THE TEMASEK REVIEW

By The Patriot

1. I refer to the article ‘My house is shabby, but it is comfortable’ in the Straits Times dated 4 Jan 2009 which was written by Ms Lee Wei Ling. I believe Ms Lee is the daughter of Lee Kuan Yew.

2. In Ms Lee’s article, she had stated:

a. Quote:”Decades of the good life have made us soft” unquote.

I would think that it is rather the decades of suppressed and incarcerated life by the ruling party have made S’poreans soft. If every dissenting view, voice and non-violent action against the ruling party by the citizens is reciprocated by govt’s intimidation of imprisonment and bankruptcy, how do you expect S’poreans to be tough, courageous and independent-minded.

This global economic meltdown has proven that the smartest and the brightest may not be that smart and bright after all. The worst thing is that the smartest and the brightest are not only unable to see the economic problems coming and solve them but in fact they are the ones who cause them, resulting in worldwide suffering.

Therefore, listening and accepting different views may not be a bad thing. After all, even Lee Kuan Yew had been wrong many times. Just recently, he proclaimed that Singapore was having a golden period and immediately thereafter we have one of the worst recessions in all times. He said Barack Obama was just ‘a flash in the pan’ but he is now elected as the 44th President of the US and the whole world endorses him.

b. Ms Lee said that “I am reminded of what my mother once told me: Suffering and deprivation is good for the soul” unquote.

Her mother was borne with a silver spoon. She is the daughter of a banker. She was already living in a big house and chauffeured around in those early days when only the colonial masters can afford to. So, who is she kidding? What moral authority does your mother have to talk about suffering and deprivation. Her sense of suffering and deprivation, to others may just be utopia and materialism.

c. She said her house is big and shabby.

Her father, MM Lee Kuan Yew is a political animal. He knows that every Singaporean knows that he is the most powerful man in S’pore. I believe most people would also believe the Lee family is very wealthy. So, is it necessary for him to flaunt his power and wealth by having a big mountain-top palace and a collection of Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, etc in the garage. As a calculative politician, this is a conscious and certainly NOT CONSCIENTIOUS effort by Lee Kuan Yew to have a simple house and a simple car. Of course he yearns for opulence. I remembered he once said that he would rather be a business tycoon or CEO of a big company than a politician if he had to live his life all over again after visiting the opulent office of a CEO of a oil major in Texas.

Eg, President George Bush restrained himself from playing golf because he did not want the Americans to think that he was enjoying his life while his American soldiers were fighting and dying in Iraq. He did not stop playing golf out of genuine concern for his American soldiers but it was more of a conscious effort by him to make himself looks good and compassionate.

These are just political acts.

d. Ms Lee continued to state “if one is blinded by materialism, there would be no end to wanting and hankering. After the Ferrari, what next? An Aston Martin? After the Hermes Birkin handbag, what can one upgrade to?. Unquote.

I think Ms Lee just have to ask his father, Lee Kuan Yew to understand why one’s wanting and hankering of whether wealth, materialism, power, etc is no end. After being a PM for decades, then SM, then MM, what next? After placing himself as the Chairman of GIC, his son Lee Hsien Loong as the Deputy Chairman and his daughter-in-law Ho Ching as the CEO of Temasek Holding, what next?

e. Ms Lee concluded by saying “When the end approaches and we look back on our lives, will we regret the lastest mobile phone or luxury car that we did not acquire? Or would we prefer to die at peace with ourselves, knowing that we have lived lives filled with love, friendship and goodwill.” Unquote.

With all due respects, a person like Ms Lee who does not particularly believe in spiritual things and does not think she has a soul that will survive her death; and who has seen first hand how his father treated his political opponents will certainly not care how her end approaches

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