There is a conspiracy to do us in, says MM Lee
Minister Mentor rebuts human rights groups' criticism of
Singapore
By Sue-ann Chia July 12, 2008
MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew last night dismissed human rights
organisations' criticisms of Singapore's style of governance,
saying that
they were trying to 'do us in'.
In a robust rebuttal of these groups' assertions that Singapore is
not a
liberal democracy, he said that they had never run a country and
did not
know what was needed to make Singapore tick.
'There is a conspiracy to do us in. Why?... They see us as a
threat,' said
Mr Lee at an hour-long dialogue during the Economic Society of
Singapore's
annual dinner.
Explaining why these groups regarded Singapore as a threat, he said
it was
because they saw that the Russians and Chinese have been coming and
studying
Singapore's success story and picking up pointers.
The leaders of these countries ask 'how does this little country
with so
little talent keep its ruling party in place and run a tight ship,
honest,
and effective, and make progress?'
'Can they (the Russians and Chinese) do it? I don't know. But they
are
picking up points here and there.'
Mr Lee was responding to a question on whether Singapore needed
a
Western-style liberal democracy to succeed.
He said groups which advocate the need for liberal democracies
were
prescribing universal rules for the whole world.
But he threw down this gauntlet:
'My question is to them, have you ever run Singapore? Do you know
how we got
here? What were we? What we are now? And how we can become
better?
'We are not stupid people. They give us all these advice... Who are
they?
Have they ever run a country, created jobs for community and given
them a
life? We have and we know what it requires.
'Nobody (who) advocates this has any idea what they will do to a
society if
you implement these rules.'
Mr Lee believes each country will have to decide which political
system
suits it best.
'Different people have different cultures and forge different
consensus and
seek different solutions to their problems,' he said.
But he was also quick to acknowledge that the People's Action Party
(PAP)
will not always have the answers:
'I'm not saying the PAP government will always be supreme, will
always be
honest, will always be A-plus.
'The day it is no longer honest, it should be out. And another
party should
come in, with equally honest people.'
Turning to the opposition, Mr Lee said:
'We are not trying to block them. We are trying to force them to
collect a
group of people equal in competence...When we fail, they have a
team that
can take over.
'But unfortunately, they can't do it. Because the people with
ability,
drive, ambition and energy don't want to come into politics. If
they wanted
to, they will join us (the PAP).'
For Singapore to continue to succeed, it needs to find the next
generation
of top notch leaders.
Mr Lee said the present generation of leaders could last at least
two terms.
But if they did not find talented people with the drive and energy
and
integrity to match the demands of the job during this time, 'then I
say, the
future is in doubt'.
'The system is there, but it cannot run with mediocre men. You need
top
men.'
The PAP has managed to recruit good people and its leaders had, in
turn, won
the trust of Singaporeans through their integrity and honesty -
values which
the PAP still holds true today.
He said the task of finding new leaders is no longer his:
'I've done my job. I've passed it on to the next generation. Chok
Tong has
passed to the next generation.
'If you have a competent team on board, honest and dedicated, it
will last.
If you have bums, then even with best of institutions, it will
fail.'
__
INTEGRITY, HONOUR
'That integrity and the sense of honour and anti-corruption has
remained a
characteristic of the PAP till today...
The way we get things done - you may not like it but you cannot say
we are
doing this to get rich. In many other countries, people ask: Why is
he doing
this? To get money. And that ruins it all.'
WE HAD NEXT TO NOTHING
'Many countries had achieved Merdeka or whatever. It turned out to
be an
orgy of looting. So we were quite turned off. We were young, of
course. This
will ruin us. We've got nothing here: no oil, gas, plantations or
timber.
All we've got are roads, airport, wharf and infrastructure.
We've got to make it work.
Had we inherited a huge oil country, like Angola or Nigeria, we
might have
gone the other way. But there was no such temptation when we came
in. There
was $15 million in the kitty. That was what we had in the reserve.
Enough
for one week's imports.'
