How Lee Kuan Yew Transformed Singapore

And let there be no mistakes about this.

Whoever governs Singapore must have that iron in him or give it up. This is not a game of cards. This is your life and mine. I've spent a whole lifetime

mine. I've spent a whole lifetime building this.

And as long as I'm in charge, nobody's going to knock it down.

>> I'm going to show you how great I am.

>> This would have tiny power. I just want to say from the bottom of me heart, I'd like to take this chance to apologize to absolutely nobody.

Hello and welcome to How to Take Over the World. This is [music] Ben Wilson.

the World. This is [music] Ben Wilson.

Today we are talking about Lie Kuanu, the founder of modern Singapore.

Singapore is a very small island off the southern coast of Malaysia. When Lie

Kuwanu took over as prime minister, it was a small, dirty backwater port town.

Now it is a gleaming modern metropolis, one of the great cities of the world up there with London, New York, and Tokyo.

You may have noticed that we started doing video episodes for How to Take Over the World recently. And one of the last episodes we did before we started moving over to video was Lee Kuanu. And

so this episode is a re-release of the Lee Kuanu episode. This time with video.

Video has allowed us to reach an entirely new audience. And so I wanted to make sure that we were able to get this episode in front of that audience as well because I think this story is so important. Lee Kuwan is a really

important. Lee Kuwan is a really interesting figure. One of the reasons I

interesting figure. One of the reasons I like his story so much is that it's applicable to everyone. Right? If if

you're an entrepreneur, an investor, an executive, a coach, what whatever, then Lee Kuan is applicable to you because he's a great modern leader and his management style,

his his leadership style, the way that he manages and runs teams is is applicable to to basically everyone. But

also, it is a story of how to take over the world. This is someone who founded

the world. This is someone who founded not just a company and who led not just a team of people trying to build a new product but a new country. And so I

think it's got resonance for anyone who's interested in the political domain of how do we actually transform things. You know that's that's

transform things. You know that's that's something we're talking a lot in America. I think in the west in general

America. I think in the west in general is just things are no longer functional.

And I think a lot of people are thinking about how how do we actually transform the west to make it functional once again. And I think Lie Kuan Yu, even though obviously he's he's

an Asian leader, can provide a lot of inspiration for that of of how do we get things back on the right track. If I had to distill down the lessons of Lee Kuanu's life to three things, what I

learned from him is vision, competence, grit, right? Have a vision. And he did.

grit, right? Have a vision. And he did.

He had a vision. And he had multiple visions, right? The the first was for a

visions, right? The the first was for a clean and green Singapore, then of transforming it from a fishing village to a a regional manufacturing powerhouse

and then from a manufacturing hub to a a financial hub. And he has all these

financial hub. And he has all these subsequent visions for Singapore that he's he's able to articulate and get people behind at every stage of his career. And then competence, you know,

career. And then competence, you know, just doing the right things in the right order, getting it all right, doing it well, having a competent team behind

him, and then grit because there were tons of setbacks in his career, tons of moments when it could have failed, and he kept persevering nevertheless. So,

those were my main three takeaways as I reflect back on the life of Lee Kuanu.

So, without further ado, let's get into it. This is the rebroadcast of our

it. This is the rebroadcast of our episode on Lee Kuan Yu.

I'd like to start off this episode with a quote from his book from Third World to First. He says, "There are books to

to First. He says, "There are books to teach you how to build a house, how to repair engines, how to write a book, but I have not seen a book on how to build a nation out of a disperate collection of

immigrants from China, British India, and the Dutch East Indies, or how to make a living for its people when its former economic role is becoming defunct. So, I think this episode should

defunct. So, I think this episode should be of interest to reformers, statesmen, politicians, people who have visions of reform and nation building. But the

other interesting thing about Lie Kuwan Yu is that he ran his country like a startup, like a company. And so on a broader level, I think his example and his wisdom can be of benefit to anyone

who is a leader in any capacity, whether that's in business or sports or art or anything. So let's get into it. For this

anything. So let's get into it. For this

episode, I have a few sources. One, The

Singapore Story by Lee Kwanu, which is autobiographical and recounts the first few years of independence for Singapore.

And then his second autobiographical book called From Third World to First.

Also, Lee Kuanu, the Grandmaster's Insights on China, the United States, and the World by Graham Allison and Michael McConna. And then Singapore, a

Michael McConna. And then Singapore, a modern history by Michael Dar and No Man is an island, a study of Singapore's Lee Kuanu by James Mincin. The first two,

like I said, are by Lee Kuanu and give his perspective. They're quite good, but

his perspective. They're quite good, but they were written for a Singaporean audience and were a little more dense than I anticipated, but still very good.

Lee Kuanu, the Grandmaster's Insights is a very good book for his thinking on leadership. I would frankly skip his

leadership. I would frankly skip his thoughts on geopolitics and go straight to his thoughts on leadership and management and life, which are the last few chapters. Singapore, a modern

few chapters. Singapore, a modern history by Michael Dar is essentially the view of a communist who regrets very much that Lie Kuwanu eliminated communism in Singapore. But its first

few chapters are okay for their narrative of the origins of Singapore. I

like that. And then No Man is an Island is a somewhat hostile biography, but it's evenhanded in many ways. It's

pretty good, a little dated. I think it was finished somewhere in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Um, but if you want a more objective biography, that's a good

one. So, with that said, let's get into

one. So, with that said, let's get into it. This is Lee Kuan Yu.

it. This is Lee Kuan Yu.

Okay. Lie Kuwan Yu is born in 1923 to a wealthy family in Singapore. They were

ethnically Chinese as were most Singaporeans. And Singapore is a small

Singaporeans. And Singapore is a small island off the southern tip of Malaysia.

It had been in old times majority Malay.

Okay, Malay is a ethnicity and that's what most people in Malaysia are obviously. But the British had acquired

obviously. But the British had acquired it and made it into a free port and thereby turned it into a bustling port city. This attracted thousands of

city. This attracted thousands of Chinese merchants who took advantage of the favorable trade conditions to start factories and import export affairs and other associated businesses. And so it

quickly becomes a majority Chinese city.

The Lee family lose much of their wealth when Lieuanu is five due to the Great Depression, but they are still upper middle class. And in British Singapore,

middle class. And in British Singapore, upper middle class means that you have some servants to help you manage what is a quite large estate. In the case of the Lee family, his father was a very strict

disciplinarian and he very much admired British discipline and manners and culture. And this is unsurprising for

culture. And this is unsurprising for someone who makes his fortune on the back of the British trading empire in Asia. So he actually gives his son the

Asia. So he actually gives his son the name Harry Lee Kuanu. Okay, so that's his real name when he is born, Harry Lee Kuanu. And so he was largely known as

Kuanu. And so he was largely known as Harry Lee for most of his early life.

However, we know him as Lie Kuwan Yu because he later dropped the name Harry in order to seem less westernized. We'll

get to that. As a boy, Lieuan Yu loved reading. Early on, he has a love for

reading. Early on, he has a love for westerns in particular. You can see that initially he had this great attraction to Western culture, just like his dad did. Lie Kuwan Yu's father was a gambler

did. Lie Kuwan Yu's father was a gambler and his mother is really the leader of the family for that reason. Lie Kuanu

becomes the de facto head of the family while he's still in his teens and that's a fairly Chinese thing to do. The oldest

son is given responsibility and expected to lead from a very young age. So he

grows up with his whims constantly accommodated and with his siblings and even his mother obeying his commands.

