Read an academic article on the culture of elitism in SÂ’poreÂ’s political scene. ItÂ’s written by Michael Barr from Uni of Queensland, published in Asian Studies Review, March 2006 (vol. 30, page 1-17) as
Beyond Technocracy: The Culture of Elite Governance in Lee Hsien LoongÂ’s Singapore.
I assume that the Asian Studies Review is a peer-reviewed journal, which means that the facts stated there are deemed accurate by other academics. Asuming LHL knows about this article and did not sue its author, I assume that there is nothing wrong with the 'facts' stated.
So, IÂ’ll liberally quote some of the things regarding the early career of PM Lee, with all credits to Barr for digging them up:
1. “…just as Hsien Loong finished his senior years of school, as if on cue the first of the Junior Colleges (JCs) opened to offer elite students a specialist study and tuition environment to prepare for university. Lee Hsien Loong was in the first intake of the first JC, National Junior College (NJC), and against all common practice he was allowed to sit for the Cambridge A-levels in two stages. He matriculated with A1s in pure and applied maths and an A2 in physics in 1969 (‘PSC Chooses Eight New President’s Scholars’, The Sunday Times, 31 May 1970, and ‘President’s Scholar Lee to do National Service Stint First’, The Straits Times, 1 June 1970), and then returned as a part-time student to sit for the full set of examinations and improve his matriculation results, presumably to get a head start in Cambridge. On the strength of his 1969 results alone he was one of eight winners of the prestigious President’s Scholarship in 1970, and also won a Public Service Commission scholarship to Cambridge to study mathematics.” (page 12).
2. “After attending NJC, he also voluntarily began his NS while waiting to depart for Cambridge, even though, as a scholarship winner, he could have deferred (‘President’s Scholar Lee to do National Service Stint First’, The Straits Times, 1 June 1970). His decision to start his NS early served him well. While he was doing his NS the Ministry of Defence initiated a system of SAF Overseas Scholarships on his father’s suggestion (Lee, 2001) and a few months later he was in the inaugural group of five men out of only 20 applicants to win one for his study in Cambridge (‘SAF Scholarships go to the
Top Five National ServicemenÂ’, The Straits Times, 20 May 1971). (page 12).
3. “Upon his return to Singapore in 1974 the SAF initiated a scholarship and leadership program for serving officers, and Lee Hsien Loong was in the first intake (Worthington, 2003, p. 260, note 136). All in all, Lee made good use of his study opportunities while he was in the SAF. From 1971 to 1974 he studied at Cambridge, where he graduated with Double First Class Honours in
Mathematical Statistics and Mathematical Economics and a distinction in a Diploma in Computer Science. After a mere three years working as a regular officer in the SAF he was posted to Fort Leavenworth, USA, where he studied at the US Army Command and General Staff College from 1978 to 1979. Upon completion of these studies he stayed in the US for another year as a Mason Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, graduating in 1980 with a Masters in Public Administration. By this stage he had risen to the rank of Major in the SAF, despite having served for only about three years on operational duty. (page 12)
4. “Despite his inexperience he was made Director, Joint Operations Planning Directorate from 1981 to 1982, and then became Chief of Staff (General Staff) from 1982 to 1984, by this time having risen to the rank of Brigadier-General. The SAF did not get very good value out of their investment, however, for Lee Hsien Loong left the SAF to run for parliament in 1984. (page 12)
5. “And make no mistake. At that stage of his career, Lee Junior’s handling of his constituency was so clumsy that he would have been in trouble without this help. He tried to approach his early “walkabouts” like military inspections, allocating a set time to each floor in each block and expecting his constituents to fit into his schedule (‘Being Lee Hsien Loong’, The Straits Times Interactive, 12 August 2004).” (page 13-14). The ‘help’ mentioned in this paragraph is that rendered by civil servants in the unlikely task of preparing Ang Mo Kio for the entry of the then brand-new MP Lee [keeping in mind that the civil service is not intended to assist in the ruling party in retaining power during elections).
And there you have it, our Prime Minsiter, Lee Hsien Loong, in some of his glory.
(1st blogged at
http://blueheeler.wordpress.com/2007/01/22/climbing-the-ladder-spore-style/)
