Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew (also spelt Lee Kwan-Yew) (born September 16, 1923) ({{zh-cp|c=李光耀|p=L? Gu?ngyào}}) was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. He has remained the second most influential politician in Singapore (after the Prime Minister) since stepping down from office. Under the administration of Singapore's second prime minister, Goh Chok Tong, he served as Senior Minister. He currently holds the newly-created post of Minister Mentor under his son Lee Hsien Loong, who became the nation's third prime minister on August 12, 2004. He is also known informally as Harry to his close friends and family, although this first name is never used in official settings.

Post-independence administration

In his biography, Lee Kuan Yew stated that he did not sleep well, and fell sick days after Singapore's independence. As the British prime-minister at the time, Harold Wilson expressed concern upon learning of Lee's condition from the British High Commissioner, John Robb. In response to their concern, Lee replied:

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"Do not worry about Singapore. My colleagues and I are sane, rational people even in our moments of anguish. We will weigh all possible consequences before we make any move on the political chessboard..."

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Lee began to seek international recognition of the Singapore's Independence. Singapore joined the United Nations (UN) on 21 September 1965, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on 8 August 1967. Lee made his first official visit to Indonesia in 25 May, 1973, just a few years after the Konfrontasi under Sukarno's regime. Relations between Singapore and Indonesia substantially improved as subsequent visits were made between Singapore and Indonesia.

Related Topics:
United Nations - 21 September - 1965 - Association of Southeast Asian Nations - 8 August - 1967 - 25 May - 1973 - Konfrontasi - Sukarno

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As Singapore has never had a dominant culture to which immigrants could assimilate, nor a common language, together with efforts from the government and ruling party, Lee tried to create a common Singaporean identity in the 1970s and 1980s.

Related Topics:
1970s - 1980s

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Lee and his government stressed the importance of maintaining religious tolerance and racial harmony, and they were ready to use the law to counter any threat that might incite ethnic and religious violence. For example, Lee warned against "insensitive evangelisation", by which he referred to instances of Christian proselytising directed at Malays. In 1974, the government advised the Bible Society of Singapore to stop publishing religious materials in Malay. http://www.exploitz.com/Singapore-Religious-Change-cg.php

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Decisions and policies

Lee had three main concerns – national security, the economy, and social issues – during his post-independence administration.

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National security

The vulnerability of Singapore was deeply felt with threats from multiple sources including the communists, Indonesia (with its Confrontation stance), and UMNO extremists who wanted to force Singapore back into Malaysia. As Singapore gained admission to the United Nations, Lee quickly sought international recognition of Singapore's independence. He declared a policy of neutrality and non-alignment, following Switzerland's model. At the same time, he assigned Goh Keng Swee with the task of building the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and requested help from other countries for advice, training and facilities.

Related Topics:
United Nations - Neutrality - Non-alignment - Switzerland - Singapore Armed Forces

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With the British announcement of having the intentions to pull out or cut down the troops from Singapore and Malaysia, In 1967, he and Goh introduced National Service, a conscription program that developed a large reserve force that can be mobilized in a short notice. In January 1968, Lee bought some AMX-13 French-made tanks and a total of 72 refurbished tanks in 1972.

Related Topics:
1967 - AMX-13

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Later, Singapore was able to establish strong military relations with other nations of ASEAN, the Five-Powers Defense Agreement (FPDA) and other noncommunist states. This partially restored the security of the country following the withdrawal of British troops in 31 October 1971.

Related Topics:
ASEAN - Five-Powers Defense Agreement - 31 October - 1971

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Economic issues

The separation from Malaysia signified a permanent loss of a common market and an economic hinterland. The economic woes were further exacerbated by the British withdrawal that would eliminate over 50,000 jobs. Although the British were backing out from their earlier commitment to keep their bases till 1975, Lee decided not to strain the relationship with London. He convinced Harold Wilson to allow the substantial military infrastructure (including a dockyard) to be converted for civilian use, instead of destroying them in accordance with British law. With advice from Dr Albert Winsemius, Lee set Singapore on the path of industrialization. In 1961, the Economic Development Board was established to attract foreign investment, offering attractive tax incentives and providing access to the highly skilled, disciplined and relatively low paid work force. At the same time, the government maintained tight control of the economy, regulating the allocation of land, labour and capital resources. Modern infrastructure of airport, port, roads, and communications networks were built. The Singapore Tourist Promotion Board was set up to promote tourism that would create many jobs in the service industry. In building the economy, Lee was assisted by his ablest ministers, especially Goh Keng Swee and Hon Sui Sen. They managed to reduce the unemployment rate from 14 percent in 1965 to 4.5 percent in 1973.

Related Topics:
1975 - London - Harold Wilson - Albert Winsemius - 1961 - Economic Development Board - Singapore Tourist Promotion Board - Goh Keng Swee - Hon Sui Sen - 1965 - 1973

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Designating official languages

Lee designated English as the language of the workplace and the common language among the different races, while recognizing Malay, Chinese, and Tamil as the other three official languages. Most schools use English as the medium of instruction, although there are also lessons for the mother tongues.

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Lee discouraged the usage of Chinese dialects by promoting Mandarin to be supplanted as the "Mother Tongue" of ethnic Chinese, in view of having a common language of communication within the Chinese community. In 1979, Lee officially launched the first Speak Mandarin Campaign. Lee also cancelled the broadcasting of all television programmes in dialects, with the exception of news and operas, for the benefit of the older audience. However, the policy worked at the expense of Chinese dialects; it was recently observed that most of the younger Chinese Singaporeans are no longer able to speak Chinese dialects fluently, thus encountering some difficulty when communicating with their dialect-speaking grandparents.