And so he really learns to lead in command from a very young age. He speaks

English to his parents, Baba Malay, which is a sort of pigeon Malay with a bunch of Chinese words thrown in. uh he

speaks that to his grandparents and Malay with a smattering of Hokian to his friends and Hokian I don't know if I'm pronouncing that right is a Chinese

dialect and most Chinese immigrants to Singapore had come from this region of China where they spoke Hokian so that was kind of the deacto Chinese language

in Singapore Mandarin was totally alien to him he had to learn it a little bit in school but he doesn't finish his Mandarin education so he didn't speak very good Mandarin

He gets a very good Anglo English language education. They had these

language education. They had these institutions to educate the locals and help build up a local cadre of white collar workers and officials who could help serve in British administration and lead the local economy. And so he goes

to a high school called Raffles, named after the founder of the Singapore colony, a man who has the most British sounding name I've ever heard, Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles. Okay.

So he goes to this school that's named after Sir Thomas Raffles and his goal in going there is the top students from Raffles could metriculate at top universities in England like Oxford and

Cambridge with a scholarship. And this

is what Lee Kuwanu wanted to do.

However, in 1940, World War II is going on and it's going very poorly for England. They're being

bombed by Germany. This is the Blitz.

And so instead of um when he finishes Raffles the high school portion instead of going to England he goes to Raffles College. Okay. So Raffles established a

College. Okay. So Raffles established a secondary school essentially a high school if you're an American and also a college. So he goes from Raffles High

college. So he goes from Raffles High School to Raffles College. Although you

know he still has an eye towards doing well there and then going on to study more in England. At Raffles College he does extremely well. He kind of goofs off and doesn't pay much attention. He's

a prankster. And I'll just highlight this that if you want to find really great talent, look for the pranksters.

Thomas Edison was a prankster. Steve

Jobs was a prankster. John Wooden was a great prankster. Alexander Hamilton was

great prankster. Alexander Hamilton was something of a prankster. The list goes on. It's a great way, for whatever

on. It's a great way, for whatever reason, to spot talent. Very

intelligent, very capable people. You

know, I think what it is is they like to test the limits of the world around them and therefore they enjoy pranks. He's

actually punished at least once for um coming late and for being a prankster and at raffles that meant caning like you know they take out a a stick and

whack you on the bottom. And here's what he wrote about that in uh the Singapore story. He says, "I bent over a chair and

story. He says, "I bent over a chair and was given three of the best with my trousers on. I do not think he lightened

trousers on. I do not think he lightened his strokes. I have never understood why

his strokes. I have never understood why Western educationists are so much against corporal punishment. It did my fellow students and me no harm. Okay, so

he does get some physical punishment while it raffles. I actually think this is when he's in high school. But again,

he he thinks like I suffered no psychological damage from this and he would continue to be a vocal proponent of corporal punishment actually, not only in educational situations, but um

in the criminal justice system as well.

So Lieuan Yu doesn't take school too seriously. He often shows up late. He

seriously. He often shows up late. He

likes to carry out pranks and hijinks.

But despite this, he is the leading student in mathematics and the second student in English and economics. And

that's just because he's brilliant. He's

very, very intelligent. He actually

panics when he finds out that someone else has beat his scores in English and economics. And he's only in second place

economics. And he's only in second place because only the very top student from Raffles was guaranteed a scholarship to go study in England. So, he has to up his focus in order to make sure that he

is still considered the top student. And

by the way, that one student who outco competes him in a couple of classes is named Quag Gaku. Okay, probably

mispronouncing that, but that is the woman who he would eventually go on to marry. His education comes to an abrupt

marry. His education comes to an abrupt halt in 1942 when the Japanese invade British Malaya. Lie Kuwanu volunteers as

British Malaya. Lie Kuwanu volunteers as a medic as did all of the other university students, but he doesn't serve for very long because the British resistance in Malaya just completely

collapses very quickly. And this is really unexpected. The British had a

really unexpected. The British had a reputation as I mean they had an empire that covered the entire globe, right?

And so they had this this reputation for dependability, for being warriors, for holding out to the last man. And so to see them completely melt away with hardly any opposition to the Japanese is

dismaying for Lie Kuan Yu. You can tell that he loses a lot of respect for the British at this time. And it's difficult to wrap your mind around why this happened. Many years later, Winston

happened. Many years later, Winston Churchill would write that the fall of Singapore was quote the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British

history. And this just catastrophe

history. And this just catastrophe really changes his mindset. You know,

this is someone who grows up in an anglopile family. English is basically

anglopile family. English is basically his first language. He should have been a natural ally of continued British rule in Singapore and more broadly in Malaya.

But seeing this collapse changes something in him. And it's at this time that he makes a commitment that his people need to be independent and control their own destiny. Leewanu

writes, quote, "It is difficult for those born after 1945 to appreciate the full implications of the British defeat as they have no memory of the colonial system that the Japanese brought

crashing down on February 15th, 1942.

Since 1819, when Raffles founded Singapore as a trading post for the East India Company, the white man's supremacy had been unquestioned. But in 70 days of surprises, upsets and stupidities,

British colonial society was shattered and with it all the assumptions of the English men's superiority. Okay, so he and everyone else in Singapore grow up with this sort of unquestioned

assumption that the the English are superior. They're in charge. They run

superior. They're in charge. They run

things. But once he sees them completely unable to resist the Japanese, you know, something changes in his brain a little bit. Think, okay,

bit. Think, okay, maybe these people aren't so much better than than me as I had thought. The

Japanese are much harsher rulers than the British have been. Lie Kuwanu has a couple of close calls with death, actually under Japanese rule. At one

point, he's put on board a boat to head off to an undisclosed location, and he's got this ominous feeling. He's looking

around and he asks the Japanese captain in charge. Um, he says, "I'll be right

in charge. Um, he says, "I'll be right back, but can I go get a couple things uh from my house first?" And to his surprise, the captain says yes. So, he

hops off the boat and of course never returns. and all those aboard the boat

returns. and all those aboard the boat were never heard from again. Presumably

taken to some labor camp where they were worked to death. So he barely survives.

Uh but he unsurprisingly somehow excels under Japanese rule. He works as a clerk. He also becomes a a merchant in

clerk. He also becomes a a merchant in sort of the gray market, not quite the black market, but not quite legal either. He starts a minor manufacturing

either. He starts a minor manufacturing business making stationary gum with improvised ingredients. He's very good

improvised ingredients. He's very good at just the basic business, right? Buy

low, sell high. He's always buying little things and finding arbitrage opportunities and reselling them. He has

to stop selling uh this gum for lack of demand when the war starts going poorly, right? The Americans are kicking the

right? The Americans are kicking the Japanese butt in the Pacific. They're

running out of a lot of raw supplies.

