Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew: Economy, Clean Government, and Reshuffling Society

GFPP 2023 Politics of South-East Asia Topic: Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew Group :B Members’ Names : Chan Xin Ying 214765 Muganthini A/P Kumaran 214956 Ranjani A/P Selvarajan 214951 Teaw Zhen Sheng 215070 Lim Chia Min 214919 Leong Siew Fui 214882 Lau Shie Yin 214853 Tan Kwee Lyn 214762 Chiew Guat Ying 214929 Mehala A/P Gopalakrishan 214972 Lecturer Name : Professor Patit Paban Mishra GFPP 2023 Politics of South-East Asia Topic: Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew Group :B Members’ Names : Chan Xin Ying 214765 Muganthini A/P Kumaran 214956 Ranjani A/P Selvarajan 214951 Teaw Zhen Sheng 215070

Lim Chia Min 214919 Leong Siew Fui 214882 Lau Shie Yin 214853 Tan Kwee Lyn 214762 Chiew Guat Ying 214929 Mehala A/P Gopalakrishan 214972 Lecturer Name : Professor Patit Paban Mishra Pg 1 Pg1-5 Pg 5-7 Pg 8-10 Pg 7-8 Pg 9 Pg 9-10 Pg 10-15 Pg 10-12 Pg 12-14 Pg 14-15 Pg15 Pg 15-18 Pg 18 Pg 1 Pg1-5 Pg 5-7 Pg 8-10 Pg 7-8 Pg 9 Pg 9-10 Pg 10-15 Pg 10-12 Pg 12-14 Pg 14-15 Pg15 Pg 15-18 Pg 18 Contents 1) Introduction 2) The Economy Policy Under Lee Kuan Yew 3) Creating a Clean Government in Singapore 4) Reshuffling the society, creating a fair not welfare society i) Greening Singapore ii) Many tongues, one language ii) Rule and Law iv) Fighting on Traffic Congestion 5) Regional and International Policies and Relation under Lee Kuan Yew i) ASEAN- Malaysia ii) China iii) Japan iv) United States 6) Comparison between Lee Kuan Yew and Mahathir Mohamad 7) Conclusion 8) Attachments 9) References Introduction Singapore the streets are now sparkling clean, and the city runs like clockwork. Singapore is a leading financial center, and boasts an impressive skyline that is easily recognizable. Among other things, Singapore's public transportation and education systems are consistently rated highly in international rankings.

Singapore is also known as a clean and green city, and at least some of this can be attributed to Lee's tough stance against chewing gum and littering. Singapore is not only good in this aspects but its really good in economical wise too. Singapore’ success in economic and social development in recent decades has been due to pragmatic policies and general public acceptance of a limited government role in such areas as health, social security. Southeast Asia has developed considerably over the past half-century, but Singapore has leaped even further ahead of her much larger and well-endowed neighbors.

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All this credits should be directed to the prime minister of Singapore who is the great man Lee Kuan Yee. He is widely credited as the architect behind Singapore's remarkable transformation from third-world country to first in just under a generation. Lee Kuan Yew was born in Singapore on 16th September 1923, a third generation descendant of immigrants from China’s Guangdong province. He read law at Cambridge University, England. In 1954, he formed the People’s Action Party. Five years later, his party won the Singapore general election and he became prime minister at 35.

In November 1990, he assumed the post of senior minister. I) The Economy Policy under Lee Kuan Yew Anyone who predicted in 1965 when Singapore seperated from Malaysia that Singapore would become a financial centre would have been thought been thought mad. However, it had become a reality, till now, it is a normal sight to see the gleaming modern offices in the city centre with banks of computers linking Singapore with London, New York,Tokyo, Frankfurt, Hong Kong and other major financial centre in the world. Singapore is considered one of the world's great cities, comparable to New York, London and Hong Kong.

