Lee Kuan Yew
It’s obvious to me that we need to give up the present culture of race-based policies, not because LKY said so, but because they simply don’t work.
Zaid Ibrahim
Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) became an easy target for our national and Pakatan Rakyat leaders when he recently commented on how Malaysia was suffering from the effects of its race-based politics.
Their response was typical of Malaysian politicians from both sides of the divide: they hurled personal insults at the ageing Singaporean leader that offered little insight into the real issues.
The Opposition’s Karpal Singh and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim put it as A) mind your own business and B) your ideas are no longer useful.
As for the Barisan Nasional, they pointed out that Singapore is also racially biased and therefore unqualified to speak on the subject.
UMNO leaders then loudly proclaimed that the “Malays first” policy is here to stay and that the Malays are not ready for any change. End of story.
I am reluctant to defend LKY as I think he was heartless when he was in power and he punished his opponents too harshly for my liking.
However, I do admire his pragmatic approach to public policies. His strength of conviction and willingness to be unpopular is well known, and it was firmly rooted in his belief that his policies were good for the people.
Like China’s Deng Xiaoping, he favoured policies that were practical and useful to the general public.
Deng’s famous saying, “It doesn’t matter whether a cat is white or black, as long as it catches mice” cleverly encapsulated this practicality.
He understood that a market economy was crucial for his country’s survival and competitiveness and gradually guided China away from the ideals of Mao Tse Tung.
