Zam praises LKY for ‘disciplining’ the Chinese
FMT Reporters
| February 24, 2015
The veteran journalist writes a double-edged tribute as the Singapore strongman fights for his life.
zamPETALING JAYA: Former information minister and veteran journalist Zainuddin Maidin has made some disparaging remarks about the Chinese of old Singapore in a sort of pre-obituary for Lee Kuan Yew while the former prime minister of the republic fights for his life in the intensive care unit of the Singapore General Hospital.
His latest blog entry, though not wholly complimentary, is cast as a tribute to the 91-year-old Lee. He acknowledges his achievements, such as “instilling discipline” in the Chinese so that they would “end their habit of spitting all over the place”.
Zainuddin, popularly known as Zam, says there are many similarities between Lee and former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad, “but Mahathir is seen as more democratic and pragmatic”.
He says Lee needed to be authoritarian because he knew the attitudes associated with his race, as he indicated in a remark he made some time in the 1950s. “Only I can teach the Chinese,” Zam quotes him as saying.
Apart from ending the spitting habit, Zam says, “Lee also prohibited the burning of joss sticks and firecrackers as well as noisy funeral processions with paper being scattered about.
“He also snuffed out the Chinese opera.
“Although he knew his people had the oldest civilisation in the world, he knew as well that in Malaysia and Singapore they held on to primordial values that made it difficult for them to adapt themselves to the local culture.
“In the People’s Republic of China, these primordial values were demolished through communism, but in Taipei and also in Chinese communities outside China, the attachment to them presented problems to the native communities. In Singapore, Lee scraped away at them through socialism.”
Zam also speaks of Lee’s decision to loosen “moral controls in the interest of Singapore’s survival by allowing gambling and prostitution” while strictly ensuring the integrity of his administration and making certain that the political and government machineries are free of scandal, corruption and other evils.
In the lengthy article, Zam takes the opportunity to heap praise on Mahathir.
“As Lee struggles to keep alive,” he says, “Mahathir is on a holiday. The talk is that he is riding horses in Argentina. There is not much of an age difference between them.
“Similarly, they are not very different in their belief in effective strategies to develop their nations.”
He says it is thanks to Mahathir’s “dynamic planning, vision and innovation” that Malaysia has not ended up as a Malay village on the fringe of a small but progressive Singapore.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/ca...isciplining-the-chinese/#sthash.nrKDg7r6.dpuf
FMT Reporters
| February 24, 2015
The veteran journalist writes a double-edged tribute as the Singapore strongman fights for his life.
zamPETALING JAYA: Former information minister and veteran journalist Zainuddin Maidin has made some disparaging remarks about the Chinese of old Singapore in a sort of pre-obituary for Lee Kuan Yew while the former prime minister of the republic fights for his life in the intensive care unit of the Singapore General Hospital.
His latest blog entry, though not wholly complimentary, is cast as a tribute to the 91-year-old Lee. He acknowledges his achievements, such as “instilling discipline” in the Chinese so that they would “end their habit of spitting all over the place”.
Zainuddin, popularly known as Zam, says there are many similarities between Lee and former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad, “but Mahathir is seen as more democratic and pragmatic”.
He says Lee needed to be authoritarian because he knew the attitudes associated with his race, as he indicated in a remark he made some time in the 1950s. “Only I can teach the Chinese,” Zam quotes him as saying.
Apart from ending the spitting habit, Zam says, “Lee also prohibited the burning of joss sticks and firecrackers as well as noisy funeral processions with paper being scattered about.
“He also snuffed out the Chinese opera.
“Although he knew his people had the oldest civilisation in the world, he knew as well that in Malaysia and Singapore they held on to primordial values that made it difficult for them to adapt themselves to the local culture.
“In the People’s Republic of China, these primordial values were demolished through communism, but in Taipei and also in Chinese communities outside China, the attachment to them presented problems to the native communities. In Singapore, Lee scraped away at them through socialism.”
Zam also speaks of Lee’s decision to loosen “moral controls in the interest of Singapore’s survival by allowing gambling and prostitution” while strictly ensuring the integrity of his administration and making certain that the political and government machineries are free of scandal, corruption and other evils.
In the lengthy article, Zam takes the opportunity to heap praise on Mahathir.
“As Lee struggles to keep alive,” he says, “Mahathir is on a holiday. The talk is that he is riding horses in Argentina. There is not much of an age difference between them.
“Similarly, they are not very different in their belief in effective strategies to develop their nations.”
He says it is thanks to Mahathir’s “dynamic planning, vision and innovation” that Malaysia has not ended up as a Malay village on the fringe of a small but progressive Singapore.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/ca...isciplining-the-chinese/#sthash.nrKDg7r6.dpuf
