Lee Kuan Yew, in my view was the greatest political figure of the modern era in the world.
Much has been said & written (including his own autobiographies) about his amazing leadership in lifting Singapore from (the bottom of) third world to first world in one generation.
Lee Kuan Yew, single mindedly led Singapore from a rat infested small island post devoid of any natural resources (including drinking water) following the 2nd World War to a first world metropolis regional centre with GPD per Capita higher than USA!
And yet he's more than ever before is criticised in the West for Singapore's tight control over media & certain social freedoms.
Yet, all those who freely criticise Lee Kuan Yew, ignorantly & at best conveniently disregard the fact that unlike most western leaders, under his leadership Singapore's rise was not achieved by what most Western leaders are guilty of:
- LKY did not wage war on other nations in order to achieve Singapore's goals
- LKY did not seek to take advantage of other countries & people's natural resources
- LKY did not allow corruption to penetrate his government
- LKY created a racially & religiously harmonious society & did not seek to take advantage of racial fictions amongst Singapore's citizens
- LKY did not bend to super powers' demands in order to buy favours for Singapore
Lee Kuan Yew simply did not confuse AND did not allow his people to confuse personal liberty with freedom to block progress & prosperity by playing political brinkmanship within Singapore.
And what is the result of his legacy? A truly first world country with modern roads, public transport systems, hospitals, universities, airport & ports as well as manufacturing & heavy industries such as oil refining. Singapore enjoys social harmony, has very low unemployment, high home ownership levels & record tourism nos. Incredibly, Singapore also has a very good record in environmental management & rehabilitation of its water systems & rivers.
Comparing Lee Kuan Yew's leadership in Singapore & the system of government he has instilled there with most successive western political leaders & their governments in numerous countries does nothing more than expose the huge incompetence of most western leaders of modern era.
Lee Kuan Yew's most important lasting legacy is the way he went about nation building from third world to first. His Singapore should be a great example to western politicians, rather than a feeble escapism to cover up their huge & recurrent failures & at times ruthless impact of their policies on other nations.
