Perceived to be living in his father’s shadow?

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew is without a shadow of doubt one of the world’s longest serving lawmakers. He was Singapore’s Prime Minister before Singapore became independent from 1959 to 1965 and in the post-independence years from 1965 to 1990. He subsequently served as Senior Minister from 1990 to 2004 before taking on the portfolio of Minister Mentor up till this day. Lee’s son, Lee Hsien Loong is Singapore’s current Prime Minister.

The senior Lee’s years in power has made him some sort of a cult figure for better and worst, and he has entrenched himself within our national mindset. The octogenarian has generated a sort of a mystical aura about him, something akin to the epitome of divine authority here in Singapore. “Lee’s words are law here in Singapore, so whatever you do, don’t ever get into his bad books!” my elders always admonished me, something to the effect of encouraging me to be just like any other ordinary joe who roams the streets of Singapore.

Now that senior Lee has taken on the role of Minister Mentor and his son is in the hotseat, the pertinent question is whether the junior Lee is still living in his father’s shadow. To rephrase, who is perceived to be in charge of running Singapore, really?

The late William Safire published an interesting essay entitled “The Dictator speaks. A chat with Lee Kuan Yew” (William Safire is also famously known as the man who called senior Lee a dictator in his face, which explains the title), in which he quizzed senior Lee on whether Hsien Loong would be the Deputy Prime Minister if not for the fact that the latter is Lee’s son.

And Lee’s reply? “If he were not my son, he would be the Prime Minister. I’ll tell you honestly, I stopped him, because he can run faster than any of the others. But I told him it would do him no good. Just stay out of this race. And his generation, his peers, know that I am not boasting when I tell you this.” However, Lee’s assessment of junior Lee’s talents still does not really answer the question of whether the latter is perceived to be out of his father’s shadow and is his own man as Singapore’s premier.

In the same interview, Safire quizzed Lee on his sentiments regarding independent labor unions. According to Lee, there was nothing to stop workers from forming independent labor unions. However, he also warned that such independent unions can’t succeed because the unions who are with the establishment produce more results. So, what happens when unionists fall foul of Lee and his establishment? Well, in the past, they would be thrown into a detention prison. Operation Coldstore, if most would remember was a watershed event within the annals of Singapore’s history. The Wikipedia page of Operation Coldstore describes it as “a security operation launched in Singapore on 2 February 1963 in which at least 111 anti-government left-wing activists were arrested and detained, including key members of the opposition political party Barisan Socialis. Others arrested included newspaper editors, trade unionists and university students.”

Modern times require softer methods but Lee senior still retains the knuckle-duster meet-me-in-a-cul-de-sac approach in the event that a union is perceived by the establishment to step out of line. The most recent episode that proves this point was the 2004 saga involving the pilots’ union, the Airline Pilots’ Association, Singapore (ALPA-S) in which union members accused the union’s leadership of being weak in negotiations with the airline management over retrenchments that were made months earlier. Thus, the members wanted the current leadership to resign to be taken over by a newer group who would take a stronger stance in negotiations. What transpired was the singling out of Captain Ryan Goh as the main campaigner behind a more assertive leadership.

It was coincidental that the ALPA-S – SIA management dispute occurred in 2004, the year in which Lee junior was due to step up to the hotseat. Dealing with unionists to any national leader is no easy matter, and it would test the capabilities of many a leader or potential leader to the limits. In a certain sense, the dispute can be seen as a test of Lee junior’s abilities. It turned out that Lee senior, his father had to intervene, albeit using a hard-line knuckle-duster approach, when it was apparent that ALPA-S was perceived not to toe the establishment’s line, potentially.

Lee senior met up with the airline pilots at the Istana. He was to lecture the pilots on the makings of an effective union, and “the importance of non-confrontational, cooperative labor-management relations within Singapore’s formula for success.” He was to serve the pilots responsible for the dispute a series of public rebukes for their role in the events.

Lee told the pilots:”You play straight with me, I play straight with you. You play ducks and drakes with me, I play ducks and drakes with you.”

To the pilots behind the ouster of the ALPA-S leadership, Lee warned:”‘If they play this game, there will be broken heads.”

What transpired subsequently was that Ryan lost his permanent residency status (he was a Malaysian with a Singapore PR). He was considered an ‘undesirable immigrant’ by Singapore authorities. Senior Lee’s approach in dealing with the ALPA-S pilots was hardly surprising. However, an interesting question would be if it were his son, how would the latter deal with it?

Lee recently participated in a series of Question and Answer dialogues with university students at the Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum. Judging from his responses to queries from the floor, he projects an impression of a law-maker who is still in the thick of things concerning Singapore from environmental issues on fuel emissions in relation to our economy to integration of new migrants into our society and others. Even as Minister Mentor, he has come out and defended contentious policies such as the Foreign Talent policy.

An apt example of a company can be used to illustrate our current political circumstances. Assuming Singapore is the equivalent of a company known as Singapore, Inc. The former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has stepped down, and a new post known as CEO Mentor is being created. The former CEO stepped down to take on the role of CEO mentor while his son became the new CEO. This company happens to implement a contentious policy – outsourcing of work to cheaper labor and slashing of monthly salaries. Amidst unhappiness among the employees, the CEO mentor came out to explain to them that it was a necessary move on the company’s part because such will indirectly create jobs for them and if the company do not resort to such a move, it will result in further loss of jobs. Would the employees of the company still believe that this CEO mentor is no longer in charge? Honestly, it will be easier to believe otherwise.

The Senior Lee through his years of rule has created some sort of a mythical spectre equivalent to a ‘divine ruling authority’ within the mindsets of many Singaporeans, capturing their imaginations for better or worse. Even as he stepped down to become Senior Minister and Minister Mentor, there will be members of the public who will remain unconvinced that he is no longer in charge. Even if he goes further and steps down from the cabinet and PAP, some will still remain unconvinced. Lee for the record has stated:”"Even from my sick bed, even if you are going to lower me into the grave and I feel something is going wrong, I will get up.”

Now, we have a new steward in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong steering the Singapore ship. Formal appointments aside, the question is whether the junior Lee is perceived to be still living in his father’s shadow. Perhaps, we can broaden the question and ask if the entire current ministerial cabinet and even Singapore is still living in MM Lee’s shadow. It is little wonder that some commentators remark that Singapore will only see significant changes after the Senior Lee goes, assuming he doesn’t live up to his promise and return from his grave!