Unlike Hong Kong, Singapore could neither ride on the reputation of the City of London, an established financial centre with its long history of international banking, nor depend on the backing of the Bank of England. In 1968, Singapore was still a third world country. Foreign bankers needed to be assured of stable social conditions, a good working and living environment, efficient infrastructure and a pool of skilled and adaptable professionals. In 1965, both Lee Kuan Yao and Goh Keng Swee had decided, soon after independence, that Singapore should not have a central bank which could issue currency and create money.

Lee Kuan Yew had determined not to let Singapore dollar’s currency to lose its value against the strong currencies of the big nations such as the U. S. The MAS( Monetary Authority of Singapore) which is in charge of supervising the bank industry, has been given all the authority to issue currency notes and also keep pace with developments in financial services. Lee had to fight every inch of the way to establish in Singapore’s integrity, competence and judgment. Lee Kuan Yew made a modest start with an offshore Asian dollar market, the counterpart of the Eurodollar market .

In the early years from 1968 to 1985, Singapore under the governance of Lee Kuan Yew, had managed to attract international financial institutions by abolishing withholding tax on interest income earned by non-resident depositors. The economy in the 1980s under Lee Kuan Yew rested on five major sectors: the regional entreport trade; export-oriented manufacturing; petroleum refining and shipping; production of goods and services for the domestic economy; and the provision of focused services for the international market, such as banking and finance, telecommunications, and tourism.

The outstanding growth of manufacturing in the 1970s and 1980s had a major impact on the economy and the society, but tended to obscure what carried over from the economic structure of the past. Singapore's economy always depended on international trade and on the sale of services. An entrepot was essentially a provider of services such as wholesaling, warehousing, sorting and processing, credit, currency exchange, risk management, ship repair and provisioning, business information, and the adjudication of commercial disputes.

In this perspective, which focused on exchange and processing, the 1980s assembly of electronic components and manufacture of precision optical instruments were evolutionary steps from the nineteenth century sorting and grading of pepper and rubber. Both processes used the skills of Singaporeans to add value to commodities that were produced elsewhere and destined for consumption outside the city-state. A former colonial trading port serving the regional economies of naval Southeast Asia, Singapore in the 1990s aspired to be a "global city" serving world markets and major multinational corporations.

A quarter century after independence in 1965, the city-state had become a manufacturing center with one of the highest incomes in the region and a persistent labor shortage. As one of Asia's four "little dragons" or newly industrializing economies. Singapore along with the Republic of Korea (South Korea), Taiwan, and Hong Kong was characterized by an export-oriented economy, relatively equitable income allocation, trade surpluses with the United States and other developed countries, and a common legacy of Chinese civilization and Confucian values.

The small island had no resources other than its strategic location and the skills of its nearly 2. 7 million people. In 1988 it claimed a set of economic superlatives, including the world's busiest port, the world's highest rate of annual economic growth (11 percent), and the world's highest savings rate (42 percent of income). As Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew presided over an exponential increase in Singapore's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from US$704 million in 1960 to US$38 billion in 1990. This figure currently stands at US$222 billion, or over 300 times its level in 1960.

Adjusting for cost of living differences, Singapore's GDP per capita was ranked 3rd globally by the International Monetary Fund in 2010. Few countries have grown so rapidly, and Singapore's economic success has been widely hailed by international observers. The city-state Lee inherited in 1959 was very different from the Singapore of today. Another of Lee's significant contributions is his establishment of the Government Investment Corporation (GIC) of Singapore in 1981 to manage Singapore's foreign reserves. The exact size of Singapore's reserves is not known, but it is estimated to be one of the world's top ten largest in size.

These reserves have allowed Singapore to defend her currency and maintain exchange rate stability even during the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-8. No bank in Singapore faltered. Lee Kuan Yew leaves behind a culture that prizes meritocracy and has no tolerance for corruption. He introduced legislation to strengthen the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), and more controversially, proposed in 1994 that the salaries of ministers and top civil servants should be linked to top professionals in the private sector to maintain a clean and honest government.

