Lee
Lee

At a dialogue on Friday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was asked if what Singapore needed for its economic future was “a culture of a lack of respect for or challenging authority”, as in other countries.

The question was posed by the host of the forum, Washington Post columnist, Fareed Zakaria, at the “Singapore at 50: What Lies Ahead?” dialogue organised by the Institute of Policy Studies.

Dr Zakaria said that countries such as the US, Sweden and Israel have been dominant in innovation, science and technology. He noted that the common underlying thread in these countries was “a culture of a lack of respect for or challenging authority.”

“You spent six hours yesterday in a court trying to do this, to instil a culture of respect,” Dr Zakaria said. “And isn’t it exactly the opposite of what you need for your economic future?”

In his response, Mr Lee, who was testifying in court on Thursday in his defamation suit against blogger Roy Ngerng, said:

“You want people to stand up, not scrape and bow. But if you don’t have a certain natural aristocracy in the system, people who are respected because they have earned that and we level everything down to the lowest common denominator, then I think society will lose out … If you end up with anarchy, it doesn’t mean that you’ll be delivered with brilliance.”

It is a curious phrase which Mr Lee used.

“Aristocracy” is defined by some as:

aristocracy

Indeed, some disagreed with the PM.

One comment on the TODAYonline website said:

sinkinkok

 

Mr Lee’s remarks of the need for a “natural aristocracy” seem reminiscent of what former minister George Yeo said in 1996, where he reminded Singaporeans to “remember your place in society before you engage in political debate”.

gylhl

A month before the general elections of 2011, Mr Lee had advised his party members that they were “servants of the people”.

Yahoo SIngapore, April 2011
Yahoo SIngapore, April 2011

“Never forget we are servants of the people, not their masters,” he said. “Always maintain a sense of humility and service. Never lord it over the people we are looking after and serving.”

It is thus not entirely clear what Mr Lee, whose father was the late Lee Kuan Yew, himself the founding prime minister of the country, meant by “natural aristocracy” in the context of Singapore.

Perhaps what Mr Lee meant was “natural hierarchy”.

Whatever it is, at the end of the day, it is not what we call it but how dedicated our leaders are to serve which matters.

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

护照藏可卡因印尼落网 我国女嫌或逃过死刑

印度尼西亚巴厘岛警方指出,五名涉嫌国际毒品走私的嫌犯一旦被定罪,将面临枪毙,而另一名涉嫌走私少量可卡因的新加坡妇女,则有可能逃过死刑。 五名国际毒品走私犯分别来自香港、智利、瑞士和泰国,他们都在巴厘岛落网。 这批嫌犯分别于11月和本月,在不同场合落网,他们于周三(18日)身穿橙色囚衣、双手上铐,被警方押送到警方在巴厘省首付登巴萨举办的记者会上。 印尼拥有一些世界上最严厉的毒品打击法令,包括毒犯判死刑。虽然有关的死刑判决常常会减为长期徒刑,但是该国曾有过处决外国毒犯的先例,包括于2015年枪毙两名澳大利亚籍的巴厘岛海洛因毒犯组织首脑。 警方指出,五名嫌犯中有两人是香港男子,分别自他们身上被起获3.2公斤和4公斤的甲基苯丙胺;智利籍嫌犯被指携带77克的冰毒、瑞士籍嫌犯被逮捕时身藏30克的大麻,而泰国籍嫌犯则被搜出将近18克的大麻。 新加坡籍女子于11月14日进入印尼时,在其护照内发现藏有一个装着0.35克可卡因毒品的小型塑料袋,当场被逮捕。 巴厘岛警方毒品部门主任艾达巴克斯(Ida Bagus Komang Ardika)指出,“法律条规将导致他们被判无期徒刑或死刑”。 尽管民众广泛支持判毒犯死刑,但是印尼已经在数年来减少有关判决。 警方指出,在今年10月,两名泰国女子和一名法国人,因涉嫌走私毒品到巴厘岛落网后,将有可能面对死刑,然而法国毒犯在死囚牢房中短暂逗留后,成功被减刑为19年的监刑。…

Thinking about a trip to Hong Kong?

Thinking about a trip to Hong Kong? Then you have to be…

两在野党放话问鼎 裕廊集选区或上演三角战

昨日(19日),人民之声(People’s Voice )党领袖林鼎律师在脸书宣布,该党有意在来临选举角逐裕廊集选区。 他透露已和已和其他反对党积极协商,并决定该党将组成一支强大的五人团队,角逐上述选区。 然而,甫在本周一获社团注册局批准的新政党“红点团结”(Red Dot United),也表明将会在来届大选角逐裕廊选区。在早前的声明,该党也表示将避免与其他反对党打三角战,以示对其他反对党的尊重。 “如果该选区(裕廊集选区)尚未出现任何反对党,“红点团结”将会成为该区反对党力量。” 该党由两名前进党前党员,李娟和拉维(Ravi Philemon)创立。 据“红点团结”告知《海峡时报》,若人民之声党届时在提名日现身,他们愿意作出让步,不过目前仍会按原计划在裕廊选区部署。 拉维也声称,上周和林鼎对话,获悉人民之声专注于其他选区,不过未提到裕廊集选区。…

Tycoon Peter Lim makes police report on online posts linking him to get-rich-quick scheme

The Singaporean tycoon and owner of Spain’s football team Valencia, Peter Lim…