When the news of LKY's worsening condition got out, a wave of emotions hit me. I've never expected myself to be this affected by a news like that. Like the Facebook status I posted on 18th March (days before his passing), I've always been apathetic towards politics and politicians. I never thought it would hit me so hard that LKY is in a critical condition. When I heard the news, I knew I could not wish for him to "get well soon" or "get better". I knew inside that the best I can do is to pray for a final painless journey.
Also during these period, all the way until LKY's departure, articles about him swarmed the whole of social media. News reports, Facebook statuses, blog posts - all with a mix of sentiments. Initially, I get pretty upset when people 'spoke ill' of LKY. There were several arguments:
In this article by Jeraldine Phneah, it was argued that LKY is given too much credit for Singapore's success.
1. Because there were other noble people like Goh Keng Swee, Ong Pang Boon, S Rajaratnam etc who were less featured in our social studies textbook but are equally important.
2. Because he didn't exactly "sacrifice a lot" given the fact that "even if he has to sacrifice privacy and time. Isn't it something all politicians and celebrities choose to sacrifice in return for power and status".
3. It also brought up a point that I've seen a few people finding fault with, which is when we call LKY the "Founding Father of Singapore".
4. Because Singapore already had a good infrastructure and did not start off as a "fishing village" when LKY took over.
Her original post (which was the one I read) was a little more insensitive than it is now. As a result of her blog post, many people lashed out at her, calling her an 'ingrat' and started all those personal attacks.
And then this article by LIFT, he spoke up for Jeraldine Phneah as a result of the backlashing and mentioned 'how intolerant' Singaporeans were towards someone who merely did her research and presented facts from another perspective.
Also, in this article by the notorious sex blogger/ex-NUS-law-scholar Alvin Tan, he basically criticised the hack out of LKY and the people who blindly respect him because our "small minds are all brainwashed".
Here's just my two-cents-worth:
1. Let's not dispute over the term "Founding Father".
I really think the usage of this term depends on an individual's perspective. Whilst it is true that Lee Kuan Yew did not DISCOVER Singapore like Christopher Columbus did with America, I don't think there is anything wrong for calling him the Founding Father of (modern) Singapore. He did transform this island from a 3rd world country to a 1st world metropolis. He played a big part in shaping Singapore to what it is today. So get over it if people use this term for LKY because he rightly deserves it.
2. I really have to disagree with the part that he didn't sacrifice a lot, based on the fact that politicans and celebrities all give up time and privacy for status and power. NO. I'm sorry if you disagree with me but this argument is flawed. Completely flawed. As I quote from Lee Hsien Yang's eurology:
"Perhaps in different circumstances, he would have been a very successful businessman or entrepreneur; but he chose to dedicate his life to serve the people of Singapore and to build a better future for all. "
He didn't have set up PAP. He didn't have to become a politician. He didn't have to craft and implement unpopular and difficult policies. Given his brains and ability, he could've made it big. Made a fortune for himself. Maybe leave Singapore to another place which was flourishing at that time. There's so many things he could have done. But he made a choice, a choice to dedicate his life to Singapore. No matter how successful or feasible his policies are, the starting point of all his ideas and policies, is a better Singapore. To give us a roof over our heads, to equip us with knowledge, to equip us with the ability to converse, to give us a self-sufficient nation in view of resource scarcity. Can you say that all that he's given up is only for status and power? I beg to differ.
Even in his twilight years, he did not stop thinking about how to make Singapore a better place. When the nation is deep asleep in the middle of the night, he's up working from his home, with his 'red box'. This is what he has given us. Not for himself, for his selfish need for status, power and wealth, but for us - Singaporeans.
3. Whilst I disagree with a fair share of Phneah's article, I completely agreed with LIFT that there was no need for personal attacks.
Should we disagree with whatever was written, we can always express our views and arguments and beef them up with hard facts. There's really no need to act like cyber bullies and call people an ingrat. After all, she did her research and cited many facts that we Singaporeans do not know. For one, she made a point about the less prominent figures which also contributed to Singapore.
It may be true that ourselves as Singaporeans are not well-versed in Singapore's history. As a result, instead of supporting our points of view with facts, we just lash out, feeling offended by anyone who undermine LKY's contribution.
I myself am not well-read with regards to Singapore history. I've only learnt a lot of it over the past week. I was born in an era where LKY was no longer the Prime Minister but the Senior Minister. And before I was "socially conscious", the reins were passed to the current PM, Lee Hsien Long. Therefore I cannot put up a good argument about LKY's contributions. How can you let fishes to appreciate water when they've never been on the land? I think that's part of the reason why people do not think that LKY deserve as much credit as people are giving him.
So, I guess there are some rooms of improvement with regards to being more tolerant of a different viewpoint.
4. We, the citizens of Singapore, are not blind minions of LKY.
As much as we praise and credit LKY, people tend to associate that with us being blind minions who are so completely brainwashed by our so-called "biased" Social Studies textbooks. Here's just an important clarification: we are only giving credit when credit is due. We are not blind followers without a critical mind of our own. We do not agree with everything he does. We know about his iron first, his oppressive leadership as people call it, some controversial events that have occurred during the years leading to our independence. Some feel that our 'success' is measured on selective dimensions, and also at the cost of our freedom.