Lee currently draws an annual salary of over US$3 million. In the 2011 Corruption Perception Index compiled by Transparency International, experts at ten independent institutions including the World Bank and Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Singapore the least corrupt country in the world. Lee Kuan Yew says a major reason for Singapore's economic achievements is its political stability. He attributes much of this to the dominant role of the People's Action Party (PAP), which he co-founded in 1954. Despite the praise lavished on Mr.

Lee for his economic accomplishments, many have criticized his approach against political dissent. Singapore’s economy under Lee Kuan Yew, had been said to achieve miracle. A small country that separated from Malaysia, it had reached to be one of the larger financial centres of the world, with its foreign exchange market ranking fourth in size after London, New York and only slightly behind Tokyo. Lee Kuan Yew had lead Singapore as the high-tech leader of Southeast Asia, the commercial entrepot, the scientific centre.

Singapore now plays a major role in the politics and economics of Southeast Asia and beyond. II)Creating A Clean Government in Singapore When Lee Kuan Yew’s political party took over office in 1959, the government set out to have a clean administration. Lee Kuan Yew’s government had a deep sense of mission to establish a clean and effective government. When they took the oath of office at the ceremony in the city council chamber in June 1959, Lee Kuan Yew and the rest of the parliament all wore white shirts and white slacks to symbolize purity and honesty in their personal behavior and their public life.

Lee Kuan Yew’s government make sure that from the day they took office in June 1959 that every dollar in revenue would be properly accounted for and would reach the beneficiaries at the grass roots as one dollar, without being siphoned off along the way. So from the beginning, special attentions were given to the areas where discretionary powers had been exploited for personal gain and sharpened the instruments that could prevent, detect or deter such practices.

The principle agency charged with this task was the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) set up by the British un 1952 in order to deal with corruption, especially at lower and middle levels of the police, hawker inspectors and land bailiffs who had to take action against the many who broke the law by occupying public roads for illegal hawking, or state land for building their squatter huts. These inspectors could either issue a summons or look the other way for an appropriate bribe. In 1960, the outdated 1937 anti-corruption law was changed and widened the definition of gratuity to include anything of value.

The amendments gave wide powers to investigators, including arrest and search and investigation of bank accounts and bank books of suspected persons and their wives, children or agents. There was no need to prove that the person who received bribe was in a position to carry out the required favour. In 1960, a change was made to allow the courts to treat proof that an accused was living beyond his means or had property his income could not explain as corroborating evidence that accused had accepted or obtained a bribe.

With a keen nose to the ground and the power to investigate every officer and every minister, the director of the CPIB, working from the Prime Minister’s Office, developed a justly formidable reputation for sniffing out those betraying the public trust. In 1963, it was made as compulsory for witnesses summoned by the CPIB to present themselves to give information. The maximum fine for corruption was increased from $10,000 to $100,000 in 1989. Giving false or misleading information to the CPIB became an offence subject to imprisonment and a fine up to $10,000, and the courts were empowered to confiscate the benefits derived from corruption.

Corruptions used to be organized in large scale in certain areas. In 1971, the CPIB broke up a syndicate of over 250 mobile squad policemen who received payments ranging from S$5 to S$10 per month from lorry sides of the lorries. Those owners who refused to pay would be constantly harassed by having summonses issued against them. The Institution of Management Development’s World Competitiveness Yearbook 1997 ranked the least corrupt countries in the whole world giving 10 points as the perfect score for the country with no corruption.

Singapore was ranked as the least corrupt country in Asia with a score of 9. 18 ahead of Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan. Transparency International which based in Berlin, placed Singapore in seventh place worldwide in 1998 for absence of corruption. III)Reshuffling the society: Disciplining ethnics, and creating a fair, not welfare society I) Greening Singapore After independence, Lee Kuan Yew had searched for some dramatic ways to distinguished Singapore from other Third World Countries and finally he opt the path for a clean and green Singapore, as an oasis in Southeast Asia.