And this only accelerates as time goes on. As America is continually beating

on. As America is continually beating back the Japanese in the Pacific, the economy in Singapore completely collapses. And just as the end of

collapses. And just as the end of British rule was chaotic, so the end of Japanese rule was also chaotic in his final days in Singapore. Japanese rule,

however, was crucial for Lieuan Yu's understanding of the world and how to govern. You get the impression that he

govern. You get the impression that he he definitely I don't know if I would say he hates the Japanese. Uh he

certainly hates um the way that they govern and and their cruelty, but he respects their methods. So listen to what he says about it. Quote, "I learned more from the three and a half years of

Japanese occupation than any university could have taught me. I had not yet read Mao's dictim that power grows out of the barrel of a gun. But I knew that Japanese brutality, Japanese guns, Japanese bayonets and swords, and

Japanese terror and torture settled the argument as to who was in charge and could make people change their behavior, even their loyalties. Okay, so on the

one hand, he he hates Japanese rule, but on the other hand, he's like, well, look at this. He he also points to how little

at this. He he also points to how little crime there was under Japanese rule, how orderly everyone was, how much people respected and obeyed their laws because they were so afraid of them. And so, you

know, I think this is wise. Anyone can

learn from their from their heroes, from their friends, from their allies. It

takes a truly wise man to learn from his enemies. But that is what Lie Kuan Yu is

enemies. But that is what Lie Kuan Yu is doing here. He's learning from his

doing here. He's learning from his enemies. He doesn't drink too deeply,

enemies. He doesn't drink too deeply, right? He's not some fanatical craze

right? He's not some fanatical craze torturer the way the Japanese sometimes could be with the way they ruled in the Pacific, but he is learning, hey, the

way they institute public order really works at the very least. So once the Japanese are kicked

least. So once the Japanese are kicked out, World War II ends, uh technically the British are back in charge. Everyone

can kind of feel that the British Empire is now going to end. Um, but for the time being that's not the case. The the

British are are back in charge. Although

there is this sort of feeling in the air, this agitation of, okay, well, it's time for the Singaporeans to take over.

The MPJA was a Malay guerilla organization that had fought the Japanese. Uh, and they're communists. As

Japanese. Uh, and they're communists. As

was often the case in World War II, some of the most ardent partisans that continued to fight behind enemy lines against fascists were communists. And uh

in the wake of the war, they don't say, "Okay, the Japanese are defeated. Time

to put down our guns and, you know, be model citizens." Uh no, they continue to

model citizens." Uh no, they continue to be gangsters and rebels. And they make headaches for the British. And they even go so far as taking over a few kind of

rural outlying towns. And the British make the mistake of recognizing and paying tribute to and even paying funds to this communist organization, the MPJA.

They were doing this out of gratitude basically like yeah you guys did a bangup job fighting the Japanese so you know we owe you some gratitude so because of good feelings you know here's here's some recognition here's some

funds and then these people turn around and use those funds to create havoc for the British the very people who were paying them and that was one lesson that Lee Kuanu would learn early on always

look to the future sentimentality gains you nothing the cold war begins shortly after World War II ends and it is completely insane that the British

are lavishing compliments and funds on communist rebels who are actively fighting against them in their next war.

These people would be their avowed enemies within months. But that is what they are doing. And lieu sees the unfortunate results of these policy decisions and the anarchy that results

from that. So again his takeaway is um

from that. So again his takeaway is um look people might help you in one circumstance but that doesn't mean that you need to continue to trust and help them in the future if if they're not

helping you. Okay. Okay, so Singapore is

helping you. Okay. Okay, so Singapore is kind of getting resettled after the war.

It's still kind of in a state of chaos and raffles has shut down during World War II. There's no higher education in

War II. There's no higher education in Singapore. And so it's going to take a

Singapore. And so it's going to take a while getting restarted. So he decides that he's going to go to England to finish his university education. And

that had been his plan all along the way. So he goes, first he goes to London

way. So he goes, first he goes to London and studies at the London School of Economics. He doesn't really like

Economics. He doesn't really like London. He doesn't like city life. It's

London. He doesn't like city life. It's

too noisy and crowded. and he's very unaccustomed to having to do his own housework. He complains about the lack

housework. He complains about the lack of servants having, you know, to do his own laundry and his own cooking. So he

leaves London School of Economics after less than a year and he metriculates at Cambridge. He studies law and of course

Cambridge. He studies law and of course if you don't know Cambridge is one of the top universities in the world and Lie Kuanu does very well there. Even

among these very bright students, he's one of the most intelligent and capable.

He gets a little bit politically active.

he becomes a member of the peaceful anti-colonialist movement and he and five other students form the Malayan forum and the Malayan forum is just an

organization to talk about um yeah so Malaya is sort of the region that the British ruled uh together mostly what is

now called Malaysia though it also included Brunai and Singapore and and a few more kind of other little territories. Malaysia did not exist yet

territories. Malaysia did not exist yet as uh as a country or even as a concept.

And so u they formed the the Malayan forum to talk about independence for Malaya. Are we going to do it all

Malaya. Are we going to do it all united? Are we going to do it

united? Are we going to do it separately?

This forum would later be captured by Marxists and basically turned into a communist organization. But at the time

communist organization. But at the time it was solely focused on independence for this region of Malaya. In terms of his political persuasion, he's something of uh moderate socialist, I think, is

what you would call it. You know, in the wake of World War II, this is like the apogee of leftist politics in Western academia. This is the heyday. Even in

academia. This is the heyday. Even in

the midst of the Cold War, everyone at all these universities is a Marxist, is a socialist, is at the very least like a hard-left liberal. And so, actually,

hard-left liberal. And so, actually, British intelligence is keeping an eye on him. And they assume that Lie Kuan Yu

on him. And they assume that Lie Kuan Yu is a cryptomarxist at first that he's going to be a communist. And look, I think there is probably something to that in the environment of a university.

Everyone's getting carried away with this. I think he was quite leftist at

this. I think he was quite leftist at the time. He was also a partyier and

the time. He was also a partyier and very social. I find this very

very social. I find this very interesting about Lee Kuwanu. He's so

disciplined and so single-minded that you would think he'd be very strict in his personal habits like this robot, this automaton. But no, he liked to

this automaton. But no, he liked to drink and smoke and play golf. He he was very social and he very much adopted the social habits of the upper class British, right? Smoking, drinking,

British, right? Smoking, drinking, playing golf. That's kind of what they

playing golf. That's kind of what they did. That's what he did. So, uh after

did. That's what he did. So, uh after his years at Cambridge, he moves back to Singapore where again he studied law.

So, he becomes a lawyer and also gets involved in politics. This is the time when he changes his name again. Like he

thinks the big cause of his life is going to be Malayan independence, anti-colonialism essentially. So he

anti-colonialism essentially. So he doesn't want to be Harry Lee anymore. He

wants to be Lee Kwanu. He wants to sound like a native, not like a foreign British guy. And so he drops the Harry

British guy. And so he drops the Harry and just goes by Lee Kuanu. At this

point, Singapore is just a city within British Malaya. It was different enough

British Malaya. It was different enough that it had some separate institutions and things like that. uh they had their own legislature, but the British government still maintains ultimate sovereignty over not only Singapore but

all of Malaya.

One of his first cases as a lawyer is a labor dispute and he argues on behalf of the union of the postal union and he's able to secure a deal that is satisfactory to all parties involved.

It's very impressive. The the postal workers are happy with the increase in pay and all these different benefits and the government is just happy to get this work stoppage over with. So everyone's

happy with this job that Lee Kuwanu does. Labor unions are often known for

does. Labor unions are often known for being intrigent and difficult to work with. And especially at this time, even

with. And especially at this time, even still a little bit, but especially at this time, labor unions were a hotbed of communist agitation. Especially when it

communist agitation. Especially when it comes to international labor unions.

They would often have no interest at all in actually striking a deal or improving conditions for their workers. They just

wanted to fment unrest and hopefully start a communist revolution. But

luckily in this first case, Lee Kuanu is working with one of the better unions that actually, you know, has a interest in the well-being of their workers and he's able to strike this deal. He

becomes known as someone who is definitely left-leaning, pro labor, sticks up for the little guy, but he's moderate. He's not just trying to

moderate. He's not just trying to ferment revolution. He is actually

ferment revolution. He is actually trying to strike deals and get things working. He also takes on criminal

working. He also takes on criminal cases. And since he's a very good

cases. And since he's a very good lawyer, he's able to get favorable verdicts for some of his clients, including ones that he knows are actually guilty. And so, even though he

actually guilty. And so, even though he wins these cases, he's becoming disillusioned with the democratic judicial systems. He's not impressed with the system, with a jury system

where a capable lawyer like himself is able to get obviously guilty criminals off with no punishment.

