Singapore is regarded by the international community as a country, but in reality it is just a city. A big, rich and modern city, to be sure, but a city nonetheless.
The man who masterminded Singapore’s ascent from a coaling station off the coast of Malaysia to one of the leading countries in the world – the late Lee Kuan Yew – held the title of Prime Minister most of his life (and, later, Senior Minister in his last years) but he really was nothing more than the mayor of a city. The island of Singapore is, after all, only about the size of the City of Manila.
Now that a city mayor has become the president of this country, I think it would be useful to compare the mayor of Davao City with the late mayor of Singapore and see the differences between the two Chief Executives in terms of personality, professional style and accomplishments. Since little is known about Lee Kwan Yew while much has come to be known about Rodrigo Duterte, I intend to write only about Lee Kwan Yew. I leave it to the readers of this column to do the job of contrast-striking.
Lee Kwan Yew was born into a middle-class, Chinese-origin family without political connections. At a time when Singapore was still a British colony, Lee won a scholarship to Cambridge University to study law. He graduated with first-class honors – that’s the British equivalent of our valedictorian – which was a feat for a student from the colonies.
Upon his return to Singapore Lee Kwan Yew began espousing the rights of Singaporean workers and became the island’s leading labor leader. The British authorities frowned upon his activities, and the courageous Lee saw the inside of a British colonial jail.
The brilliant Lee Kuan Yew had clearly established himself as the leading local political figure in Singapore. It was Lee who engineered the departure of Singapore from the newly independent Federation of Malaya and the island’s graduation to the community of independent nations.
During Lee’s watch, Singapore became a modern, disciplined and clean city. The island state’s civil service became efficient, crime was minimized and the police was made honest. It has stayed that way under Lee’s son, Lee Hsien-Loong. It was during the elder Lee’s time as mayor/Prime Minister that the ordinance against gum-chewing was put in place. The world laughed, but nobody chews gum in Singapore.
Lee Kuan Yew was an honest individual through and through. No unexplained bank accounts whose origins and histories were not explained to Singapore’s citizens. He even made his wife stop practicing law in order to avoid accusations of abuse of influence. Now that he’s gone, she still does not practice her profession.
Lee imbibed much British culture and behavior during his days as a British ‘colonial’, especially during his stay in Cambridge University. He was a firebrand as a labor leader, but he was ever the gentleman. He was measured in his language, whether addressing public assemblies or the media. He was gracious to women – especially his wife – and he never cussed or publicly insulted people.
Singapore’s first mayor has been gone several years, but his legacy – a First World state – remains and his memory is still revered.
As I said at the outset of this column, I leave it to the readers to make the comparison between Mayor Lee and Mayor Duterte. Its central message is that a city mayor does not have to cuss and insult and badmouth people in order to produce a disciplined, modern and progressive urban environment like Singapore.
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