I read this thread with interest & enjoyed a few chuckles.
But oh, how I respected AMPs balanced & well-crafted response, totally credible, cogent & unhysterical.
I hope in vain that the tone & quality of views in this forum can aspire to such class & more importantly, civility (there is repressed indignation in between the lines of course).
But the reason why I contribute is to add my take on Scroobal/ThickFaceBlackHeart vs LeongSam.
Don't get me wrong, by all means, bros who believe LKY is senile, outdated etc, please continue your beliefs - in Singapore, you are still free to hold on to your beliefs (my view)
In his usual sardonic style, Scroobal always make a good read - but I do not totally agree with him 100%, no need to.
On the other hand, LeongSam is both blunt & cynical in the same vein.
What's my stand ?
1. LKY has been consistent from Day One - , you read his latest book, actually his pet views have mellowed with age & new scientific research. But of course, some of his pet beliefs are ..... ha ha he is entitled to his prejudices & fixated stands on areas where science do not have a concrete answer.
But more importantly, cut him some slack, for a man nearing his nineties, he conceded as much - his contact with present day SIngaporeans are limited & filtered so his grasp of the pulse of society is weaker than before.
Also, naturally he longs for his good old days where Malay womenfolk don't wear tudungs (not that there is anything wrong in that) ....
I believe his inner message is the distrust of Middle Eastern Sunni/Shiite/muslim brotherhood influence & the firmly held belief that religion is a powerful influence & potent fuse .... hence while he knows he cannot object to rising religiosity, he still feels the potential to influence communities through religion is not to be likely dismisse.
Scroobal made a good point: objection is not to Old Man's 'Hard Truths' but to it being publicly published - still for me,I would say it is a good balloon, now we can see for ourselves everyone's stance - their take, slant & intensity of their response(or non response in the case of PAP Malay Leaders) ..... be it from MUIS, AMP, even the mischievious Utusan across the Causeway & the so-called high powered academics & professors from Malaysia's highest thinktank in Defence & what not Security Committees....
2. LeongSam has no solutions - just fuck it, damn it, screw it & let's stay cynical...... fine, you are not alone.. most so-called intelligentsia are like that too..
3. I subscribe to a mix of LKY-GKS-Rajaratnam soul : LKY for his political acumen & will to execute, GKS for his even, rooted, engineer-like, business-like proactivity & Raja's idealistic bent.
4. In the final analysis, much as I grow up in awe, then no awe, then disdain, sneering, condemning & grudgingly respect the Old Man, I find it very tiresome to hear him express :-
- misgivings of the Younger Generation: untempered - is it their fault to grow up in relative prosperity ? unrealistic view of nationhood etc - is it their fault that your nation-building social engineering succeed ?
- Singapore is not a nation yet ..... this is the most frustrating unimaginative view of Old Man repeated ad nauseum !
sure Old Man, I know where you are coming from, but more harm then good is created by your incessant drumming of these words ....
in similar vein, describing National Pledge, one people one nation one Singapore as merely an 'aspiration', Kanina ! Talk about mixed messaging !
NO ! I born in the Sixties, believe from day one from school days, that my recitation of my National Pledge is from the Heart - that a Vision is an Ideal - an IDEAL THAT SHOULD BE ACTIVELY PURSUED ..... & if eventually in the nature of a fractious society or simply the abject cynicism of the human condition that never a nation shall Singapore be by Harry's 'cold hard truths', THEN IT SHOULD NOT BE BECAUSE IT WAS FOR A LACK OF TRYING OUR DARN BEST TO CREATE OUR NATION ! Not for lack of trying, people !!!!
Keep ramming home 'SIngapore....not a nation until & unless....' is simply harming the National Cause of Building ' One Nation, One People, One Singapore'.
Stemming from this source, whether to embrace multiX( X being language, race, religion, culture etc) wholeheartedly or not, the subtle differences in holding to principles then extrapolated & manifested itself in all its logical consequences :-
- organizing self-help not in a color-blind manner but through racial communities : CDAC, Mendaki, SINDA etc
- prudent to cast aside ideals & practise hard-headed pragmatism re: Malay citizens in SAF, sensitive defence deployments etc.... sure ..... err on the side of caution, BUT, 46 yrs after independence, still wary? then forever wary & 100 yrs from now, still repeating the cynical belief no, Singapore still not yet a nation, unless & until....... DAMN! Then, to me, that's making it a SELF_FULFILING PROPHECY !
My final point :-
IMHO, Islam is both a simple & complex religion.
The Prophets Teachings is again passed down through different interpretations - theory & practice, hardith & hadari or something like that, Muslim bros forgive my unrefined general knowledge....
But how much is true teachings, how much is simply Arabic, Middle Eastern practices & trappings of a age long gone ?
I can respect the concept of modesty but I for the life of me find tudungs a mystery in a humid, nay HOT climate like tropical Singapore ! (sure, tudungs in Middle East protect people from sand, dust & preying eyes) So, when I was growing up, Malay girls, few wear tudung.... now if you don't wear one, your faith as a Muslim is subconsciously /invariably questioned ! So I say kudos to Marina Mahathir for being a independent modern Muslim woman even though I think her father is bonkers .......
In summary, Malay Muslim Leaders must acknowledge that religion will always be a powerful pull on their conscience.
Of course this applies to other theistic religions like the followers of Judaism, Christianity.
But how the leading Islamic authorities interpret & propound their religious pronouncements through fatwas etc - who is to say the Egyptian, Arabian, or even Iraqi/Iranian centres of Islam theologian & respected academicians CANNOT be infiltrated & exploited by the extreme Jihadist ? Witness Muslim Brotherhood's ongoing subversion in Mubarat's Egypt (Mubarat no saint but....).
So concerns remain concerns.
Whether a public, very candid public airing is good or smart thing to do, each can have their reasoned opinions deeming this good or bad.
But a certain acceptance & bold embracing & endorsement of fellow Singaporeans whether of Malay, Indian, Eurasian or Chinese ethnicity must happen ! Accept wholehearted as citizens instead of always viewing our society & nation through the prism of race & religion !
Treat people with trust, dignity & respect & they will respond in kind... (if not, then respond accordingly...)
The more, in the name of 'Hard Truths' you cast 'concerns' over race & religion of fellow Singaporeans, the more this 'concern' will come across as 'ASPERSIONS'!
One last thing of course I conclude by saying, LKY's actions simply render their own PAP Malay Leadership as ball-less eunuchs & cowards.... which unfortunately, some are & some aren't.
'nuff said, cheers to all !