And so that would come into effect later in terms of how he governs Singapore. He

also quickly gets involved in politics where he starts the People's Action Party, the PAP. In the short term, this is a pro- labor party focused on

independence from Britain. It is uh somewhere between center-left and not like far-left, but yeah, like left.

I don't know if that makes sense, but somewhere between center left and just left left. Um it's closely allied with

left left. Um it's closely allied with labor unions and at first it included many communist elements like overtly

openly communist party members uh and unions and again lieuan he he's definitely more left-leaning than he would be later in life. Even so

he's not a communist but he is aligned with labor unions which typically have strong communist elements within them.

And at this time, the communists are also helpful to his new party, People's Action Party, because they're very well organized. They can get people on the

organized. They can get people on the streets. And so, this is a marriage of

streets. And so, this is a marriage of convenience that gets Lewanu some muscle right at the beginning when he needs it.

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So in its first ever election in Singapore in 1954, the People's Action Party contests four seats in the Singapore legislature and wins three of

them. So it's a promising start for

them. So it's a promising start for this, you know, new fledgling party. So

this is when Lee Kuwanu is 31 years old.

He's finished his university education.

uh he's been practicing for a couple years and now he's formed this political party. Starting now and throughout his

party. Starting now and throughout his life, Lie Kuan Yu is a very successful politician. One of the keys of his

politician. One of the keys of his success are these tours that he does throughout all these neighborhoods in Singapore. He gives speeches and listens

Singapore. He gives speeches and listens to the constituents at the same time.

And here's what he writes about these tours. Quote, "The tours were an

tours. Quote, "The tours were an enormous success. As I argued against

enormous success. As I argued against the unreasonable demands of others, the people swung behind me. The crowds kept growing bigger and warmer with each visit. The leaders eager to participate

visit. The leaders eager to participate in welcoming me and to be seen supporting the PAP. The officials with me followed up, listening to the people's requests for surfaced roads, drains, power, street lights, stand

pipes clinics schools community centers. The easier needs they dealt

centers. The easier needs they dealt with quickly. The more difficult ones I

with quickly. The more difficult ones I promised to study and meet if practical.

Okay. Well, one thing to notice there at the end is that he doesn't promise necessarily to meet these needs at some point in the future. All he says is that I'll study what you guys are saying and

I'll do what I can. And that's something that he would always do. He staked his reputation on his dependability. And so

he would never promise anything that he couldn't carry through. He would do that with everyone, even with his enemies. Uh

there's this time where this uh this like secret Chinese communist agent comes to him and is meeting with him under a pseudonym and he's saying look we can help you if you can just do XYZ

and he's like look I would appreciate the help but I can't make those promises and um so he he never promises anything that he can't follow through on. And

that reliability is one of the things that made him formidable.

So um he's going through he's doing these these tours. One of the difficult things about doing these tours are that Singapore

So Singapore is um about 75% at the time and today 75% Chinese about 15% Malay and about 10% Indian with a smattering

of others um including uh Europeans left over from English rule uh Eurasians other immigrants. Okay. But at this time

other immigrants. Okay. But at this time there is no common language to everyone.

English was the language of doing business at the highest levels. But most

people in Singapore at the time did not speak English, his first language. So he

knows English and he knows Malay. Okay,

that's a good starting point. But at

this time, his hokian is very shoddy.

It's not up to snuff. And his Mandarin is also quite poor. And so he learns both of these languages in order to be able to speak to his constituents more clearly. And and that's one of the

clearly. And and that's one of the really impressive things about Lee Kuwanu. Not just that he is a great

Kuwanu. Not just that he is a great great public speaker, great politician in that way, but that he's a great great public speaker in four languages. I

mean, it's just that's pretty remarkable. So yes, with this first crop

remarkable. So yes, with this first crop of elected PAP members, Lie Kuanu becomes a member of the Singaporean Parliament in the opposition, right?

They only have three members. The

government of Singapore was still led by a party called the Labor Front with their leader David Marshall as prime minister. And you could probably tell by

minister. And you could probably tell by his name, David Marshall, that he is English. And um this is kind of the

English. And um this is kind of the leftover vestigages of English rule as reflected through the prism of labor

which was in charge in the United Kingdom back in England. The major issue of the time was independence. And Lie

Kuwan Yu goes to London with David Marshall to try and hash out an agreement with the British government for peaceful separation from the empire.

Marshall pushes for too much. He wants

all of Singapore's demands met. You

know, perhaps as an Englishman, he was uh sort of sensitive to accusations that he was selling out the Singaporeans. And

so he pushes too hard and instead no deal is reached and the talks fail.

Independence is not reached. In 1958,

Singaporean leaders including Lie Kuan Yu go back to London again and this time an agreement is reached and the constitution of Singapore is revised to allow for full independence.

Functionally speaking, technically British rule would last for a few more years at least in sort of foreign policy external matters. But for all practical

external matters. But for all practical purposes, now Singapore was independent.

And you might wonder why the British are basically granting unconditional independence to nations like Singapore.

And the answer is it's immediately after World War II. The country is still reeling. Its economy is in tatters. And

reeling. Its economy is in tatters. And

it wanted to save money on administering this massive empire. The British Empire had long since ceased to extract resources and value from its colonies.

And administering the empire at this point was actually an expense.

There's also the the fact that intellectually um the British public was just not in favor of ruling over all these far-flung

colonies anymore. People supported

colonies anymore. People supported independence on ideological grounds. And

so that's why the Singaporeans are going and negotiating for independence. I

mean, it's a pretty easy negotiation.

The British, all they're really concerned about is doing it slowly and in a way that's going to make sure that um their naval presence in Singapore, which was quite large. They had a big

naval base there, was going to be maintained for as long as they needed it, especially in light of what was happening with the Cold War. Okay. So,

uh functionally, Singapore kind of gets its independence in 1958. And all

throughout the 1950s, Lee Kuanu was battling with the left wing of his party in part because he's got all these communists in his party. And again, like I said, they didn't want to do things

through proper channels. They wanted to just agitate and create inconveniences, create strikes, create problems to try to ferment a revolution. And he doesn't

want that. He wants to do things through

want that. He wants to do things through the pre-existing channels. And so it's difficult that he's trying to gain power for the People's Action Party, the PAP,

while at the same time battling within that same party to make sure that it stays out of communist hands at a time when the Communists served as sort of the muscle for his party. So he kind of

needs them, but he kind of wants to get away from them as soon as he can. In the

1959 election, the first election since the deal with the British, the PAP take the majority of seats in Singaporean Parliament and Lie Kuwanu is named prime minister. Okay, so now as prime

minister. Okay, so now as prime minister, even as he's battling with the left wing of his party, uh he he's got to govern at the same time. And to make matters worse, as he comes into the

government, they have a massive budget shortfall and Lee Kuwanu has to implement some difficult cost cutting measures, which he decides to do right away. He writes about this time the

away. He writes about this time the steps necessary to balance the budget would prove unpopular not only with the public but also with ministers but it was imperative that we did not end up in

the red in our first year of government.

I told them that we had better take the unpopular measures early in our term.

