Farewell Lee Kuan Yew

[Samurai_Jerk]

Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Father and First Premier of Singapore, Dies at 91

Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father and first prime minister of Singapore who transformed that tiny island outpost into one of the wealthiest and least corrupt countries in Asia, died on Monday morning. He was 91.

“The prime minister is deeply grieved to announce the passing of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the founding prime minister of Singapore,” a statement posted on the prime minister’s official website said. “Mr. Lee passed away peacefully at the Singapore General Hospital today at 3:18 am.”

Mr. Lee was prime minister from 1959, when Singapore gained full self-government from the British, until 1990, when he stepped down. Late into his life he remained the dominant personality and driving force in what he called a First World oasis in a Third World region.

[...]

His “Singapore model,” sometimes criticized as soft authoritarianism, included centralized power, clean government and economic liberalism along with suppression of political opposition and strict limits on free speech and public assembly, which created a climate of caution and self-censorship. The model has been admired and studied by leaders in Asia, including in China, and beyond as well as being the subject of countless academic case studies.

[Wage Slave]

And good riddance you old fascist.

[Russell]

And good riddance you old fascist.

Basically agree, but I do wonder why his plans were so successful.

[Mike Oxlong]

And good riddance you old fascist.

Basically agree, but I do wonder why his plans were so successful.

Benevolent paternalism. So Asian.

[matsuki]

And good riddance you old fascist.

Basically agree, but I do wonder why his plans were so successful.

Benevolent paternalism. So Asian.

Pretty much...unity under oppression....bringing people together!

[Samurai_Jerk]

And good riddance you old fascist.

Basically agree, but I do wonder why his plans were so successful.

If you just judge him on results, it is hard to argue with his success. No doubt he was a freedom hating asshole though.

[Mock Cockpit]

One of the times I went through Changi 2 or 3 years ago I had quite a long transit, so I took advantage of the free tours they offer. Basically you just get on the bus and drive into town stop once for half an hour then go back to the airport. There was a guide on the bus talking about the different things we were seeing and at one point she launched into the quite the Gobbelesque speech of how all this was possible thanks to the Singapore government "and the father of the nation our beloved Lee Kuan Yew". It was quite appropriate that Yew rhymes spew because it was a gag inducing moment. Anyway RIP old fellow, I still like Singapore, make sure you take the big wallet though.

[Russell]

One of the times I went through Changi 2 or 3 years ago I had quite a long transit, so I took advantage of the free tours they offer. Basically you just get on the bus and drive into town stop once for half an hour then go back to the airport. There was a guide on the bus talking about the different things we were seeing and at one point she launched into the quite the Gobbelesque speech of how all this was possible thanks to the Singapore government "and the father of the nation our beloved Lee Kuan Yew". It was quite appropriate that Yew rhymes spew because it was a gag inducing moment. Anyway RIP old fellow, I still like Singapore, make sure you take the big wallet though.

Last time I was at Singapore airport I elected to stay there for my wait, and I encountered several times some guards walking around with machine guns. I mean this is a secured area where no passengers are supposed to have weapons with them.

[Mike Oxlong]

Singapore, the country run like a corporation (1974)
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew has made his prosperous little realm
a nice place to do business. But it’s not much fun to live there.

Singapore, the smallest nation in Asia, occupies a 225-square-mile expanse of swampy, tropical islands—an area about the size of Trenton, New Jersey. The former British colony has almost no natural resources, except a superb harbor situated along the main shipping route from Europe to the Far East. And it has fewer people—2.2 million—than metropolitan St. Louis.

Yet the tiny city-state has swiftly seized a large place in the world economy. It is a thriving manufacturing center turning out ships, precision machinery, and electronic components. And it is fast becoming the Zurich of the East, an international haven for money and bankers. In nine years of full independence, the gross national product has nearly tripled—raising the average per capita income to a level exceeded in Asia only by that of Japan.

Singapore has achieved this dazzling growth by stretching its meager means and using some extraordinary techniques of statecraft. The country is run very much like a corporation. Striving above all for efficiency, the government coldly weighs every move, from school curriculums to foreign relations, against cost-effectiveness. The key criterion, as one top-rank official puts it, is always : “What good can we get out of it?”

Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, a fifty-year-old lawyer educated at Cambridge, calls himself a “democratic socialist.” But he shows more concern with rates of return (for both investors and the state) than with political dogma. In fact, Lee rules as though he were the autocratic chief executive of Singapore Inc.

Under his tight managerial control, nothing is long tolerated if it interferes with economic performance. Young men are prohibited from wearing modishly long hair, which the chairman regards as a symbol of the Western counterculture and a menace to the work ethic that he prizes. Lee keeps the country’s labor force cheap and disciplined by setting strict guidelines for both wage increases and working conditions. Since he has the political power to enforce his rules, factory wages, which are about one-fifth of those in the U.S., help to keep Singapore products internationally competitive.

