You may jest, however, LKY ‘created’ a jewel in the Far East from the chaos that was multicultural Singapore. I lived there when it was ‘wild’ enuf... YES, certain measures were taken to ‘curb’ the ‘animals’... one could not go into a housing elevator without the smell of urine because that is what they DO. Ammonia detectors/cameras were installed and culprits were pictured and arrested.
The mix of cultures there were a hot bed of calamity if not for LKY. YES, he was a dictator in a sense, but a far seeing business oriented (no pun intended) CONSERVATIVE who wanted Singapore to be a safe harbor for all. He created ORDER under the law.
NO slippery slopes (again, nothing intended!) allowed; if you broke the law, you were punished. There and then.
First I’ve ever heard of a conservative dictator.
I was just reading from Nixon’s book “The Real War” - looking at stuff about conflict in the Middle East with the Saudi’s against Iran, etc. It was written in 1980 or so, so the Soviets were the issue (being the “real” war).
But - Nixon also talked about “totalitarian” dictators as opposed to “authoritarian” regimes - like the Shah of Iran at the time. Sounds like LKY fits into the latter.
Excerpt:
“One thing we should recognize about these regimes is that they are not run by zealots determined to impose their iron will on every aspect of their citizen’s personal lives....political repression is an expedient to enable them to hold power and maintain order....
We must also grasp the distinction between those regimes that threaten their neighbors and those that do not...
Allies do not have to love one another or even admire one another; it is enough that they need one another....
The ‘moral imperialists’ who insist other nations be re-created in our image as the price of our friendship do freedom no favor. I do not suggest that we abandon our commitment to ‘human rights’ in our relations with friends. But to be effective, we need to adopt a policy of realism.”
Nixon then goes on and talks about how it took hundreds of years for Europe to evolve into democratic systems, and concludes with
“Democracy is like heady wine - some can handle it and some cannot, at least not right away.”
You know, I’ve actually wanted to visit Singapore for quite some time. I’ve been to Hong Kong (before the ChiCom reannexation) and liked it quite a bit. A friend with me told me Singapore is somewhat similar to HK, only less expensive, and a fair bit stricter on their laws.
As for the laws... I always tread lightly wherever I visit. I may not agree with what I see, but I’m there as a guest, not a citizen. I think I’d have a good time for a visit. I probably wouldn’t like living there long-term but, aside from Japan, I’ve yet to find an Asian nation I’ve visited that I’d likely enjoy living in for an extended period of time. (And I can’t afford Japan!)