Is LKY able to speak Hakka?

[Einfield]

Ramseth, how do you know? Where's your source? Because old fart say so?

He translated bwteen Malay and English.

SRN translated between Tamil and English.

The Japanese brought their own translators for English to Japanese.

 

[Ramseth]

Ramseth, how do you know? Where's your source? Because old fart say so?

My Japanese ex-girlfriend's grand uncle said so. He said Japanese army brought along English translators of their own when they came down through Malaya and Singapore. That's most important because they were basically invading the British Empire.

What they needed were translators for other languages into English. Then they translated from the English translation to Japanese themselves. Other than sizeable numbers of Koreans, Taiwanese and mainland Chinese, and international diplomats sent for special studies, who the hell outside Japan knew Japanese in those days.

 

[Velma]

General consensus is that Old Fart cannot speak his own dialect.

 

[Rogue Trader]

LKY hated everything Chinese. last time 1950s election rallies, peoples laughed at his awful hokkien / openly ridiculed him from below stage. He mentioned those rallies shame in ST interviews and his books. think he remembered his humiliations and took revenge by destroying SG Chinese culture for personal and political purposes.

He made chinese dialects irrelevant to dissolve clan ties. This also castrated the chinese educated whom he deemed were pro-left during those days.

Up to the 80s, he never thought communist china would become the economic powerhouse today. When the cold war was at its peak, he was more ready to align himself with Kremlin than China. That's why ah loong minored in Russian language.

 

[kingrant]

You may call him a linguist but he really doesnt speak hakka altho he was born one. Yoou shld read TJS George's book Lee kuan Yew's Singapore.

He calls him an english-educated Chinese but also says he never commanded real respect or trust from the Chinese-educated Chinese or the English-educated ones. The people who really hated him were those from MCA.

The Chinese-educated hated him for what he did to Chinese culture and the language and Chinese education since Nantah. He disappoints the English-educated by constantly showing what he can do or undo to the British parliamentary system and democratic values. Nothing he does is without a political or personal agenda - even learning mandarin or casting himself as a Chinese Hakka with a 3000 year civilisation.

Wrote TJS George:

"KY's parents raised the children on the pattern of the 'Kings' Chinese', a community of Chinese in Penang who had been under the British Crown for one and a half centuries, had largely lost contact with China and had developed their own style of living.They were considered particularly loyal to Britain and id in fact express specific patriotism to the Crown. In his childhood, on festive occasions KY was decked out in traditional Chinese costume - brocade jacket, mandarin cap. he was sent to a small Chinese kindergarten near the Lee home. Otherwise, little LKY, which means Light that shines, rarely came in contact with Chinese customs and Chinese society. his present command of the Chinese language is that of a man who learnt it as an adult."

He is quite the linguist. His family besides pernanakan malay spoke a version of hokkein closer to the Penangnites version though a hakka. He is actually more inclined towards the Chinese culture than the English contrary to popular belief and had forced his parents not to give his youngest brother an anglicised name. However politics drives his agenda.

Their links to the Indonesian relatives are very strong and many of them used to stay with hte family.

 

[Velma]

I have never realised that there were many well-known leaders that are Hakkas. Other than Old Fart and Prince, there are:

Deng Xiaoping

Chen Shui Bian

Yap Ah Loy (Founder of KL)

Thaksin Shinawatra

Abhisit Vejjajiva

Sun Yat Sen

Lee Teng-hui

Ma Ying Jeou

 

[kingrant]

You are right. There has been some doubt whethr he was born in Indonesia --a place called Kudu in Java, not Sumatra. This acc to the book LKY's Singapore by TJS George. Sources in the book said that this was best not elaborated and covered up and remains so till today. No one dares to dig further.

The city of Palembang is proud of its best known son which is LKY. He was born there and family migrated over to Singapore. I always felt its more than just coincidence that our flags are the same colors as Indonesia.

Hmm. that's 'cos of his birthplace, I daresay.

Their links to the Indonesian relatives are very strong and many of them used to stay with hte family.

 

[kingrant]

I'm not sure Sun Yat Sen was a Hakka. I thot he was Cantonese.

And Ma? Even Lee TH I doubt.

I have never realised that there were many well-known leaders that are Hakkas. Other than Old Fart and Prince, there are:

Deng Xiaoping

Chen Shui Bian

Yap Ah Loy (Founder of KL)

Thaksin Shinawatra

Abhisit Vejjajiva

Sun Yat Sen

Lee Teng-hui

Ma Ying Jeou

 

[Velma]

I'm not sure Sun Yat Sen was a Hakka. I thot he was Cantonese.

And Ma? Even Lee TH I doubt.

Got it from here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakka_people

 

[kingrant]

He gave up the nick Harry because he wanted to win over mass support of the schools, trade unions and the Communist open front power base, ruled by the Chinese stream, without whom he was just a politcal eunuch. It is his way of saying "I am with you --see I'm a Chinese too".

Yes, that shows - politics drives his agenda and that even includes his wife suffering on life support till now...he's utterly cold, calculating, self serving and totally arrogant that anyone other than his wife is intellectually superior to him.

...and had forced his parents not to give his youngest brother an anglicised name. However politics drives his agenda.

 

[Velma]

He gave up the nick Harry because he wanted to win over mass support of the schools, trade unions and the Communist open front power base, ruled by the Chinese stream, without whom he was just a politcal eunuch. It is his way of saying "I am with you --see I'm a Chinese too".

Yes, that shows - politics drives his agenda and that even includes his wife suffering on life support till now...he's utterly cold, calculating, self serving and totally arrogant that anyone other than his wife is intellectually superior to him.

He has got his just deserts. His eldest son is a gaffe-prone idiot and even a goon at times. His second son was involved with an affair with another woman and has to give up the coveted post of Singtel CEO. His daughter is still single and writing half-wit columns.