A giant has passed away. The former Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, succumbed to illness and the global community lost a colorful and dynamic leader who left an indelible mark on Asia and the world.
For those not familiar with the name Lee Kuan Yew, here are six quick reasons why he’s important:
1. Founding leader of independent Singapore.
2. Prime Minister of Singapore for over 30 years, and a highly influential senior minister for almost fifty years.
3. The only leader to have ever overseen a nation go from developing “third world” to first world, to international leader in business. Seriously, no one else has EVER overseen that kind of transition on a national level.
4. A founder of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which has become an economic powerhouse with the largest (by population) free trade area in the world.
5. His ability to adapt (more on that later) has allowed him to lead a nation divided amongst three major ethnic groups and multiple religious lines with relative internal harmony (particularly in more recent decades).
6. The political party he created, the People’s Action Party (PAP) has been the popularly elected leadership party since the nation was founded.
It’s impossible to boil down over 30 years of leadership and more than fifty years in political life into bullet points, but even so, those are some impressive facts.
Putting these achievements into some context makes the man even more fascinating.
The Early Years
Lee Kuan Yew stretches historical eras. He was born into English ruled Singapore, when the city-state was just a colony. His was educated in English (eventually graduating from Cambridge), not regaining full usage of Mandarin-which over 70 percent of the population considered their first language- until his 30s.
During the Japanese occupation (yes, all the way back in World War II), Lee Kuan Yew learned Japanese and served as a translator transcribing allied broadcasts from English to Japanese. During the occupation he also maintained a business. This flexibility and adaptive nature would define his leadership years later.
Founding of a Political Dynasty
Fast forward to the 1950s and one of his early forays into politics was working on a campaign for candidates who were pro-English rule. He soon established himself on the other side of that issue, advocating for independence from England through a union with Malaysia (which, if you need a map, is the major nation on the giant island mass that Singapore is just one small corner of).
Photo: CIA World Factbook
In the 1950s, Lee Kuan Yew advocated independence from Britain through a union with Malaysia (at the time known as the Federation of Malaya) as he founded the People’s Action Party. As a tangent, his party has an interesting history, in that it was initially a partnership with a strongly pro-communist party that had been deemed illegal in The Federation of Malaya. So a leader renowned for his leadership of an independent Singapore and building a mecca of capitalism got his start working with pro-colonial candidates and communists. A fascinating change to say the least. But back to his work on independence.
Lee Kuan Yew saw his dream of independence from Britain and a union with Malaysia take shape in the 1960s. This long held dream was shattered just two years later, as he oversaw the disintegration of the union with Malaysia. Undaunted but saddened, Lee Kuan Yew seized the moment and aggressively set out to establish Singapore as an independent power.
New Ideas in Independence
Over the next few decades, Lee led national investment in education, social services, affordable and quality public housing, and a strong military. His ideas were practical and forward thinking. For example, seeing a risk posed by Malaysia’s control of the fresh water sources for his small nation, Lee’s government invested in ground breaking water recycling efforts in the 1970s. Eventually abandoned, the early foray into this technology laid the foundation for highly successful efforts first piloted in the 1990s. (Yes California, you should be taking notes).
His leadership also showed an embrace of the multicultural aspects of Singapore (which is incredibly diverse, including large segments of the population that are Ethnic Malay, Han Chinese, British, and Indians). For instance, he pushed schools and the public to maintain their ability to speak Mandarin even as the population switched over to a majority speaking English. These efforts had tangible stability outcomes as race riots of the 1960s between largely Malay and Chinese groups are the historical exception to a substantially calm internal community.
So the guy is an all star of a leader and I’m barely scratching the surface-but wait, there is some bad news. Yes, Lee Kuan Yew made incredible strides in his country, not least among them effectively ending poverty, but these advancements came at a cost.
The Critics
My colleague Tom Blake has outlined some of his less than positive thoughts here, but I will go through some myself. The economic advancement of Singapore came with restrictions on the media, civil society and even just society as a whole (note to all: do not litter, spray paint or even spit on the street in Singapore). External (and some internal) critics saw Lee Kuan Yew as overly authoritarian in some of his approaches, and intolerant of political dissent. Even in his early years, Lee was instrumental in a party wide purge of the PAP that featured arresting mainly communist members who were opposed to his leadership.
Another political action that is a point of controversy is the historic vote for Singaporean independence. Lee organized a public referendum that only had one option: independence. This resulted in 30% of votes being turned in blank. It still means that 70% voted for independence but is an action that fits the authoritarian streak Lee’s critics focus on.
The concerns also focused on controversial social views, like his early efforts to curtail the number of children families were having (notably he did this through economic incentives/disincentives not through a hard binding rule like China has currently). He also publicly embraced corporal punishment in schools, the military (the last military on earth to formally have corporal punishment in its discipline code), and for petty criminals.
Furthermore, some detractors argue the nation has rid itself of extreme poverty at the expense of migrant laborers. They point to policies that exploited Malaysians and migrants from other neighboring nations. A group of workers often left outside the nation’s robust social services that are for full citizens.
On the political front, there are many who are uncomfortable with one political party-particularly one whose leadership and grip on the Prime Ministership went from father to trusted confidant to son- who has had unbroken control of the country for over 50 years. But I would remind American readers that the US Presidency has gone from father to son more than once (thank you Bush Family and the Adams, not to mention the Roosevelt cousins). It is also notable, that even in this one party dominant system, the nation is a global leader in transparency and anti-corruption efforts. A true feat anywhere, but particularly in a nation with such entrenched leadership.
Legacy
The question with bold and powerful leaders is often less about the details of positives and negatives and more about the legacy. On this front Lee Kuan Yew may be remembered as one of the truly great leaders of Asia, if not the entire world. Accolades about the man have flooded editorials and news stories since his passing-as have thoughts from some of his detractors.
For me, Lee was a trailblazer. A leader that defined his nation, shaped his region, and created a model for economic growth and prosperity that many other nations are trying to mimic. That model includes strong governance (sometimes too strong), transparent and corruption free governing, investments in social services and education, and a willingness to adapt and be practical.
I can hope for more from a leader like Lee Kuan Yew (as a member of the media particularly), but in truth I am not sure I can ask for more. For his time, for his situation, Lee Kuan Yew was progressive and visionary.
Lee Kuan Yew, you are a giant. The world has lost a leader with an ambition based on improving his nation, we should all mourn for that loss.