A Shit Times on 14 Nov 2011 reported on Prof Ezra Vogel’s new book on Deng Xiaoping.
The report referred to old fart as the one who founded a nation of two million.
That description is inappropriate and here is why.
Source:
Yours Truly Singapore
Dear Straits Times,
I refer to the 14 Nov 2011 report on Prof Ezra Vogel’s new book on Deng Xiaoping.
You referred to Lee Kuan Yew as the one who founded a nation of two million. That description is inappropriate.
Lee Kuan Yew didn’t found the nation of Singapore, the nationhood of Singapore was thrust upon us when we were kicked out of Malaysia. Don’t belittle the act of founding by equating it to being kicked out of Malaysia. It might be more appropriate to say that Lee Kuan Yew inherited a nation of two million.
You referred to Lee Kuan Yew as turning Singapore into an economic powerhouse. That description again is inappropriate. We were already one of the busiest ports in the world and were a Crown Colony long before Lee Kuan Yew was born. While it is true that our per capita GDP grew manifold after Lee took power, the architect of that progress and implementer of the architect’s plans were Dr Albert Winsemius and Dr Goh Keng Swee respectively.
You referred to Lee Kuan Yew as having fought the communists. Not a single bullet was fired in Lee’s fight with the so-called ‘communists’. Where on earth at that time did communists fight without guns and bullets? Let’s be honest with ourselves. Lee did not fight ‘communists’. He merely called them such so that he can lock them up for such a record number of years even Nelson Mandela cannot beat.
You said Lee Kuan Yew came of age fighting colonialism. Actually, the hard work was done by his Chinese speaking comrades, not Lee. After the work was done, Lee simply used colonialism to lock up his former comrades and replaced the old colonialism with his brand of new colonialism. It was just animal farm played out in real life.
Excerpts from the book
Dear Professor Vogel,
I refer to the 14 Nov 2011 Straits Times print of excepts from your new book on Deng Xiaoping.
You said Lee Kuan Yew came of age fighting colonialism and was leader of our country’s revolutionary struggle. That statement is not accurate. Anti-colonial and nationalistic sentiments emerged amongst the local populace soon after the end of the Japanese Occupation and led to Singapore’s first elections in 1948. So it was the community who began the fight against colonialism. They weren’t led by Lee Kuan Yew who was in England then studying law.
The next election in 1951 saw Lee becoming an election agent for John Laycock who contested under the pro-British Progressive Party. Since Lee stood with the pro-British camp then, he again did not fight colonialism.
The British commissioned nine-man committee that proposed limited internal self-government for Singapore in 1953 did not include Lee. So again, Lee didn’t help secure this milestone from the British.
While Lee was one of the thirteen who went to London to negotiate internal self-government in 1956, he wasn’t the leader, David Marshall was. In any case, they failed.
It was Lim Yew Hock, not Lee, who convinced the British in 1957 to grant us full internal self-government.
Lee then gave up some of that full internal self-government when he merged us with Malaya in 1963. Before that, he locked up his former comrades turned political opponents with British help. Once again, he didn’t fight colonialism but used it to further his political career instead.
Finally, Singapore achieved independence in 1965 only because we were expelled from Malaysia, not because Lee fought and won against colonialism.
Looking at the history of events, Lee hardly did anything to fight colonialism, let alone become the leader of our country’s revolutionary struggle.