tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post6686292109955492812..comments2024-02-14T04:53:18.295-08:00Comments on Singapore Dissident: Lee Kuan Yew's flawed Singapore miracleGopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-28846124996408339922015-08-14T22:22:11.689-07:002015-08-14T22:22:11.689-07:00Imad,
Thanks for your comment. I am a professiona...Imad,<br /><br />Thanks for your comment. I am a professional lawyer with a very busy practice. As such although I would love to, there is not much time to devote to other Tiger economies. Such s project that you mention would be more suited to a professional journalist, which I am not one. <br /><br />Singapore is for me a specialty, being born a Singaporean, as I have an axe to grind with that regime from which I have personal experience of the long years of repression I suffered being immersed in that politics. In fact I still do. <br /><br />Having said that, one thing I know. Japan, South Korea Hong Kong or Taiwan, or some of these countries, were under dictatorships, just like Singapore now for a long time. However all of them are now, and have been, thriving and proud democracies except for Singapore. Yet all of them have succeeded handsomely despite the fact that they have been democracies for a long time. And it is this that calls the bluff of these Singapore despots who say that easing political freedoms would somehow dampen economic progress. What these countries that you mention have shown is that democracy does not impede economic progress. In fact it promotes it. Gopalan Nairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-68369329984264938632015-08-14T21:26:00.609-07:002015-08-14T21:26:00.609-07:00As someone who has an interest in the history of t...As someone who has an interest in the history of the Asian Tiger Economies, of which Singapore is included, I found this post to be very interesting. <br /><br />While not a Singaporean myself, I did live there for about 4 years when I was young, and had been there a few times back, as well as have friends who live there. I have to admit, maybe because I was younger and looking at it through more rose tinted glasses, but Singapore did look really fantastic. And everyone (at the least those who are foreigners like me) who's been there have nothing but great things to say about the country. But even I know that there has to be a seedy underbelly to Singapore, heck you even have that here in Australia, where I live. <br /><br />I was wondering if you had any comment, or better yet another post, to make about this comparison of Singapore as a Tiger economy like Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong or Taiwan which went from Third World to First World Economies. I would surmise that you will find a lot of comparison with the modern South Korean history, as that country also had an authoritarian government that saw huge economic growth. <br /><br />Any response would be appreciated.<br /><br />Imad KhanAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08744937906233125592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-63350225532718980852015-07-29T01:16:20.842-07:002015-07-29T01:16:20.842-07:00Going to receive a lot of flack from PAP sycophant...Going to receive a lot of flack from PAP sycophants for this, but I'll do it anyway:<br /><br />Since growing up, I've always been labelled as worthless, simply because I wasn't good at academic studies. Even the skills I had concerning technical trades like repairing or assembling stuff was ignored, and I was not given any opportunity to develop them further.<br /><br />Being a conscript was the exact same experience. Even despite displaying an interest in repairing and maintaining machines, I was barred from any vocational training and condemned to Supply and Transport. The only future I had was menial labour. And even though I proved myself to be surprising intelligent, I wasn't allowed to attend specialist training simply because I didn't have O-Level qualifications.<br /><br />So why should throw my life away to protect a country that refused to support my dreams and talents?<br /><br />- Nigel LaiAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com