Okay. And we talked about this in the Augustus episode. Augustus does the same

Augustus episode. Augustus does the same thing he does well as Mchavelli put it quote do all of your injustice upfront and all at once. Okay. Okay, so Lie Kuwanu very much buys into this idea

that when you come into power, if you have some unpleasant things to do, you need to do them right at the beginning and all at once. However, you you don't just want your popularity to tank, right? So, on the flip side, he also

right? So, on the flip side, he also undertakes very visible and very public initiatives that will boost his popularity. So, listen to what he does.

popularity. So, listen to what he does.

I don't understand why every governor in the United States does not do this immediately upon being elected. This is

a crown just lying in the gutter. Okay,

listen to what he does. Lie Kuwanu

writes, "We were determined to strike while the iron was hot and exploit our post-election popularity. We mounted a

post-election popularity. We mounted a series of wellpublicized campaigns to clean the streets of the city, clear the beaches of debris, and cut the weeds of unckempt vacant land. It was a copycat

exercise borrowed from the communists.

Ostentatious mobilization of everyone, including ministers, to toil with their hands and soil their clothes in order to serve the people. We saw no reason why the MCP, that's the Communist Party,

should have the monopoly of such techniques and organized drives to enthuse the people and involve them in setting higher standards in civic consciousness, general cleanliness, and

the preservation of public property. So

he takes this even further and organizes work brigades of the unemployed to do basic construction and cleanup work around the city. The other thing he does is to ensure that he has control and a working government operation, he

dissolves entire departments and just replaces them with new ones. So for

example, he's got this highly corrupt and inept Singapore improvement trust which is in charge of public housing essentially and he just dissolves it and replaces it with something called the housing and development board. And again

I think this is something that western politicians should consider. I think

when a department has just become corrupt as they tend to do over time in government, just dissolve it. Just let

everyone go and and start from the ground up and bring in a completely new organization.

Okay? So, the communists within the PAP become more and more of a problem. And

now, you know, he's actually in charge.

And so, this chaos that they're causing isn't just a headache for everyone. It's

a headache for him personally because he's the prime minister. And so in 1961 there is a divorce within the party and the communists are kicked out of the

PAP. It is really only through the force

PAP. It is really only through the force of charisma of Lie Kuwanu and other senior party members that the PAP is able to hold on to its majority in parliament and it just barely does so and continues leading the Singaporean

government. I told you that Lie Kuwanu

government. I told you that Lie Kuwanu had learned a lesson from the British after the war and that is to only look forward and not be sentimental and that is a lesson that served him well. I

think someone with less of an iron will might not have been willing to kick out the communists because they, you know, not only did they still bring something to the table at this point, they were more of a headache than they were an asset, but I think someone else might

have said, well, hey, these people brought me to power, you know, I owe these people something. And loyalty is obviously a crucial attribute of a great leader. But loyalty should not be

leader. But loyalty should not be confused with naivee or begging or relationships of convenience. The

communists had repeatedly taken actions that had damaged his government. They

had no loyalty toward him and so it shouldn't have been reciprocated. Yes,

loyalty is important, but only to your true friends who continue to favor you.

And you can't have that sentimentality towards people who have done good things for you in the past, but in the moment are working against you. You can't be sentimental like the British and hand

resources to people who hate you. And

this lack of sentimentality culminates two years later when Lieuanu has hundreds of communists rounded up and arrested or forced into exile in a famous operation called Operation Colt

Store. And for those who are

Store. And for those who are anti-Leuanu, especially those who are on the political left, this has become something like his original sin. These

people were held without trial. Many

were provably communists, but others were not. Either because they were

were not. Either because they were careful to avoid incriminating evidence or because they were simply fellow travelers who intentionally kept enough distance to be useful as people who were not officially tied to communist

activity. It has even been suggested

activity. It has even been suggested that some may have had no affiliation with the communist movement whatsoever and were simply political opponents of Lie Kuanu. I tried to look into it a

Lie Kuanu. I tried to look into it a little bit and get to the bottom of those accusations and I can't tell if that's true or not. Judging by how vehement the communists are that these people were innocent, I tend to believe that they were actually supporting the

communist cause in some way. But who

knows? Certainly, it was an operation that did help Lie Kuwanu gain a firmer grip on Singapore, but it did also more or less put a total end to the anarctic strikes and riots that had been a

frequent feature of life in Singapore up to that point. And by the way, he has to do this over the objections of the British who along with the Americans were often useful idiots in keeping communists around and were opposed to

such a sweeping mop-up operation of all these communists. So one of the big

these communists. So one of the big reasons for operation gold was that Singapore and the rest of British Malay were getting ready to unite into one independent nation and lieu was the most

prominent voice in Singapore in trying to make sure that they would join an independent and united Malaysia as a new country. The Malaysians were extremely

country. The Malaysians were extremely anti-communist and partly that was because it's a majority Muslim country.

Communism was seen as an inherently atheistic and anti-Islam uh ideology.

But there was also an ethnic dimension as discussed. China was communist and

as discussed. China was communist and Singapore was majority Chinese. But the

rest of Malaysia also had large Chinese populations. They were a distinct

populations. They were a distinct minority but a large minority. In the

capital of Koala Lampur, for example, Chinese still make up 40% of the population. And not only are they a

population. And not only are they a large minority, but they are a particularly wealthy one. In much of Asia, Chinese populations serve the role that Jews had served in Europe. They

were the bankers and the merchants.

They're particularly entrepreneurial and as a consequence particularly wealthy.

And just as in Europe, this stirred up jealousy, resentment, and frequent repression and pilgrims. Okay? So you

have this large minority population who people resent anyway and they are ethnically tied to a large communist country. So in some ways communism was

country. So in some ways communism was seen as a Chinese influence in Malaysia in the same way that some people said that communism was a Jewish plot in

Europe and the United States. And so for some ethnic Malays, their opposition to communism was also a way to express uh some ethnic resentments against ethnic

Chinese living in Malaysia. So this

roundup of Operation Cold Store is a gesture of good faith from Lie Kuwanu to say, "Look, we're not communists even though we're majority Chinese and if you let us into Malaysia, we will be good citizens and we will help you keep

communism in check and we'll behave ourselves." So, look, admittedly, I'm

ourselves." So, look, admittedly, I'm not a big fan of communism, but I don't see Operation Coldfront as this fascist crackdown on opposition and civil society. I see it as a necessary step to

society. I see it as a necessary step to getting Singapore orderly and secure.

But if you read leftist accounts of the history of Singapore, you will sometimes see this highlighted as an egregious violation of human rights. In any case, it assuages the fears of the Malays

enough to let Singapore into a united Malaysia, which forms in 1963. and Lie

Kuan Yu is sort of the uh mastermind of getting Singapore into this United Malaysia. Now, there is a fissure in the

Malaysia. Now, there is a fissure in the government right from the beginning.