Besides improving physical infrastructure, Lee Kuan Yew also stated the importance to improve the rough and ready ways of people. He identified the reasons of littering laid on unlicensed hawkers who sell food on the pavements and streets in total disregard of traffic. He also was alerted about the problem created by “pirate taxi” which ruined the bus services. In the 1970s, Lee Kuan Yew’s government had created many jobs and enforce the law and reclaimed the streets. Food hawkers were licensed and moved towards proper hawker center with piped water, sewers and garbage disposal.

By early 1980s, nearly all hawkers were resettled. Lee Kuan Yew’s attempt on transforming Singapore into a tropical garden city was successful. Millions of trees , palms and shrubs were planted and the green eventually raised the morale of the people as well as pride for their surroundings. Children were educated in schools by getting themselves to plant trees, growing it in growth garden, and the message is brought to their parents. Singapore green society was admired by leaders of other nations such as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who greened Kuala Lumpur after Singapore’s visit. President Suharto who greens Jakarta and also President Marcos in Manila. Lee Kuan Yew had managed to clean up the Singapore River and Kallang Basin and bring fish back to water, which was a massive engineering job. Underground sewers were laid for the whole island and people were moved from 3000 backyard and cottage industry and resettled in industrial estates with sullages traps for oil and waste. Lee also deal with air and sound pollutions in Singapore, urging all factories to landscape their grounds and plant trees before they could commerce operations.

From the 1970s, to save youngsters from nasty and dangerous addiction, Lee Kuan Yew took action to banned all advertising on cigarettes, “Smoke-Free Week” was launched every year. A ban on chewing gum brought Singapore much ridicule in America. Vandals stuck chewing gum onto sensors of the doors of MRT trains and services were disrupted. Soon the ban was executed, the nuisance was greatly reduced. II) Many tongues, one language Lee Kuan Yew realized that English had to be Singapore’s language of the workplace and the common language.

He stated that as an international community, neither Malay, Chinese nor Tamil could be used. In order to achieve this, Lee Kuan Yew had introduced teaching three mother tongues, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil in English schools and to balance this English was also introduced in Chinese, Malay and Indian school. Malay and Indians welcomed the policy but Chinese had made an opposition stand and expressed their unhappiness to the press, particularly from Chinese language Nanyang Universiti and Ngee Ann College.

As a result Lee Kuan Yew had merged both Nantah and University of Singapore to become National University of Singapore, and made all Chinese schools switch to English as their main language of instruction and Chinese as the second language. However, in order to preserve the discipline, self confidence and Confucian values that instilled in students, Lee Kuan Yew had preserve the best nine of the Chinese schools under special assistance plan or SAP.

The SAP schools were provided with additional teachers to enable pupils to learn English and Chinese through special immersion programmes and successfully retained the formality, discipline and social courtesies of traditional Chinese schools. “ Speak Mandarin” campaign was launched for a month every year to encourage Chinese to use Mandarin instead of dialect. III) Rule and Law Law and order provide the framework for stability and development. Trained in law, Lee Kuan Yew had imbibed the principle of equality of all before the law for the proper functioning of a society.

Soon after becoming the prime minister in 1959, Lee Kuan Yew had abolished the jury system for all cases except murder. Lee Kuan Yew did not accept the theory that a criminal is a victim of the society. Lee Kuan Yew had found canning more effective than long prison terms and imposed it for crimes related to drugs, arms trafficking, rape, illegal entry into Singapore and vandalizing of public property. These measures had made for law and order in Singapore. Singapore was rated No. 1 by the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 1997, as a country where “ organized crime does not impose significant costs on businesses”.

The international Institute for Management Development in their World Competitiveness Yearbook 1997 also rated Singapore No. 1 for security, “ where there is full confidence among people that their person and property is protected”. IV) Fighting on Traffic Congestion By 1975 traffic jams in Singapore is unbearable. Incomes were increasing and the number of cars registered yearly was rising exponentially. To cope this problem, Lee Kuan Yew settled on a scheme whereby a person had to bid for a certificate of entitlement (COE) to use a new car for 10 years which proved effective in limiting the yearly vehicle increase to 3 percent.