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In the 1970s, graduates of the Chinese-language Nanyang University were facing huge problems finding jobs because of their lack of command in the English language, which was often required in the workforce, especially the public sector. Lee had to take drastic measures, and had Nanyang University absorbed by the English-language University of Singapore; the combined institution was renamed the National University of Singapore. This move greatly affected the Chinese-speaking professors who would now have to teach in English. It was also opposed by some Chinese groups who had contributed significantly to the building of Nanyang University and therefore had strong emotional attachments to the school.

Related Topics:
Nanyang University - University of Singapore - National University of Singapore

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Government policies

Like many Asian countries, Singapore was not immune to the disease of corruption. Lee was well aware how corruption had led to the downfall of the Nationalist Chinese government in mainland China. Fighting against the communists himself, he knew he had to "clean house". Lee introduced legislation that give the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) greater power to conduct arrests, search, call up witnesses, and investigate bank accounts and income tax returns of suspected persons and their family. With Lee?s support, CPIB was given the authority to investigate any officer or minister. Indeed, several ministers were later charged with corruption.

Related Topics:
Corruption - Nationalist Chinese - China - Clean house - Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau

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Lee believed that ministers should be well paid in order to maintain a clean and honest government. In 1994, he proposed to link the salaries of ministers, judges, and top civil servants to the salaries of top professionals in the private sector, arguing that this would help recruit and retain talents to serve in the public sector.

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In 1983, Lee sparked the "Great Marriage Debate" when he encouraged Singapore men to choose women with high education as wives. He was concerned that a large number of graduate women were unmarried. Some sections of the population, including graduate women, were upset by his views. Nonetheless, a match-making agency Social Development Unit (SDU) was set up to promote socializing among men and women graduates. Lee also introduced incentives for graduate mothers to have third and fourth children, in a reversal of the over-successful ?Stop-at-Two? family planning campaign in the 1960s and 1970s.

Related Topics:
1983 - Social Development Unit - 1960s - 1970s

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Relations with Malaysia

Mahathir bin Mohamad

Lee looked forward to improving relationships with Mahathir bin Mohamad upon the latter's promotion to Deputy Prime Minister. Knowing that Mahathir was in line to become the next Prime Minister of Malaysia, Lee invited Mahathir (through then-President of Singapore Devan Nair) to visit Singapore in 1978. The first and subsequent visits improved both personal and diplomatic relationships between them. Mahathir told Lee to cut off links with the Chinese leaders of the Democratic Action Party; in exchange, Mahathir undertook not to interfere in the affairs of the Malay Singaporeans.

Related Topics:
Mahathir bin Mohamad - Devan Nair - 1978 - Democratic Action Party - Malay Singaporean

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In December 1981, Mahathir changed the time zone of the Malay Peninsula in order to create just one time zone for Malaysia, and Lee followed suit for economic and social reasons. Relations with Mahathir subsequently improved in 1982.

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In January 1984, Mahathir imposed a RM100 levy on all goods vehicles leaving Malaysia and Singapore. However, when Musa Hitam's tried to discourage Mahathir's policy, the levy was doubled to discourage the use of Singapore's port, and a breakdown in relations with Malaysia was evident.

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In June 1988, Lee and Mahathir reached a major agreement in Kuala Lumpur to build the Linggui dam on the Johor River. Lee approached Mahathir in 1989, when he intended to move the railway customs from Tanjong Pagar in Southern Singapore to Woodlands at the end of the Causeway, in part because of an increasing number of cases of drug smuggling into Singapore. This caused resentment in Malaysia, as some of the land would revert to Singapore when the railway tracks were no longer used. In response, Mahathir designated Daim Zainuddin, then Minister of Finance of Malaysia, to settle the terms.

Related Topics:
Mahathir - Kuala Lumpur - Customs - Tanjong Pagar - Woodlands - Daim Zainuddin

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After months of negotiation, an agreement was reached involving the joint development of three main parcels of land in Tanjong Pagar, Kranji, and Woodlands. Malaysia had a sixty percent share, while Singapore had a forty percent share. The Points of Agreement (POA) was signed on 27 November 1990, a day before Lee stepped down as Prime Minister.

Related Topics:
27 November - 1990

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Legacy and controversies

During the three decades in which Lee was in office, Singapore grew from being a developing country to one of the most developed nations in the world, despite its small population and lack of natural resources. Lee has often stated that Singapore's only natural resources are its people and their strong work ethic. He is widely respected by many Singaporeans, particularly the older generation, who remember his inspiring leadership during independence and the separation from Malaysia. He has often been credited as being the architect of Singapore's present prosperity (although a significant role was also played by his Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Goh Keng Swee, who was in charge of the economy.)

Related Topics:
Developing country - Developed nation - Natural resources - Goh Keng Swee

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On the other hand, some Singaporeans and foreigners have criticized Lee as elitist and even an autocrat. Lee was once quoted as saying he preferred to be feared than loved. He has implemented some harsh measures to allegedly suppress political opposition and freedom of speech, such as outlawing public demonstrations without an explicit police permit, the restriction of the press publication, the use of defamation lawsuits (which, according to his worst critics, have little merit) to bankrupt political opponents.

Related Topics:
Elitist - Autocrat - Freedom of speech - Defamation - Lawsuit - Bankrupt

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On one occasion, after a court ruling in favor of Lee was overturned by the Privy Council, the right of appeal to the Council was abolished. During his premiership from 1965 to 1990, he incarcerated Chia Thye Poh, a former MP of an opposition party, the Barisan Socialis, for twenty-two years under the Internal Security Act for being an alleged member of the Malayan Communist Party, only to be released in 19893. He abolished the "Trial by Jury" in the courts, hence giving full authority to the judges in their judicial decisions.

Related Topics:
Privy Council - Chia Thye Poh - Malayan Communist Party - 3

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