People like Lie Kuan Yu want a Malaysia that is for Malaysians, that is people of any race as long as they are citizens of Malaysia. And uh he he thinks that

of Malaysia. And uh he he thinks that all these people should have more or less equal rights and a stake in this new nation. But the dominant Malay

new nation. But the dominant Malay parties want to see a Malaysia that is principally run by and run for ethnic Malays who are the majority. They think,

you know, we're the native inhabitants of this land and we should have special privileges. So, Lie Kuwan Yu is willing

privileges. So, Lie Kuwan Yu is willing to go along with this actually to a certain degree. He concedes that the top

certain degree. He concedes that the top levels of government will always be staffed by Malays. He agrees to fewer seats in parliament than Singapore would have had based solely on their population. so that Mala will be over

population. so that Mala will be over represented and ethnic Chinese underrepresented in the legislature for Malaysia. But ultimately he and the

Malaysia. But ultimately he and the other leaders from Singapore expect the nation to slowly move toward a secular democracy that treats its citizens more or less equal regardless of race. But

that doesn't happen at all. And for the next two years, ethnic tensions actually increase. And the Malaysian government

increase. And the Malaysian government seeks to marginalize its Chinese citizens more and more. And finally,

this breaks down in 1965. Both sides

come to understand that there is no way forward. One side wants a Malaysia for

forward. One side wants a Malaysia for all Malaysian citizens. The other side wants a nation that is fundamentally designed to serve ethnic interests of Malays. And this included things like

Malays. And this included things like ethnic quotas and government and special privileges for Malays. And so there are negotiations between Lieuan Yu and the chief minister of Malaysia, a guy named

Tungu or the Tungu. And finally, on August 9th, 1965, Malaysian parliament voted 126 to zero to expel Singapore from the country. At 10 a.m., Lie Kuwan

Yu reads out on the radio in Singapore, quote, "Whereas it is the inalienable right of a people to be free and independent." I, Lie Kuwan Yu, Prime

independent." I, Lie Kuwan Yu, Prime Minister of Singapore, do hereby proclaim and declare on behalf of the people and the government of Singapore that as from today, the 9th day of August, in the year 1,965,

Singapore shall be forever a sovereign, democratic, and independent nation, founded upon the principles of liberty and justice, and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of her people in a more just and equal society. At the same

time, the tungu explains to parliament in Malaysia, quote, "In the end, we find that there are only two courses open to us. To take repressive measures against

us. To take repressive measures against the Singapore government or their leaders for the behavior of some of their leaders and the course of action we are taking now. To sever with the state government of Singapore that has ceased to give a measure of loyalty to

the central government."

So, they announced at the same time they're separating. In his public

they're separating. In his public address, Lee Kwanu actually breaks down crying and has to stop for 20 minutes to gather his composure. And this was not posturing. This is actually not seen as

posturing. This is actually not seen as like a impressive thing for Lie Kuan Yu, especially Chinese culture at the time.

Kind of valued machismo manliness. Um,

it was not Yeah. was kind of looked down on to to cry publicly. But he was crying simply because unification had been what he thought would be his signature issue for his life. You he was the the man who

got Singapore into Malaysia and now that was gone. uh he he felt like his life

was gone. uh he he felt like his life work was going down the drain and so he's completely devastated and in the time the short time of negotiations he

has tried to take some actions to prepare Singapore for independence but still the country is completely unprepared. He he writes some countries

unprepared. He he writes some countries are born independent some achieve independence Singapore had independence thrust upon it. So in 1965, Lie Kuan Yu

finds himself the prime minister of an independent nation, one with no military, no hinterland, no way of feeding itself, no independent access to fresh water. And to make matters worse,

fresh water. And to make matters worse, they were now surrounded by larger neighbors who were upset at them and wanted to punish them for their insulence. So he and his colleagues were

insulence. So he and his colleagues were going to have to figure out everything, the nuts and bolts of the government from the bottom to the top. Just going

to have to solve everything for themselves.

Before we see how Lie Kuan Yu would manage this newfound independence, let's take a minute to hear about Founders. Founders

is one of the only podcasts that I always listen to when it comes out. It's

like how to take over the world, but for and about great founders of companies.

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it out. That is Founders wherever you get your podcasts.

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Okay, so they're in this situation. Lie

Kuwanu refers to independent Singapore as a heart without a body. It's an

incredibly difficult spot for an independent nation. The Malaysians would

independent nation. The Malaysians would like to have them back on their own terms. The Chinese would like to see them become communist. The Americans

would like to see them become anti-communist. Achieving true

anti-communist. Achieving true independence was going to be a tall task. And the first thing that Lee Kuanu

task. And the first thing that Lee Kuanu had to figure out as prime minister was internal and external security. So he

made sure to reach an agreement with the United Kingdom regarding the continuence of their naval base in Singapore for a few more years. This provided security as well as much needed economic activity and employment. In the meantime, he

and employment. In the meantime, he starts beefing up Singapore's security services. And he's doing this in order

services. And he's doing this in order to make Singapore dangerous enough.

Okay? Their population is so small, they're never going to be able to stand up to China, Malaysia, Indonesia.

So, that's not what he's trying to do.

He's not trying to, you know, be a near peer to China or Indonesia. Obviously,

what he's looking to do is is be dangerous enough that it's not worth anyone's time to mess with them. So, he

looks to the example of Israel. Israel

has mass conscription. Everyone has to join the army and do service when they reach a certain age. And they have to be prepared to volunteer in a national emergency. So, from this, they're able

emergency. So, from this, they're able to put together a respectable defensive force from a small population.

And so, he doesn't just use them as an example. He has the Israelis come and

example. He has the Israelis come and help train up their army from the ground up. And by the way, the Israelis are of

up. And by the way, the Israelis are of course deeply unpopular with Singapore's Muslim neighbors of Malaysia and Indonesia because, you know, Muslim, Jew, whatever. Okay. And so, uh, he, uh,

Jew, whatever. Okay. And so, uh, he, uh, says that they're Mexican [laughter] and he and he actually says in the book, they were sworthy enough to pull it off.

So, he says that these are Mexican consultants come to train their military. Um, which was a good fig leaf

military. Um, which was a good fig leaf to use for a little bit. But by doing this, he's able to maintain Singapore's independence. They're western aligned,

independence. They're western aligned, non-communist. They do eventually align

non-communist. They do eventually align with the United States. Lie Kuan Yu supports the Vietnam War. Um especially

because I mean, think about it from his perspective, right? If communism just

perspective, right? If communism just keeps growing and growing in Asia, it's only going to be a matter of time before it overtakes Singapore. So he's glad to see a check on communism in Vietnam so

it doesn't keep spreading. you know,

essentially, yes, the British leave, they they pick up stakes and and get rid of their naval base. The United States does eventually establish a naval base in the same place. Technically, the US

doesn't have a naval base there. They

just rent land and park an aircraft carrier there. But, I mean, for all

carrier there. But, I mean, for all intents and purposes, there is a United States naval base in Singapore. But

despite this, Singapore does have a large measure of independence. And you

see this when the CIA actually tries to uh to bribe Lie Kuan Yu and uh he thinks it's for a laughably small amount of money and he rejects it. But again, he he's able to do this. He's able to

maintain its independence like yes, western aligned but not western controlled. They really can't control

controlled. They really can't control their foreign policy. He's able to do this because he makes them what he calls the poisonous shrimp of Asia. He has a speech where he says the way of the world is that big fish eat little fish

and little fish eat shrimp. and his job is to make Singapore a poisonous shrimp.

In other words, no, it's not big enough to eat anyone else or even to stand up to one of the bigger fish, but it can make itself dangerous enough that it's not worth eating. And he did that.