Some people may disagree with his method. I think we can agree to disagree. I just want to say that everything has a trade-off. Had he not been the way he is, maybe Singapore wouldn't been the same today. It could have been better, it could have been worse. We don't know and we never will. Maybe we don't live in a true liberal society, but we live in a country where insensitive racial & religious remarks are strictly condemned. Maybe we don't have 100% "freedom of speech", but we have the freedom of walking on the streets 2am in the middle of the night without the fear of getting raped or robbed.
Everyone is entitled to their views. We can disagree with certain things he do, but I think that's independent of the the things he deserves credit for.
So, like I said, after looking at the critics, I initially felt upset but I couldn't really rebutt the points with my limited knowledge. And then I came across a Facebook status by an ex-teacher of mine which I thought was worth sharing:
Some thoughts about the "criticisms" levelled so far
1) "Singapore was already prospering as a port, so not much more to do" - if the port was so wonderful in providing jobs, why was there such a high unemployment rate? Why was there such a need to develop Jurong?
Also, geographical position doesn't guarantee anything. Ask a transport person and they will tell you in terms of distance and airline routes, Bangkok is actually the best place to be an aerospace hub. Yet we are the one. Why?JB developed its own port years ago and offered cheaper services. Building a canal across the Isthmus of Kra has been eyed for centuries and when it happens, our port can easily be rendered useless. Sea routes across the North Pole are being explored.
Our location and port guarantee much ah?
2) "The British left behind a strong civil service" - Ceylon and Burma were widely regarded as the British colonies that were most likely to succeed and prosper upon independence due to their resources and pool of educated elites. Much more educated elites than us to run a civil service and government well. Yet they lagged behind eventually due to poor governance. So even if this is true, as you can see, it doesn't guarantee anything without good governance.
3) "It was Albert Winsemius's idea." - Indeed. But execution to mobilise so much resources to attract MNCs and stuff is easy ah? Both Albert Winsemius and our founding fathers have to be credited.
4) "We didn't start out as a backwater fishing village" - No doubt. But our "cities" were squalid and overcrowded, and much of our people lived in kampungs. It is an easy feat to give them all clean water supply and sanitation facilities as well as a roof over the head?
Give credit when it is due. Yes, there were disastrous policies like Graduate Mothers Scheme that needs to be criticised, yes some Singaporeans may not like him, but that doesn't mean one needs to discredit and play down real contributions.
We did not begin as a nation. A nation is a nation because of something common that ties them together. We had nothing to tie us all together. It was created. It was imagined. It was socially constructed. And yet it happened so that we can get to where we are today
(Credits to Mr Luo Yanjie)
If you realise, I kept saying that I was 'initially' upset when I read those articles. But over the days, I began to feel rather indifferent towards such critics and different viewpoints. Why??
1. Majority of articles and sentiments are towards being grateful for LKY's contribution.
Why be so upset with a handful of people who think otherwise? Most of what I've seen the past days were substantially out-pouring of gratitude. Just scroll down your Facebook page, Instagram feeds, the crowd at Padang and Parliament House. Most of us understand how much LKY loves the nation, how much he has done. I think that suffice.
2. More importantly, why does it even matter that people disagree? I came across this quote of LKY (which I also used it as a caption for one of my Instag's post as a tribute to LKY):
“I have never been overconcerned or obsessed with opinion polls or popularity polls. I think a leader who is, is a weak leader. If you are concerned with whether your rating will go up or down, then you are not a leader. You are just catching the wind … you will go where the wind is blowing. And that’s not what I am in this for.”
Because of his words, I realised that a constant struggle facing all leaders is to make unpopular decisions. There are decisions that politicians make that's going make people not like you. You will be unpopular. The policy will be criticised. That's what he's done. He has made unpopular choices. Even if he's made popular decisions, he wouldn't make every single damn soul in this country happy. That's just impossible, no one can make everyone happy. He's not in for a popularity contest, he's not here to make us like him. He's here to make Singapore a progressive nation. That's who he is.
If he himself is not going to be overly concerned about opinion polls and popularity polls, why should we be?
So if you're like me, who feels the grievance everything someone has another view on Mr LKY, just let it go. Because that's what he lives for.
So, that's about it for my two-cents-worth.
Over the past few days, I saw a different side of Singapore. The grateful and gracious side. I feel moved by all the volunteers, soldiers and businesses who've contributed to this grieving period. :)
I'm glad that I braved through 1.5 hours of heavy rain and say my final thanks and goodbye to this visionary leader. It's really uncanny how the rain literally lasted the whole of his journey to UCC and stopped. Everyone was drenched. I brought an umbrella, thinking I was prepared for any weather, but I was wrong. My hair was wet, my clothes were wet, my bag was wet, my insides were wet, my feet and thighs are covered in mud. But I couldn't care less (except for my electronic devices in my bag because I was stupid enough to bring a bag that has no zip -_-).
Why is the rain nothing to us?
1. I see soldiers marching under rain, lining up to salute Mr LKY, in their Smart Four and with nothing over their heads. They didn't flinch a slightest bit.
2. Like everyone has said, because LKY gave his whole life for Singapore.
On a final note, I just wish to say - we have mourned enough over LKY's departure. We should celebrate his life, his contribution and his leadership.
Regards
Caroline Tan
