Lee Kuan Yew - Every Story Has A Flip Side! Many Singaporeans have criticized Lee as being authoritarian and intolerant of dissent, citing his numerous mostly successful attempts to sue political opponents and newspapers who express an unfavorable opinion. Reporters Without Borders, an international media pressure group, has asked Lee, and other senior Singaporean officials, to stop taking libel actions against journalists. In addition to being authoritarian, Lee has been accused of promoting a culture of elitism among its ruling class. Michael Barr, in his book, The Ruling Elite of Singapore: Networks of Influence and Power, reveals that the system of meritocracy in Singapore is not exactly what the government promotes itself to be. Instead, it is a system of nepotism and collusion between his family and their crony friends and allies. The government is also fond of presenting the city-state as multi-ethnic and cosmopolitan. However, Barr reveals that all the networks are dominated by ethnic Chinese, leaving powerless the minority Malay and Indian ethnic groups. The entire process of selecting and grooming of future political and economic talent is all monopolized in the hands of the ruling Peoples Action Party, which Lee himself founded with a handful of other British-educated ethnic Chinese that he met in his days at Cambridge. According to Asia Sentinels article Singapores Lee Family and Nepotism, Lee Kuan Yews family members hold prominent positions of power and wealth in Singapore society. His elder son, Lee Hsien Loong, is the current prime minister; his wife, Ho Ching, in turn is the CEO of Temasek Holdings, the sovereign wealth fund which controls much of Singapores major corporations such as Singapore Airlines and SingTel. Lee Kuan Yews daughter, Lee Wei Ling, is director of the National Neuroscience Institute. His younger son, Lee Hsien Yang, is a director of many prominent companies. So what gives this man the right to criticize Ferdinand Marcos (or ANYONE for that matter), of their political faults.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 09:03:51 +0000
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