IT'S PEOPLE THAT MATTER
'Can this system last? I'm not sure. I've done my job. I've passed
it on to
the next generation. Goh Chok Tong has passed it to the next
generation...
If you have a competent team on board, honest and dedicated, it
will last.
If you have bums, then even with the best of institutions, it will
fail.
People decide. Not institutions. Institutions help.'
____
http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_256845.html
MM Lee: Next 5 to 10 years the most promising for S'pore
By Bryan Lee, Economics Correspondent July 12, 2008
THE Singapore economy may be facing both immediate and long-term
challenges
but Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew thinks the next five to 10 years
will be
the most promising in the country's history.
In fact, the economy could still grow by as much as 8 per cent a
year - a
rapid clip for a developed nation - as efforts to transform
Singapore into
an international and cosmopolitan city pay off.
'We are moving to a new plateau, a new platform. You can see it
visibly
before your eyes,' said Mr Lee last night at the annual dinner of
the
Economic Society of Singapore.
'If there are no big recessions worldwide, growth can easily be 4
to 6 per
cent, maybe 7 to 8 per cent.'
Mr Lee's optimism for the local economy comes even as gross
domestic product
growth in the second quarter slumped to its worst in five
years.
A slowing US economy and accelerating inflation are taking their
toll, while
structural issues such as an ageing population and a widening
income divide
loom in the horizon. 'The point is that we have got enormous
options,' he
said.
He described to a packed Ritz Carlton Hotel ballroom his recent
drive around
the Marina Bay area, which is being developed as a new business
district as
well as the site for one of Singapore's two integrated resorts. 'It
will be
a beautiful city... in 10 years, it will be wonderful.'
Still, there is no room for complacency, given Singapore's lack of
natural
resources, he warned.
In fact, he said that retaining human talent is a big challenge:
'The
biggest problem Singapore faces is that we have educated the
Singaporean in
English to the best of world standards. We have made him viable,
employable
anywhere in the world.'
This outflow is more than offset by an influx of 'even larger
numbers of
bright people from the region'. But a majority of 'born and
bred
Singaporeans' is still needed to ensure the new immigrants are
rooted here.
'You need 65 per cent of the population to be born and bred
Singaporeans,
steeped with the culture, steeped with instincts of what a
Singaporean is.
They will slowly influence the migrants who join us to become like
us.'
After Mr Lee's comments, prizes for an annual essay writing
competition
organised by the society and the Monetary Authority of Singapore
(MAS) were
given out.
National University of Singapore undergraduate Ishita Dhamani won
first
prize in the university category while former Anglo-Chinese Junior
College
student John Ying, who is in national service, came up tops in
the
pre-university category.
____
Singapore's Success Due To Integrity, Says Kuan Yew
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=345611
Great meeting you at Presidential Forum on Globalization of
Universities in Two Shores and Four Lands: Mainland, Taiwan, HK and
Macau
Dear colleagues:
Let me first thank President Way Kuo (郭位校長) and his very
able and
efficient team
in CityUHK (香港城市大學,) from his deputies to students aides,
who were
so graceful,
meticulous and careful in details in organizing the first
“Presidential
Forum on
Globalization of Universities in Two Shores and Four
Lands兩岸四地大學國際
化校長論
壇.” From all the people I talked to, I think we all agree
that the
meeting was as
exciting as it was profoundly heartwarming. Personally, I
am so pleased to
meet so
many “old” (in the number of years I met them, not their
age) friends,
and made many
new friends.
As I mentioned in my speech, I am probably the only person
among this
esteem group
that, until I became associated with NCKU, who did not
have any real
connection to the
“two shores and four lands!” However, now that I am in the
region, I
feel utterly at
home and this meeting confirms my belief that I made the
right choice of
coming to
Asia Pacific at this point in time.
Many of you talked about the present, as you should.
