)
Lee Kuan Yew (LKY or Lee ), Singapore’s founding father who passed away last month, could be counted as one of the few people in history, who became a legend in his own life time. What is a legend without these heroic tales, sometimes factual, but often embellished with the imagination of the story teller? Let me share with you a couple of stories I heard during my stay there last year that offered me some new perspectives.
First was from a first generation immigrant businessman from Tamil Nadu, who had moved in the late nineties. His simple measure of the success of LKY and his policies was that the day he landed, the Singapore dollar was worth Rs 20 and now around Rs 50.
His little story on LKY was about the great man’s relationship with Tamils, an ethnic minority that accounts for about 7 per cent of the population today. In the early days, when LKY was still a London returned lawyer and budding politician, there were often violent clashes between various ethnic communities.
“The ethnic Chinese people were too soft. They were too scared to even see blood. But, the Tamil people were hardened by physical labour in the port and plantations. They were rough and tough. They used to get things done for LKY. They played a key role in his rise. That’s why LKY reserved a special place for them, when the country got independent. He paid back by making Tamil one of the four official languages,” he told me while driving me around in his bright red car.
It is tales such as these that have built the goodwill and adulation that LKY enjoyed back home in Tamil Nadu. So much that anxious Lee fans misplaced a much alive Tony Tan’s picture in their rush to put up flex banners to pay respect to Lee.
The second story, that came from an immigrant engineer, was about a mysterious 'ghost writer' who scripted the parliamentary debates, which were then later read out by members of parliament. He apparently wrote speeches for both participants of the debate, one vehemently supporting the move by the ruling party and a second less vehemently supporting it. These then got reported as a ‘serious discussion’ and ‘heated debate’ in the media, which LKY had a stranglehold on.
These little accounts offer their own narrative about how people perceived LKY, the different facets of his personality and his relationship with minorities, the media and the parliament.
Now, it is no secret that our prime minister Narendra Modi holds LKY in high regard. He also takes inspiration from the legendary Singaporean as he sets out on his ambitious plans to build the country’s infrastructure from scratch and transform its economy. He was also seen in Sunday’s funeral.
Not a small number of Modi’s fans and followers see in him the Lee Kuan Yew of India. Journalists are finding to their horror that he is already going his idol’s way in certain aspects. Read this Business Standard report this morning. That certainly sounded like LKY’s Singapore.
But, is that all there is to become LKY? In a post on his website airconditionednation.com, Cherian George, my professor at Singapore who is now teaching in Hong Kong, very lucidly explains how many world leaders say they want to be the next Lee Kuan Yew, “but conveniently ignore some of his most important qualities.” (Read here)
One of the most respected, independent voices in the ‘airconditioned nation’,(also title of the book he wrote), George identifies three important qualities of LKY namely – zero tolerance towards corruption, his role as an unshakeable bulwark against majoritarian tendencies and his determination to ensure adequate minority representation in the parliament.
Though George talks about the poor records of other wannabe LKYs like Thaksin Shinatwara of Thailand and Indonesia’s Suharto on the issue of corruption, he doesn’t make any such observation about Modi or BJP.
While Modi himself has declared “Naa Khaaoonga, Naa khane doonga,” this intent is yet to be seen to have solidified into action. What action was taken against the top cop, who met corporate middlemen at his home office? Where is the transparency in appointments to public sector units and banks? Have the corporate sponsors of people in race to bag top posts at sectoral regulatory bodies and big banks been identified and nailed? What happened to the issue of the conflict of interests of lawmakers on corporate retainerships? Awaiting to read something on that. Hope some minister will tweet soon.
On the issues of minority protection and curbing of majoritarian tendencies, Modi and BJP have a long way to go, George argues suggesting Modi considering himself Lee Kuan Yew at this stage would be akin to or even worse than the guffaw of Tamil mourners mistaking Tan for Lee. I can’t find any credible evidence to the contrary.
“Yes, he (LKY) was a firm leader who stretched the limits of democratic government to breaking point in order to get things done. But a leader who makes minorities feel unwanted, insecure and fearful? That’s not a face that Singaporeans recognise,” the piece titled ‘Mistaken Identity’ concludes. That's not a face ordinary Indians would approve of either.
To be recognized as India’s Lee Kuan Yew, a leader should not only take decisive strides on economic front, but he must also take along the minorities and weaker sections. He needs a large heart to go along with a sharp mind and a sweet tongue. He should not only claim to be protecting minorities but also be doing so by the people he claims to be protecting. Recent outbursts by former top cop Julio Ribiero and former Naval chief Sushil Kumar speak for themselves.
Narendra Modi is no Lee Kuan Yew, not yet.
