
King says- if the myth and statistics used to promote the Singapore miracle
is stripped away- one sees a dependent and underdeveloped economy,
driven by MNC capital and expertise, with severe inequalities of wealth and
income and an often poorly paid workforce. King argues that the workforce
productivity is often mediocre and well below that of the West and Asian
Economies such as Hong Kong.7[7]
The country displays endemic inefficiencies at both micro and macro levels
and the performance of construction, financial, and service sectors is
second rate, while Singapore Airlines does not deserve the top ranking it
receives. The Singapore miracle has many shortcomings and it means very
little to the Singaporeans as very few have gained from it. Around 30% of
the population still lives in poverty by Western standards. Around 86% of
Singaporeans do not own houses but rent flats from the government run
Housing Development Board on 99 year leases. The economy is plagued
by low entrepreneurial and innovative capacities and an under-educated
workforce.
The author also points out the local private sector have remained stunted
because of predominance of the MNC and State Enterprises run by
unimaginative public servants who do not understand business. Moreover,
the local private sector is starved of venture capital funds to make it a
seedbed of innovation. King sums up witheringly: An MNC outpost
serviced by underpaid locals and ruled by manipulative and overpaid
political elite is not an inspiring development model.
If Singapore is not as great as it seems- then why is there such breathless
admiration for its economic model? The reason is not too far to seekParadoxically enough free market capitalism is inherently unstable and

requires the services of an autocrat like Lee Kuan Yew to keep the hoi
polloi at bay. The Singapore model works well for the corporate and
financial 1% sitting on trillions of dollars of unearned income largely through
the capital gains route. But for Joe the Plumber it is a raw deal- it means no
jobs and stagnating wages even if he finds one. Joe is truly shafted with the
lead pipe rudely shoved up a tender part of his anatomy.
Unregulated free market capitalism is at the end of its tether and unraveling
in social protests and violence. And there is a palpable sense of unease
when the plutocrats perched on their mounds of cash see that the ordinary
folks down below are pretty riled up with a rigged system and out in the
streets angrily protesting with their pitch forks. At that moment of global
crisis a wave of profound relief sweeps over the global elite for that well
ordered chewing gum free capitalist paradise of Lee Kuan Yew where there
are low taxes for the corporations, no bargaining power for workers and
where the trains run on time with the crack of a whippy cane.
C R Sridhar

1[1]http://www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/hrfchr58/Issue4.htm#Singapore
2[2]http://www.singapore-window.org/1020naus.htm
3[3]

ibid

4[4]

ibid

5[5]

http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/50550/paul-krugman/the-myth-of-asiasmiracle

6[6]

ibid

7[7]

The Singapore Miracle: Myth and Reality- Rodney King-2006- Insight press