Except for a few of
us, including
President Kuo of City U of HK, who returned to the region
even more
recently than me,
and soon-to-be President of Macau University Wei Zhao
(趙偉,) most have
spent your
highly successful careers in the region. Perhaps I was
naive, but by
placing myself
outside of the region in my thinking, I saw that this
meeting is
profoundly
important. I said this for the following reasons:
1. Most of you are truly outstanding and extremely well
qualified
education
professionals. All of you can stand shoulder to shoulder
to many of the
best
universities administrators I have met in the United
States. Your
articulation of
strategies, your palpable pride and vision of your
institutions and your
devotion to
building universities in the region that has Chinese
culture as
underpinning tell me
that our region’s higher education engines are robust, on
the move,
highly focused
and in the right direction and rapidly!
2. As I mentioned in my speech, it was not so long ago
that I had the
honor and
privilege of visiting Kinmen (Jing Men 金門.) I was taken to
visit some of
the war
relics in the fifties, and was told the stories of the 823
bombardment. I
then
realized that it was a mere half a century ago (1958) that
823 occurred.
It was as
horrible as it was bloody. Yet today, we who represent
universities in the
region sat
around in a nice and comfortable office in City U of HK to
discuss how we
should make
our universities, thus our region, better for ourselves as
well as for
mankind. That
recognition was a moment of exhilaration for me.
No doubt, my colleagues, we still and will have many
hurdles and many
challenges to
overcome. But, I feel deep in my bones, from our
enlightening discussions,
time is on
our side. If all of us can continue to be so transparent,
so self critical
and so open
in our discussions with ourselves and with the world, how
could our region
not be a
shinning spot for humanity in the 21st century?.
Finally, I have to admit that after listening to our two
intellectual
giants,
Professor Tu and Professor Chang, one guiding us so
profoundly in our
cultural
heritage and the other on our technological prowess, I
cannot help but be
completely
optimistic!
Finally, a personal note ot President Kuo of CityUHK,
since we our two
institutions
are both known as “ChengDa” (城大and 成大,) perhaps we can
create a
CD**2 Alliance?
This suggestion is of course not entirely
tongue-and-cheek!
Until we meet again,
Warmest personal regards
Da Hsuan
Da Hsuan Feng
Senior Executive Vice President
National Cheng Kung University
Professor Way Kuo, President, City University of HK
Professor Lap-Chee Tsui, President, HKU
Professor David S. Y. Tong, Deputy President, City University of
HK
Professor Shuguo Wang, President, Harbin Institute of
Technology
Professor Chung Nan Chang, President, Chu Hai College
Professor Haydn Chen, President, Tunghai University
Professor Shiqing Zhu, President, University of Science and
Technology of China
Professor Wen Tsuen Chen, President, National Tsing Hua
University
Professor Wei Zhao, soon-to-be President, Macau University
Professor Wing-Huen Ip, Vice President, National Central
University
Professor Ellen Ko, Vice President, City University of HK
Professor Lilian L P Vrijmoed, Dean of Students, CUHK
Professor Paul K. S. Lam, Acting Vice President, CUHK
Professor Wei Cai, Vice President, Shanghai Jiaotong
University
Professor Jianhua Lin, Provost, Peking University
Professor Jian-Yang Jou, Vice Chancellor, University System of
Taiwan
Professor Kenneth Young; Vice President, Chinese University of
Hong Kong
Professor Jin Qiu, Vice President, Xian Jiaotong University
Professor Huiling Feng, Vice President, Renmin University of
China
Professor Danny S. N. Wong, Vice President, The Open University
of Hong Kong
Professor Houjun Wang, Vice President, University of Electronic
Science and Technology of China
Professor Shinong Wu, Vice President, Xiamen University
Professor Yuepu Pu, Vice President, Southeast University
Professor Zheng Xu, Vice President, Fudan University
Professor Lichun Shu, Vice President, Chongqing University
Professor Jin Fei Luo, Secretary, Tianjin University
Professor Jingyang Han, Vice Chairman, Tsinghua University
Council
Dr. Shen Jie, HK, Director, Macao and Taiwan Office, Zhejiang
University
Professor Zhibin Jiang, Director of Academic Affairs, SJTU
Professor Chengci Zuo, Director, HK Representative Office,
Nanjing University
Professor Guobin Zhu, Director of External Office, CUHK