Lee also decided on underground mass rapid transmit (MRT) and introduced the electronic road pricing (ERP). Every vehicle now has a “smart card” at its windscreen, and the correct toll is automatically deducted every time it passes under gantries sited at strategic points in the city. Since the amount a person pays the government now depends upon how much he uses the roads, the optimum number of cars can be owned with the minimum of congestion. IV) Regional and International Policies and Relation under Lee Kuan Yew (I) ASEAN

Singapore had sought the understanding and support of its neighbours in enhancing stability and security in the region. Lee Kuan Yew had stated that ASEAN were banding together more for political objectives, stability and security other than ASEAN’s declared objectives on economic, social and cultural. Lee Kuan Yew had played a major role in ASEAN. When Australia tried to change its civil aviation rules in 1978, the Australians planned to excluded Singapore and other ASEAN capitals from airline intermediate stops.

Lee Kuan Yew concluded that Boeing 747s flying from Australia to Europe would need to stop either in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok en route to London. Lee Kuan Yew set out to keep Malaysians and the Thais on their side. Lee Kuan Yew wrote to Thai Prime Minister General Kriangshak in January 1979 that Australia’s move was “blatantly protectionist” and successfully gave concessions to both Thailand and Malaysia airlines. In the end, ASEAN’s solidarity won the fight and Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew’s effort finally made Australia agreed to let Singapore Airlines retain its capacity and outing into Australia and allowed the other ASEAN airlines to increase their capacities. Lee Kuan Yew also played an active role in Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia, which Lee Kuan Yew, tried hard to persuade and ensure the United States to remain interest in the region, and managed to persuade U. S to give modest aid to the two non-communist resistance forces. Malaysia and Singapore Since Singapore’s independence from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965, the bilateral relationship between Singapore and Malaysia has been described as symbiotic and interdependent.

There remains a high degree of economic and social inter-dependence between the two countries. However, mutual beneficial relationship has been marred by a number of problems that threaten this cooperation. 1) Water Issue Malaysia provides Singapore with about half its water and wants to renegotiate two agreements which date back to the 1960s. Malaysia has argued that it has a right to review the price of raw water under the current agreements while the Singapore Government has argued that Malaysia missed its chance to review prices in the mid-1980s.

Until now, both countries still failed to resolve this issue although many round of negotiations has been done. 2) Pulau Batu Putih (Pedra Branca) Issue Pulau Batu Putih is small island rocky island located 8 miles off the eastern coast of Johor and 28 miles off the eastern coast of Singapore. It is an island which Singapore has occupied and exercised full sovereignty over for more than 130 years since the 1840s without any protest from Malaysia. In 1979, Malaysia for the first time published a new map which included the island of Pedra Branca in its territory.

The dispute began in 1979 and was largely resolved by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2008, which finalized that Pedra Branca belonged to Singapore. Despite the differences in the approaches taken by both countries in resolving their bilateral issues, Malaysia and Singapore are still mutually dependent on each other. The role of the leaders of Malaysia and Singapore are crucial in determining the future relations between the two countries. Efforts to nurture good relations must continue and personal contacts involving leaders and government officials of both countries must continually be encouraged. II) China When Singapore separated from Malaysia, Lee Kuan Yew had announced that Singapore would trade and relationship with all countries including China. But, Singapore realized that it was undesirable and impossible for Singapore to establish diplomatic relations with People’s Republic of China because Singapore is situated in Southeast Asia, an area surrounded by some anti-Chinese country. Firstly, Singapore abstained from voting on the Albanian Resolution because of the tense relations between its neighbor and PRC at the years between 1966 and 1970.

