sundaymorningstaple wrote:There is good and bad in any system of government. Or in any leader, for that matter. Some have decidedly more bad than good but (I do NOT include the historical and modern day monsters though - are there are some of them still around in a few countries). For me, it's easy when talking about leeky. I give him 110% as an effective leader (for me, his results somewhat justify the means. He turned a backwater into a thriving metropolis envied by most major cities in the world in less than 40 years. Not bad for what was essentially a small handful of carefully chosen men who had an ideal.
Hear, hear! You're absolutely right.
However, I temper my accolades with the fact that I only give him about 60% as a man. To me he is vindictive. And his penchant to bankrupt anybody who disagrees with him is pathetic from my POV. The claim for suing the opposition into bankruptcy is to maintain the moral high ground? Bollocks. History would stand on his side. What you do for a country would be most leaders history, but unfortunately his personal vendettas will also following him into history as well, tarnishing what otherwise was a sterling performance in nation building. From that perspective the term dictator comes to mind, although his is not, on the surface. But is the only difference the way that he eliminated any opposition? I've not lived under a true dictatorship to know for sure, but I know if I go home I may well be.
- make judgements only when one has all the bare facts.
- then profile the case in context of the circumstances , character,
background experiences, immediate pressure groups, schools of
thoughts influencing actions and immediate pressure
- that's the way to be merciful.
But the point is, it's ludicrous to even attempt to comapre LKY to a dictator. It always takes two to tango - who knows what the opposition had said or dopne? I trust the legislature in SG is free of corruption. And of, course, there're always the unseen hand that the PM would be extremely aware of - having lived out WW2 and the brutalities of submission to any form of evil.
Did he make mistakes? Sure he did.
His is, after all, regardless of the pedestal he has erected for himself, only a man. And men are fallible. How many mistakes? No one knows, as some of the mistakes only show up with time. Things like the genetic deficiency that exists among a large portion of the population caused by social engineering. They excel in maths & science but cannot hold an open wide ranging conversation on anything except a very narrow band as a result of the type of education system that was employed in the first 3 decades after independence. Or the almost total lack of social mores. Of course, it could be justified at the time as the country needed to get into the industrial age in a hurry. Same thing with the short sighted population growth restraints of the late 70's offering mother's a trifle $5K to get sterilized after their 2nd child. Short sighted policy in as much as they only were looking 15 years into the future instead of 30. Now they have one of the lowest fertility rates in the world and even dangling 20K baby bonuses isn't enough to pull the population out of the mememe attitude of instant self gratification. Big mistake and now it's compounding itself because it takes time to raise children, but GDP growth has to continue, so in comes foreign labour to take up the slack. Now, with 1 in 4 foreigners here, the locals are hollering foul, and probably rightly so. Especially those who wanted and could have afforded more children, but decided to tow the party line.
Justified concerns raised indeed. It'll be nice to have one's cake and eat it too. It suddenly occured to me that there will always be rumblings of dissent as people do get sidelined or victimised. It becomes psychologically persisitent and one should read the signs and give help.
I agree there should be more compassion in SG , or in any other country bent on making it in the fast lane.
Most EU countires suffer from low fertility rates - a result of several factors, including all kind sof modern technology, people's lifestyles and attitude. Social engineering is a picky issue, but looking at China, I tend to agree that it's overcrowded and people should restrain from having 200 plus children ( some engineered for evil purposes). Apart from that, take China's one child policy - it forced the people to face other issues such as gender discrimination.
Ha! 'foreigners everywhere' is a topic of this decade. One needs to come to London, or even the Normandy countryside to find that SG, then, is no different. The f word needs to be redefined. But this deserves a separate thread.
But, at the end of the day, the draconian policies have had their effects. The system actually works, and works pretty efficiently, the only problems come from the west with our cowboy attitudes and self moralistic views that we've become accustomed to. In that respect it grinds a bit, but like some of us, due to the fact that it actually works for the most part, we park our deep-seated beliefs and accept that "for here" it works. For me, I just compartmentalize it. I keep the real me in hibernation for a few more years. Both of my kids made it through their entire childhoods and early adulthood without danger or drugs. (Yeah, I know if you want it bad enough you can find it) But I wonder what kind of odds they would have had, had they been in NYC, LA, or Wash DC? Or victims of crimes related to drugs?
The lax policies seem to do no favour to the UK either. The middle way should be advocated based on sensible thinking and balanced outcomes rather than the " Win win " culture. See where that gets America today.
I haven't read From Mars to Venus, but from my experience in this forum, I reckon most males would like to prove they have the big stick, but I'm glad to see changes - which is a subtle but spiritual word. I guess when mortals leave the good earth, they leave their spirit ( or reputation ) behind, but most of all, they would have left their work behind.
But, I still can't wait to escape my HDB prison cell and get back to the farm.
Surely you can look to buy a house with enough land for farming in SG, if not Malaysia or Thailand? You can have durian trees and all tropical flora and fauna. You will miss SG if you leave, esp when your family is part S'porean. I regretted leaving SG - perhaps taking a long holiday before you decide might help you make a clearer decision to consider what "home" really means for you.
Oh, I miss SG - its sheer convenience, it's bonuses and its variety. 
