Lee Kuan Yew on the Philippines and our vast untapped potential

Several years ago when I was on a trip to that resource-poor oasis of economic prosperity and meritocracy Singapore, I bought a new book by the inspirational statesman former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. I called up his office and inquired if I could send over my copy of his book to request his autograph.

Lee’s secretary replied that would be fine, but I would have to pay US$100. Whew! I asked, “Why? For what?” She explained that it was a donation to a charity. I was impressed, because that little minute detail demonstrates how pragmatic and super efficient this leader really is.

Integrity’s not enough — we need honest, bright, hardworking leaders

When will we in the Philippines start electing leaders who are not only honest but hardworking and bright leaders with a strategic vision to boot, similar to Singapore’s now ailing 91-year-old former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew?

For the past century, since the landlord-dominated Malolos Republic and the Commonwealth era up to the modern era, lots of our leaders have been smart, but often either corrupt, cynical or lazy, thus causing the Philippines to remain a country rich in natural resources and vast arable lands but with lots of poor people.

Personal integrity is not enough. We need honest leaders with wisdom, political will, vision and drive to push sweeping socio-economic reforms.

Intelligence and work ethic alone are also not enough, for smart and diligent leaders without moral scruples can impoverish the country with massive corruption.

Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew is the epitome of a great leader who is incorruptible, efficient, exceptionally brilliant in intellect, pragmatic, visionary, hardworking and disciplined. Let me share some excerpts from Lee’s book From Third World to First: The Singapore Story wherein he discusses the Philippines.

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‘Porma’ or form over substance? Unnecessary extravagance?

“In Bali in 1976, at the first ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit held after the fall of Saigon, I found Marcos keen to push for greater economic cooperation in ASEAN. We agreed to implement a bilateral Philippine-Singapore across-the-board 10 percent reduction of existing tariffs on all products and to promote intra-ASEAN trade. We also agreed to lay a Philippines-Singapore submarine cable. I was to discover that, for him, the communiqué was the accomplishment itself; its implementation was secondary, an extra to be discussed at another conference.”

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Lee recounted how, on one visit, Marcos took him on a tour of his library filled with volumes of newspapers, volumes on the history and culture, also his campaign medals displayed in glass cupboards. Lee wrote: “He was the undisputed boss of all Filipinos. Imelda, his wife, had a penchant for luxury and opulence. When they visited Singapore before the Bali Summit, they came in style in two DC-8s, his and hers.”

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After the 1983 Aquino assassination caused foreign banks to stop all loans to the Philippines, the country by then had over $25 billion in outstanding loans; we were unable to even pay the interest. Lee writes: “(Marcos) sent his minister for trade and industry, Bobby Ongpin, to ask me for a loan of $300-500 million to meet the interest payments. I looked him straight in the eye and said, ‘We will never see that money back.’ He added that ‘what was needed was a strong, healthy leader, not more loans.’”

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Socio-economic inequality, soft & forgiving culture

Lee said the Philippines has lots of talented people, so there should be no reason why we are less progressive than other ASEAN countries. But Lee writes: “Something was missing, a gel to hold society together. The people at the top, the elite mestizos, had the same detached attitude to the native peasants as the mestizos in their haciendas in Latin America had towards their peons. They were two different societies; those at the top lived a life of extreme luxury and comfort, while the peasants scraped out a living…”

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Lee Kuan Yew also writes in his book: “The Philippines had a rambunctious press but it did not check corruption. Individual pressmen could be bought, as could many judges. Something had gone seriously wrong. Filipino professionals whom we recruited to work in Singapore are as good as our own. Indeed, their architects, artists, and musicians are more artistic and creative than ours…

“The difference lies in the culture of the Filipino people,” he concludes. “It is a soft, forgiving culture.”

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Lee Kuan Yew’s last comment on the Philippines in this book actually poses a challenge to us all: “Some Filipinos write and speak with passion. If they could get their elite to share their sentiments and act, what could they not have achieved?”

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