Singapore is strong enough that no one wants to bother them. Internally, even

after Operation Cold Store, the biggest problem was still communists. Uh there

were threats of assassination against him and he had to beef up his security and totally get his house remodeled and put bulletproof glass in his personal home. Um it was really touch and go for

home. Um it was really touch and go for for a couple years there. Um but he does manage to suppress communism within Singapore and get it internally secure as well. One of the reasons this is so

as well. One of the reasons this is so difficult is because he has to be delicate about it because for many of the ethnic Chinese, China is a source of pride and the fact

that they were this communist country was a source of pride especially because they weren't in China and so they couldn't see what was happening. They

couldn't see the devastation of the cultural revolution and the horrible economic policies and the repression all this. All they see is the propaganda

this. All they see is the propaganda coming out of it which is this is the way of the future. We're doing great.

you know, our five-year outputs are better than ever. And so, um, yeah, they're they're proud of this. And so,

he has to on the one hand totally repress communism and on the other hand seem sympathetic uh to the people who view this as a

source of ethnic pride. And by the way, if Lee Kuanu is not a communist, what is he? You know, he starts as kind of a

he? You know, he starts as kind of a center-left uh labor style socialist, I think. Um,

think. Um, but he doesn't even really hold to that.

Here's what he says about his ideology.

Quote, "We learned on the job and learned quickly. If there was one

learned quickly. If there was one formula for our success, it was that we were constantly studying how to make things work or how to make them work better. I was never a prisoner of any

better. I was never a prisoner of any theory. What guided me were reason and

theory. What guided me were reason and reality. The acid test I applied to

reality. The acid test I applied to every theory or scheme was, would it work?" This was the golden thread that

work?" This was the golden thread that ran through my years in office. If it

did not work or the results were poor, I did not waste more time and resources on it. I almost never made the same mistake

it. I almost never made the same mistake twice and I tried to learn from the mistakes others had made. I discovered

early in office that there were few problems confronting me in government which other governments had not met and solved. So I made a practice of finding

solved. So I made a practice of finding out who else had met the problem we faced, how they had tackled it, and how successful they had been. Whether it was to build a new airport or to change our teaching methods, I would send a team of

officers to visit and study those countries that had done it well. I

preferred to climb on the shoulders of others who had gone before us. He also

later said about his ideology, I would describe myself in perhaps European terms as between socialist and conservative. I would put myself as a

conservative. I would put myself as a liberal, as someone who believes in equal opportunities so that everybody gets an equal chance to do his best and with a certain compassion to ensure that the failures do not fall through the

floor. I want to run the system as

floor. I want to run the system as efficiently as possible but make allowances for those who will not be doing well because nature did not give them enough or they cannot make that extra effort. I am a liberal in the

extra effort. I am a liberal in the classical sense of the word in that I am not fixated on a particular theory of the world or of society. I am pragmatic.

I am prepared to look at the problem and say all right what is the best way to solve it that will produce the maximum happiness and well-being for the maximum number of people. My life is not guided by philosophy or theories. I get things

done and leave others to extract the principles for my successful solutions.

I do not work on theory. Instead, I ask what will make this work. If after a series of solutions I find that a certain approach worked, then I try to find what the principle was behind the solution. Yeah. So, he calls himself

solution. Yeah. So, he calls himself sort of I don't know maybe like a radical centrist, a classical liberal is how he describes it. I would say some of his policies are kind of eclectic. Most

of his policies maybe were were right-wing. I would say that includes

right-wing. I would say that includes lower taxes, a mostly free market, a strong emphasis on law and order with strong penalties for antisocial crimes, including the death penalty for major drug dealing and fines for even minor

infractions like public urination, chewing gum in public, failing to keep your home wellkept, and stuff like that.

For the argument that he governed more from the left are the fact that he gave a fair shake to unions. He definitely

favored controls on the free market and wanted to make sure it served the nation. And though he opposed socialized

nation. And though he opposed socialized medicine, he did allow for a strong social safety net.

There are kind of policies from all over. I will say as time went on, he

over. I will say as time went on, he tilted right. For example, initially he

tilted right. For example, initially he bought into racial equality somewhat, but that started to change almost immediately. It's one of his biggest

immediately. It's one of his biggest critiques of the West is that he doesn't believe in equality of the races and believes that such thinking is fanciful and uh as he would describe it, obviously false. In the Singapore story,

obviously false. In the Singapore story, he writes, "It was only after I had been in office for some years that I recognized that performance varied substantially between the different races in Singapore and among different categories within the same race. After

trying out a number of ways to reduce inequalities and failing, I was gradually forced to conclude that the decisive factors were the people, their natural abilities, education, and training." And then later he says, "One

training." And then later he says, "One of the facts of living is that no two things are ever equal, either in smallness or in bigness. Living things

are never equal. Even in the case of identical twins, one comes out before the other and takes precedence over the other. So it is with human beings. So it

other. So it is with human beings. So it

is with tribes and so it is with nations. Human beings are not born

nations. Human beings are not born equal. They are highly competitive.

equal. They are highly competitive.

Systems like Soviet and Chinese communism have failed because they tried to equalize benefits. Then nobody works hard enough, but everyone wants to get as much as, if not more than the other person. I started off believing all men

person. I started off believing all men and women are equal. I now know that is the most unlikely thing ever to have been because millions of years have passed over evolution. People have

scattered across the face of this earth, been isolated from each other, developed independently, had different intermixes between races, peoples, climates, soils.

This is something which I have read and I tested against my observations. We

read many things. The fact that it is in print and repeated by three, four authors does not make it true. They may

all be wrong. But through my own experience, I concluded yes, there is a difference. And so yeah, like if you

difference. And so yeah, like if you look at the highest levels of Singaporean government under Liu Kuan Yu, there are some Indians, there are some Malays, but it

is overwhelmingly people of Chinese descent who fill those top positions. People of Chinese descent

top positions. People of Chinese descent make more money, have better social outcomes, and that just never bothered him. He did do some things, especially

him. He did do some things, especially for Malays. I think he felt like since

for Malays. I think he felt like since they were um like the most native, had the longest history in Singapore, they deserved some like special attention.

Um but like he he just didn't let himself get bothered and fall into social justice stuff to try and remedy all of these racial inequities. He just

said "Yeah [laughter] basically he just squared that circle by saying, I think the Chinese are brighter and therefore we do better." And he just left it at that. And people have kind of gone with it. there's not a whole lot of

ethnic unrest in Singapore even though social outcomes are different.

So that's just one visible way in which he has swung rightward. Another way is also in like family planning, family relations. You know, he starts off

relations. You know, he starts off Singapore had a very high fertility rate and they actually have some like family planning initiatives to try and bring down the fertility rate and then like the rest of the developed world it just

completely crashes. And so then, you

completely crashes. And so then, you know, he becomes old grandpa Lee and he's trying to encourage women to not put off childbearing for the sake of a

career education. And so that's another

career education. And so that's another way in which uh he he's very I mean you heard what he said about the equality of the sexes, right? And um he actually starts off early in his career

encouraging women to go and work and and get education but then later in his career he encourages them to stay home, have children, support their families in

that way. So uh so he does shift

that way. So uh so he does shift rightward over the course of his career.

Um I guess let me just sum up the rest of his career and then I'll go over some more of the finer points of how he governed Singapore. So he's prime

governed Singapore. So he's prime minister of independent Singapore for 25 years from 1965 until 1990. He made a new office for himself in 1990. What he

called senior minister which he served in from 1990 until 2004. And while he was senior minister, he didn't maintain day-to-day control of the government, but he could use his popularity and

reputation and um influence to come in and fix or change anything he thought needed fixing. And then from 2004 to

needed fixing. And then from 2004 to 2011, he served as what was called minister mentor, which was an even more removed version of senior minister. He

was married to the same woman for his entire life. He had three children. And

entire life. He had three children. And

his oldest son, Lee Shenlun, I think I'm pronouncing that right, succeeded him as prime minister of Singapore. He's

actually the someone else came in between. Then he was the third prime

between. Then he was the third prime minister. And that actually happened

minister. And that actually happened during Lie Kuan Yu's lifetime. Lie

Kuwanu actually died in 2015. Okay, so

that's that's the broad overview of his career. But h you know what actually

career. But h you know what actually happened? How did he take uh Singapore

happened? How did he take uh Singapore from third world to first as he put it?

