Thursday, August 12, 2010

Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew

I am at page 90... Amazingly, it is interesting story. Every Singaporean know Singapore. Politics and wonders of our politians do not interest me. I enjoys shallow things in life like food, family and saving the earth. Once in a while, I get into some excitement like finding my long lost nieces in facebook. Then get deflated by the apathy and silent treatment. Who says life is perfect? I still harbours the hope my nieces will visit one day.

Back to LKY, Tom Plate writes well. LKY injured his thigh while dismounting on a stationary bike. He still grant a day long interview for Plate. The perspective and insights from LKY is indeed broad and deep. His towering intellect and read on social and political sensitivities are indeed something for me to learn. For example, he pointed out in integrating minority group in Urumqi, capital in Xinjiang as there were "trouble" (read "racial riots") Here is how it is paragraph two, page 50:

"I told them, look, why don't you do it another way? You can't make the Uighur competitive in business as the Chinese have been doing this for thousands of years. Why not get your Han companies to bring the best of the Uighurs in as minority partners? Then they are also in the high-rises and also sharing in the growth. Instead, they are being pushed out, not just their big companies, but even their hawkers and small shopkeeper squeezed out. If I were a Uighur, I would feel the Hans are taking over. Infrastructure development means more Han Chinese. More Han Chinese....doesn't matter if I get richer as a result, but I'm becoming poorer."

The solution is clear. He finds a way to engage and integrate the best of the minority group in order to stablise a diverse society with different cultural behaviours.

I wished my company is run this way.

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