Secondly, to maintain trading with the PRC, Singapore allows the Bank of China as the semi-official representative to continue its business in Singapore. In fact, Bank of China facilitated the trade between PRC and Singapore because the trade with PRC was quite important for Singapore. However, the relation with PRC was concerned, there are marred by the Bank of China incident in which the bank was prosecuted by Singapore by failing to obey a banking law in 1969. People’s Republic of China began to pursue an active foreign policy of befriending countries in the Third World.

The PRC had grown interest in the region by halt in attacking Singapore and Malaysia. It was also illustrated by exchange visit between PRC and some ASEAN countries. The exchange visits between Singapore and the PRC, notably two visits by Lee Kuan Yew to the PRC in 1976 and 1980 and one visit by Deng Xiaoping to Singapore in 1978. With this exchange visit, no doubt will also enable the two countries to have a better understanding of each other’s foreign and domestic policies.

Since the PRC had expressed its desire to have diplomatic ties with ASEAN, Singapore was holding back by making known to others that it will be the last ASEAN country to do so. Lee Kuan Yew said about the timing of Singapore’s diplomatic relations with the PRC because that 75 percent of Singapore’s population is Chinese who does not subordinate Singapore’s interest in foreign policy or domestic policies. Other than that, the Singapore still face the formidable task of building a national identity for its people may dilute Singapore’s interest in establishing an embassy in PRC.

According to the last census in 1970, 14. 8 percent of Chinese population came directly from China. The numbers of these people still have family ties with their kin’s in the China. So that during Deng Xiaoping’s visit to Singapore in 1978, he reiterate to Singapore about that the Chinese in Singapore were Singaporean and not overseas Chinese. Nevertheless, Singapore was more confidence in loyalty of the citizens and has relaxed visits to PRC for Singaporeans. This confidence was also expressed by Lee Kuan Yew when he said in 1977 that people who had gone to the PRC would come back and kiss the soil of Singapore.

During Lee Kuan Yew visit to China in 1980, he suggests that PRC if not instigated and incited the people to the revolution; it will tone down the support for the strain relations with ASEAN states in the future. Singapore was postponing the establishment of diplomatic ties with PRC and waiting for Indonesia. Once Indonesia re-establishes its ties with PRC, most likely the Singapore will follow suit. However Lee Kuan Yew had stated that China has the potential to realize its goal and become one of the major players in the world.

If it is not deflected from its present concentration on education and economic development, China could well be the second largest, if not the largest , trading nation in the world, with greater weight and voice in international affairs. (III) Japan During his years as prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew encourages Japan investment in Singapore. When Prime Minister Sato visited Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew had told him that publicly that Singaporeans had no inhibitions over Japan capital, technology and expertise, that Japan was set to lead the rest of Asia to greater industrialization.

Later, Singapore Economic Development Board had set an office in Tokyo and Lee Kuan Yew managed to use more than three year time to persuade Seiko to build a watch factory in Singapore. Like any other Asian countries, Lee Kuan Yew treated Japan as a role model to success. Lee Kuan Yew had asked Singapore’s Public Utilities Board officials to study how Japanese could be so successful in energy saving. Lee Kuan Yew also learnt from the Japanese the importance of increasing productivity through worker-manager cooperation, and a National Productivity Board (NPB) was formed in Singapore in the year 1972.

Lee Kuan Yew had sincere on the will of learning from the Japanese, in 1980 he had sent officials from his ministry for trade and industry to visit their counterparts in Japan’s formidable ministry for international trade and industry (MITI) which had create the course for Japan’s post-war industrial progress. MITI’s advice to Singapore’s officials that Singapore’s geographic position and environment to prepare for a possible role as a center of knowledge and information. Lee Kuan Yew took their advice to heart and redoubled Singapore’s emphasis on the teaching of sciences, mathematics and computers in all schools.