Lee’s economic philosophy is stern and simple. “We do not expect something for nothing,” he says. In a characteristic jab at his less energetic Asian neighbors, he explains: “We haven’t got oil and minerals on which other people have to pay royalties. So we develop a different approach to life.” He calls it “the rugged society,” but it is really his own special blend of pragmatic socialism, freewheeling capitalism, and plain opportunism.

The Prime Minister has hitched the island to the global economy through multinational corporations, which supply needed capital, expertise, and export markets. Singapore ardently woos foreign business, a rare policy among countries that have only recently emerged from colonialism. Besides providing such familiar tax incentives as a five-year income-tax exemption for coveted corporations, the government often shares the cost of training workers and even puts up part of the capital for plants and equipment.

During the past five years, international manufacturers have responded by pouring in $1.2 billion of their own to start more than a hundred factories. About half the money has come from U.S. corporations. All together, 425 American companies now operate in Singapore. General Electric alone has seven plants assembling home appliances and components.

An avowedly nonaligned foreign policy makes Singapore useful—for a price—to nearly every trading nation. Soviet merchant ships as well as vessels of the U.S. Seventh Fleet patronize its efficient port and repair yards. Peking maintains a busy Bank of China branch, while within walking distance Taiwan runs an active trade office. Arab oil producers, which provide most of the crude for the refineries, are now being urged to invest in Singapore industries. And Lee’s government has entered into a joint venture with an Israeli concern that produces communication equipment, and has hired Israeli military advisers to shape Singapore’s fledgling armed forces. His country’s real protection against undue influence by any foreign power, says Lee, is to maintain a balance of investment by the U.S., Japan, and Western Europe...

http://fortune.com/2015/03/23/singapore ... tion-1974/

[Coligny]

And the worst postal system of the planet. Leaving Italy, France and Vietnam far behind.
Anything from-to or through Singapour Post fall in a blackhole and sometimes reappear but only at random times in random places to make the final part of its journey.

[kurogane]

And good riddance you old fascist.

Yeah. Kind of sad in that his anti-imperialist credentials are so stellar.............but he was still a fascist cunt. I still think Clinton should have authorised a Top Gun style hostile flyover for beating that stupid American kid.

[Russell]

His obituary.

For sure he stamped out corruption, and followed a very rational policy to maximize prosperity of Singaporeans. But it does not exactly look like a fun place to be.

[Wage Slave]

And can anyone name a single Singaporean cultural, artistic, sporting or technological invention or any other achievement worth noting?

[Russell]

Not all is well in super-efficient S'pore...

[Coligny]

And can anyone name a single Singaporean cultural, artistic, sporting or technological invention or any other achievement worth noting?

Ah kan list the French ouanes ...

Just in case...

To give a reference frame...

On the upper side of the bell curve...

Just sayin'...

(Won't gonna include the postal service though...)

[Yokohammer]

Been there.

It was very hot.

The end.

[kurogane]

And can anyone name a single Singaporean cultural, artistic, sporting or technological invention or any other achievement worth noting?

Singlish???? or WTF they call the pidgin English. My impression has always been that of efficient nabob middlemen. Some of the mixed gurls are reallly realllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyy hot, though. Really hot.

[Mike Oxlong]

And can anyone name a single Singaporean cultural, artistic, sporting or technological invention or any other achievement worth noting?

Singlish???? or WTF they call the pidgin English. My impression has always been that of efficient nabob middlemen. Some of the mixed gurls are reallly realllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyy hot, though. Really hot.

My flights on Singapore Air have always been very pleasant.
And, I've been to plenty of Raffles Bar & Restaurant knockoffs in Japan.

[yanpa]

And can anyone name a single Singaporean cultural, artistic, sporting or technological invention or any other achievement worth noting?

The UDD (Urine Detector Device) for elevators?

[matsuki]

And can anyone name a single Singaporean cultural, artistic, sporting or technological invention or any other achievement worth noting?

Singlish???? or WTF they call the pidgin English. My impression has always been that of efficient nabob middlemen. Some of the mixed gurls are reallly realllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyy hot, though. Really hot.

My flights on Singapore Air have always been very pleasant.
And, I've been to plenty of Raffles Bar & Restaurant knockoffs in Japan.

Singapore Air rules!

Most people I know that moved there for work say the same thing about feeling trapped and how quickly it loses it's charm. The only national I know is always bitching about the forced military service.

...and fuck "Singlish"

[Samurai_Jerk]

And can anyone name a single Singaporean cultural, artistic, sporting or technological invention or any other achievement worth noting?

The food is awesome.

[waruta]

And can anyone name a single Singaporean cultural, artistic, sporting or technological invention or any other achievement worth noting?

The food is awesome.

Not.

Could go on and on about the facade of S'pore but here's a few:

1) Not clean. Tokyo is cleaner, especially the food prep areas.

