Dear Editor,
Last week, I watched two CNA Insider documentaries on the late Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, founding father of Singapore, on the occasion of his 100th birthday.
Almost two decades ago, I read his two-volume memoirs, “The Singapore Story” and “From Third World to First World.” I still cherish the experience of reading his memoirs the same way I enjoyed the “Decision Points” of George W. Bush.
He was Southeast Asia’s miracle man. Where Indonesia’s Sukarno and Suharto, Malaysia’s Tungku Abdul Rahman, Abdul Razak, Hussein Onin and Mahatir, and the Philippines’ Ferdinand E. Marcos and Corazon Aquino failed, LKY succeeded.
Armed with a strong political base, he was an epitome of an ethical and visionary CEO — trained in Europe but manifested Oriental thinking.
I think no other country in the modern world, except maybe China today, no matter how small Singapore is, as some pundits would exclaim, can claim to have transformed themselves as poor, underdeveloped onto a mega-rich society in less than 3 decades since independence.
LKY is proof that with strong leadership, strong ethics, foregoing luxuries and unnecessary trappings and excesses of politicians, and implementing the right policies, it can be done. That an entire nation can work and move forward to defy all odds.
As a Filipino who has served in government for seven years, I can only look at Singapore with much envy. And with Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam also building a better society for their citizens, we have a lot of catching up to do. A LOT.
While their youth focus on national development with dynamism on geopolitics, our young Filipinos are busy complaining, ranting, and yakking on social media about the smallest of things, falling into the trap of misinformation and disinformation.
We had some glimpses of hope during the presidencies of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Policies that are inclusive, solid societal programs, and security ensured.
Yet our biggest handicap is our system. When a new President comes on board, many are changed. There is no continuity.
Thus, the stability is not just right in our midst. Every 6 years, there is anxiety because of redactions and/or regression of programs. But applause for what’s carried on.
Bill Clinton once told Bush Sr. that “it’s the economy, stupid.” Arroyo told Noynoy Aquino in 2012, “It’s the economy, student,” and that his was a “nobody-home style of leadership.”
Maybe it’s our incessant obsession with the American style of politics that has led us to this state, a State that moves forward, but often takes two steps backward.
I hope that within my lifetime, my generation, I can see a Philippines competitive in the ASEAN, where labor is not one of our biggest exports, where communities are forever safe from drugs and crimes, and where the Filipino youth are genuinely patriotic and intelligent.
My dream is real.
Ramon Cualoping III
mon.cualoping@gmail.com