The whole government administration were computerized in order to set the pace for the private sectors. ( IV) United States During Lee Kuan Yew’s era, Singapore relations with the United States were pleasant. Trade with the United States had increased substantially especially with the latter as Singapore became a supply center for the United States in its increasing involvement in Indochina. By the 1980s, the United States had become Singapore’s most important trading partner and, as such, crucial to country’s welfare. Comparison between Lee Kuan Yew and Mahathir Mohamad

Lee Kuan Yew had successfully transformed Singapore, which was once a poor, decrepit colony, into a shining, rich and modern metropolis. Dr Henry A. Kissinger had addressed Lee Kuan Yew as a seminal figure of Asia and possesses a great interest in developing his country. There’s one man who possesses similar confidence and vision in developing his own nations. Mahathir Mohammad, who had been said as the match of Lee Kuan Yew. Although both leaders’ period as Prime Minister only overlapped only for 9 years (1981-1990), both are always being compared, and known as match for each other.

Over Mahathir’s 22 years as prime minister, the leader had patchy relations with Lee Kuan Yew. Both went authoritarian and want the best for their country. Despite the achievement of Lee Kuan Yew in transforming Singapore, Mahathir Mohamad also turned the Muslim-majority Southeast Asia country, Malaysia into one of the developing world’s most successful economies. Both leaders had undeniable sucess and contributions for their very own country. Both Lee Kuan Yew and Mahathir Mohammad value and admire Japan’s success.

These can be seen through Mahathir’s Look East Policy and Lee Kuan Yew’s memoir “The Singapore Stories” which praised Japan’s paradigm in catching up to the West. Both leaders tried to learn the Japanese and adopted similar measures wherever practical. However, in terms ofthe western countries especially the U. S, differences again was seen between two leaders. Lee Kuan Yew tended to gain good relations with western countries such as Australia, New Zealand, United States and Britain.

Lee Kuan Yew had aligned Singapore with west since Cold War and earned friendship with Henry A. Kissinger. According to Lee, regional solidarity and international could be gained through U. S and western Europe support. Now, Singapore developed diplomatic relationship with China, but the country was still befriending the west like old days. As for Mahathir Mohamad, it was a different story. Abrasive and outspoken, Mahathir emerged as the Third World champion and Islamic spokesman by condemning the West.

Mahathir's record of curbing civil liberties and his antagonism to western diplomatic interests and economic policy made his relationships with the likes of the US, Britain and Australia difficult Even though as the biggest source of the country’s foreign investment, Mahathir has always been an outspoken critic of the United States regarding many issues including the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation). Mahathir encourages modernization without taking to westernize. Even after his retirement, critics on western never stop, particularly on the United States.

For instance, he had urged the world's 1. 3 billion Muslims to boycott Dutch products following the release of the anti-Islam movie Fitna by the Dutch politician Geert Wilders, it was reported on 30 March 2008. Both Lee Kuan Yew and Mahathir Mohamad had been the father of modernization of their country. Lee Kuan Yew had successfully turned Singapore from third world to first. Annual per capita income has grown from less than $1000 at the time of independence to nearly $30000 today. Singapore is the most successful and leading ahead among Southeast Asia countries.

Although not as improve as Singapore, Malaysia under Mahathir’s hand, had experienced rapid modernization and economic growth, and his government initiated a series of bold infrastructure projects. For his efforts to promote the economic development of the country, Mahathir has been granted the soubriquet of Bapa Pemodenan (Father of Modernization). Mahathir had successfully introduced Malaysia to the world. By raising living standards and winning international acclaim, he contributed to a sense of national identity, pride and confidence among ethnically diverse Malaysians.

Both Lee Kuan Yew and Mahathir Mohamed had similar vision in improving their countries. But due to different issues faced by both leaders, point of views diverse according to situation. Lee Kuan Yew who had been educated in Britain may adopted more western ways while for Mahathir who experienced Britain “divide and rule” policy, and seen Malay to be abandon behind during that time, possesses anger towards the west and sentiments for the Malays in order to lead them to better standard of living.