2) SingAir is infamous for never upgrading no matter your status

3) Postal service sucks, especially the ripoff EMS service they have here. 1,100 yen to send a package from JP-SG, same package to send back is $44 SGD

4) Expensive - rent, alcohol, food etc... I'm surprised air is free here.

5) Shitty transport system

6) Hot. Humid Hot or Dry Hot depending on "seasons"

The good:

1) Tight clothes everywhere, especially popular is the see-thru clothing cause its so hot.

2) Hotties from all corners of the planet.

3) Interesting locals if you can avoid the expat hangouts

4) Good coffee and curry from local joints

5) Business opportunities everywhere (at the working-man or "normal" people level - not for the bankers, etc..>)

6) Ice cold A/C. People crank it down to 20-22 for god knows what reason and wear sweaters/shawls indoors.

/rantover

[Samurai_Jerk]

And can anyone name a single Singaporean cultural, artistic, sporting or technological invention or any other achievement worth noting?

The food is awesome.

Not.

I had great local food at the Hawker Center and a couple of other spots but that was a long time ago. Maybe it's gone downhill since then.

Not clean.

Though certainly cleaner than a lot of other place I was surprised by how dirty the shopping mall toilets were. I guess not even Lee Kuan Yew could fully toilet train the Chinese.

The good:

Tight clothes everywhere, especially popular is the see-thru clothing cause its so hot.

Ice cold A/C. People crank it down to 20-22 for god knows what reason and wear sweaters/shawls indoors.

Tight clothes and short shorts seem to be a lot more common in the rest of East Asia including SE Asia. I wish Japanese women would show more skin in the summer.

Singapore and Honk Kong are A/C paradises compared to Tokyo. The weak A/C might be my least favorite thing about living in Japan.

[Russell]

Singapore and Honk Kong are A/C paradises compared to Tokyo. The weak A/C might be my least favorite thing about living in Japan.

Isn't that actually a good thing? It is kind of terrible to have to go to a hot area from a heavily airconned place, unless you like to catch a cold.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Singapore and Honk Kong are A/C paradises compared to Tokyo. The weak A/C might be my least favorite thing about living in Japan.

Isn't that actually a good thing? It is kind of terrible to have to go to a hot area from a heavily airconned place, unless you like to catch a cold.

You're right. I'd much prefer to sit around all summer with swamp ass and my sack stuck to my inner thigh.

[Mike Oxlong]

Singapore and Honk Kong are A/C paradises compared to Tokyo. The weak A/C might be my least favorite thing about living in Japan.

Isn't that actually a good thing? It is kind of terrible to have to go to a hot area from a heavily airconned place, unless you like to catch a cold.

You're right. I'd much prefer to sit around all summer with swamp ass and my sack stuck to my inner thigh.

Especially when you live in the part of Japan where summer lasts from May thru October.

[Coligny]

Singapore and Honk Kong are A/C paradises compared to Tokyo. The weak A/C might be my least favorite thing about living in Japan.

Isn't that actually a good thing? It is kind of terrible to have to go to a hot area from a heavily airconned place, unless you like to catch a cold.

For the short transitory period yes, it avoid shock. Like entering slowly in a swimming pool instead of cannonballing it from get go. When you stay at the same place for the time needed to/rest/work/eat, it's just bullshit excuse to lower electric bills.

Excessive heat and humidity drains you (body water and energy) if you can't recover in better condition before taking more heat the drain is constant only the rate varies. It's like saying you can recover better from a marathon by walking slower for few more hours. Or always staying cold to avoid frostbites...

Hint: if your body have to sweat or cut blood to extremitites to save heat, you are not in an optimized environment for your metabolism.
Stating the obvious a bit here..

[Russell]

Yep, agreed with all that, especially that about the sack and inner tight, but in my experience 24 to 26 degrees centigrade is good enough in a hot summer, unless the AC power is not sufficient.

The government-recommended 28 degrees makes it difficult to work efficiently.

[Coligny]

If you come from outside on really hot day, at first 24-26 feel more like a trolling/tease than A/C comfort.
In the long term it's effectively... Good enough, for desk jobs. For recovery after a big sweat... Personnally I need a bigger cold shock... If not I continue sweating for 30-60 minutes with the associated drain.

[Mike Oxlong]

Lee Kwan Yew once commented:

One particularly outspoken chap told me, "I don't trust us, the Japanese people.
We get carried away to the extreme. It starts off small. It ends up by going the
whole hog." I think it's in their culture. Whatever they do, they carry it out to
the apex, whether it's making samurai swords or computer chips. They keep at
it, improving, improving, improving. In any endeavor, they set out to be No. 1.
If they go back to the military, they will set out to be No. 1 in quality, in fighting
spirit. Whatever their reasons, they have built total dedication into the system,
into the mind.