Singapore’s founder Lee Kuan Yew died Monday at the age of 91.
Many disagree on Lee’s manner of leadership. The island state’s leader, says a report, was “renowned for his sharp tongue, quick wit and controversial remarks.”
More than that, his governing style was far from the democratic ideal that most prosperous Western nations hold ideal. He emphasized respect for elders and the law, hard work, and the recognition that the needs of society must transcend the individual’s.
The lines between ruler and subject were clear. In short, Lee ruled Singapore with a firm – albeit purposeful — hand. He was often accused of curtailing citizen’s rights and interfering in their private lives.
He had always been without remorse for this leadership style. “If I had not done that, we would not be here today,” the late leader once famously said.
Where there is consensus is on the fact that Lee did his country a lot of good, and that this week, the world lost one of its greatest leaders.
The results would best speak for themselves. High stability, high savings, low corruption, low crime rate, virtually no homelessness. Indeed, from being a “fairly dilapidated town” in the 1960s, Singapore is what it is today because of Lee.
More than the success story of the nation, remarkable was Lee’s ability to step back extricate his person from his handiwork. He never presented himself as the savior of his country. He never had the illusion that nobody else could continue the work when his time was up.
He most certainly never complained about how difficult his job was.
In contrast, we here in the Philippines suffer our chief executive’s whining every blessed day. This time he says that his critics are stepping up the tirades so they can dismiss his accomplishments and diminish his endorsement power for the 2016 elections.
This President is ignorant of the fact that nobody else needs to diminish his endorsement power; he is doing an excellent job of it by himself.
Mr. Aquino’s trust and popularity ratings suffered a steep drop this month after the public became familiar with what happened in Mamasapano, Maguindanao and witnessed his bungled response to demands for an explanation.
He also assails those who are spreading rumors about his poor health; he called his critics enemies of the straight path.
We can only shake our heads at how this brand of leadership has brought the country no closer to its dream of inclusive growth. While officials crow about credit rating upgrades and nominal GDP growth, more Filipinos consider themselves poorer.
The lack of visible results may have been more acceptable if there were a character to galvanize the people and inspire us to overcome difficulties.
But no. We have, instead, a scion of a political family who thinks he can never do wrong and who believes everybody who does not agree with him is out to bring him down.