Lee Kuan Yew, as a firm man, although known as authoritarian from some views, had gathered around himself the most brilliant minds and gain his subordinates supports, such as Goh Keng Swee. He managed to clean Singapore’s government. Mahathir, being impatient and authoritarian, had jailed opponents, sacked rivals and undermined institutions as he pursued his obsession with development. Being ambitious, Mahathir built the KLIA airport, Petronas Twin Towers and also started Proton consistent with his “ Malaysia Boleh”( Malaysia can) propaganda.

Both leaders played an important role in their country’s development and their contribution could not be measured. Conclusion Singapore’s success always ties with Lee Kuan Yew. More than forty years ago, Lee Kuan Yew transformed what was a poor, decrepit colony into a shining, rich and modern metropolis. All time surrounded by hostile powers, with his brilliant, incisive intellect, he is one of the world’s most outspoken and respected statesman. For Lee Kuan Yew, every great achievement is a dream before it becomes reality, and his vision was a state that would not simply survive but prevail by excelling.

Superior intelligence, discipline and ingenuity would substitute for resources. Lee Kuan Yew summoned his compatriots to a duty they had never previously perceived: first to clean up their city, then to dedicate it to overcome the initial hostility of their neighbours and their own ethnic divisions by superior performance. The Singapore today is his testament. It is the high-tech leader of Southeast Asia. The contributions of Lee Kuan Yew could not be denied, this man had created what was known as impossible in the past and proved to the world, nothing would be impossible.

Attachments Attachments Premier Wen Jiabao shakes hands with Singaporean Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew during a meeting on Friday in Beijing at Zhongnanhai, the headquarters of China's central authorities. The two sides discussed Sino-Singaporean relations and issues of common concern. Lee arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for an eight-day visit at the invitation of the Chinese Government. Lee Kuan Yew (middle) meets with U. S. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen and Singapore's Ambassador to the U. S. Chan Heng Chee in 2000.

Lee Kuan Yew (middle) meets with U. S. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen and Singapore's Ambassador to the U. S. Chan Heng Chee in 2000. Lee Kuan Yew and Tunku Abdul Rahman. Lee Kuan Yew and Tunku Abdul Rahman. Lee Kuan Yew and Yitzak Rabin Lee Kuan Yew and Yitzak Rabin Lee receives the Order of Friendship from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on 15 November 2009 in Singapore. Lee receives the Order of Friendship from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on 15 November 2009 in Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew and President Obama Lee Kuan Yew and President Obama

SINGAPORE (AFP) – Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew has urged local Muslims to “be less strict on Islamic observances” to aid integration and the city-state’s nation-building process. SINGAPORE (AFP) – Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew has urged local Muslims to “be less strict on Islamic observances” to aid integration and the city-state’s nation-building process. Lee Kuan Yew and Mahathir Mohamad Lee Kuan Yew and Mahathir Mohamad President George W. Bush welcomes Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore to the Oval Office Monday, Oct. 16,2006

President George W. Bush welcomes Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore to the Oval Office Monday, Oct. 16,2006 References Lee Kuan Yew. 1998. Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew: The Singapore Story. Singapore. Times Editions Pte Ltd Lee Kuan Yew. 2000. Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew: The Singpore Story ( 1965-2000) From Third World To First. Singapore. Times Media Private Limited N. Ganesan. (1999). Bilateral Tension in Post-Cold War ASEAN. Pacific Strategic Papers. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS). p. 38 Singapore Development Policies and Trends, Edited by Peter S.

J. Chen, Oxford University Press 1983. Retrieved on 13th March 2012 from http://nasranrushdi9. blogspot. com/2010/09/tun-dr-mahathir-membidas-lee-kuan-yew. html Retrieved on 16th March 2012 from http://article. wn. com/view/2011/11/06/Singapores_Lee Retrieved on 23th March 2012 from http://kickdefella. net/2011/01/ Retrieved on 25th March 2012 from http://www. singaporedemocrat. org/articlecheeWMD Retrieved on 25th March 2012 from http://english. peopledaily. com. cn/200605/13/archive. html Retrieved on 26th March 2012 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Lee_Kuan_Yew

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