I would put his accomplishments in the following buckets. Number one to talk

following buckets. Number one to talk about is economic growth. That's

probably the number one thing people point at and it is really remarkable.

Singapore went through three more or less successful transitions since independence. So it starts off when he

independence. So it starts off when he takes over Singapore. It is the entropo is the word they always use for the Malaysian peninsula. Uh entropo just

Malaysian peninsula. Uh entropo just means it's where things come in and out. It's a

major hub, major port. This is basically the way to think of it. But that that's no longer the case once they're no longer a part of Malaysia, which is really difficult. So they have to switch

really difficult. So they have to switch suddenly to being a manufacturing hub.

Okay, this is you know 1960s7s ' 80s this is when I mean still everything is manufactured in Asia but at the time this was really just starting up and and China was still communist people weren't

manufacturing stuff in China so Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Singapore all become major manufacturing hubs. I might have missed one or two and so he does a very

good job of turning Singapore into a big manufacturing hub first. from there, you know, he can see that, okay, this is good, but we can't really make ourselves

rich off of this. It's highly

competitive on price. And so, he moves Singapore to becoming a financial center next. And so, it becomes a major finance

next. And so, it becomes a major finance and banking center. Um, it's essentially London or New York for when London and New York are closed. It's like the first

along with Tokyo. um but maybe even for a while more so than Tokyo, the major financial center of Asia is the second transition that's made. And then the

third transition which is still ongoing is to transition from a financial center to a knowledge economy powerhouse. Okay.

And I would say this last transition has been the most tenuous and the most difficult for a number of reasons.

And so how does he do this? Well, when

he first starts out, he really needs investment. He needs employment. He

investment. He needs employment. He

needs people to bring their manufacturing to Singapore. And the

first thing he does is when he's asking for that investment, he shows strength and he doesn't go begging. Okay? So he

writes, quote, "On my first official visit to America in October 1967, I recounted to 50 businessmen at a lunchon in Chicago how Singapore had grown from a village of 120 fishermen in 1819 to

become a metropolis of 2 million. This

was because its philosophy was to provide goods and services cheaper and better than anyone else or perish. They

responded well because I was not putting my hand out for aid, which they had come to expect of leaders from newly independent countries. I noted their

independent countries. I noted their favorable reaction to my no begging bowl approach. Okay, so I think that's a

approach. Okay, so I think that's a smart approach. Even though he really

smart approach. Even though he really does need the help, he's not begging.

And that that shows confidence and makes more people want to invest.

Okay, the the next point to highlight is that extreme consistency breeds trust.

When Singapore becomes a major financial center, a major British investor is found to have committed fraud. And so

the question is to prosecute or not to prosecute because this guy is a, you know, a major trader for a big London bank. He's a British national

bank. He's a British national and on the one hand you want there to be law and order but on the other hand you know this is a guy with a big bank and

you want to be in good with the big banks and be in good with Wall Street and with the city of London and so he kind of agonizes over do we prosecute

this guy but you know he decides no we really need consistency and if we're going to be a big financial hub then people have to trust that we enforce the

rules fairly. And so he prosecutes this

rules fairly. And so he prosecutes this guy to the full extent of the law. Uh he

later writes in third world the first if I have to choose one word to explain why Singapore succeeded it is confidence.

Okay. And he instilled that confidence by being very very consistent. You know

another way in which he was consistent was with uh corruption. just absolute

zero toleration for corruption. And that

included prosecuting close friends for relatively minor infractions.

And I I think a lesser leader might not have been willing to prosecute that, but he knew he needed to instill that confidence and he could only do it

through like extreme consistency in enforcement of the rules. You know, this is a long way away. this is a a tiny Asian country asking for investment from

big western economies and so if they couldn't trust him then uh then it was all going to fall apart and I would say another feature of their economic progress has been flexibility so yes

consistency but add to that flexibility because he didn't have this all worked out in advance he didn't know all these various transitions the economy was going to make he says quote looking back I cannot claim that our economic development and industrialization worked

out as we had planned the early plans plans before separation were made on the assumption of a common market with Malaysia. He doesn't see all this stuff

Malaysia. He doesn't see all this stuff from the beginning. They just kind of have to accept opportunities as they come and pivot when they have to. As

Steve Jobs says, you can only connect the dots looking backwards. You don't

want to make complicated multi-step plans. You just want to accept

plans. You just want to accept opportunities as they come. And then the other thing I will say about all these transitions and succeeding economically is that um it wasn't like it was just

all smooth from 1965 until the present.

There have been a number of economic crises difficulties. However, if you

crises difficulties. However, if you communicate and get buy in, then crisis benefit you rather than destroying you.

Okay, here's what Lee Kuanu writes. The

deep sense of crisis that prevailed made it possible for me to turn around Union attitudes in a few years. The dangers of an economic collapse because British forces were about to leave altered people's mood and attitudes. They

realized that unless we made a U-turn from strikes and violence towards stability and economic growth, we would perish.

Okay. And so it's because he has this vision for economic growth, stability, you know, a different kind of economy that this crisis strengthens him rather

than weakens him. You know, for most politicians, a crisis weakens you. A

crisis is, you know, a crisis makes it more difficult to lead and you're more likely to get voted out. But when you have a plan, when you have vision, crises are actually an opportunity to

consolidate, to build power. As Napoleon

says, imagination rules the world. As

Steve Jobs says, the most powerful person in the world is the storyteller.

The storyteller sets the vision, values, and agenda. Okay, so that's all one big

and agenda. Okay, so that's all one big bucket is there's a ton of economic progress under Lee Kuanu. it goes from you know I do think it's maybe talking

himself up a little bit to say from third world to first certainly that's uh GDP per capita if you look at that it tells that story having said that you know it was a relatively prosperous

British colony um before that they had left it in a in a pretty good place for him anyway yes economically Singapore develops and does extremely well over the decades under Lee Kuwano okay number

two social progress okay the administration of Lie Kuwan Yu and his successors sees the virtual elimination of severe poverty from Singapore, which had been very common. You know, think of

it as like a little fishing village.

Yes, it was a port, but port cities are often chaotic. It was chaotic. There

often chaotic. It was chaotic. There

were a lot of drugs, a lot of gambling, a lot of prostitution, just a lot of the social ills that you see from chaotic growing port cities. But now again

there's been the virtual elimination of severe poverty, very good health outcomes and a very efficient health care system, extremely low crime rates which have been accomplished through a

series of fines and a very harsh frankly criminal justice system that um doesn't use jury trials. Actually we talked about that earlier that he had been a lawyer, argued in front of juries and

won trials that he thought he shouldn't have. And so now uh Singapore uses

have. And so now uh Singapore uses judicial rulings instead. Uh corporal

punishment is used. People are sometimes caned in addition to jail time or sometimes instead of jail time. So yeah,

it's maybe harsh from a certain perspective. However, crime rates are

perspective. However, crime rates are extremely low in Singapore. Also, on the note of social progress, comfortable modern housing is provided for all

Singaporeans at a at least somewhat affordable price. Even though obviously

affordable price. Even though obviously real estate is expensive in the city of Singapore and then also on social progress, there has been an easing of ethnic tensions um which previous to Lee

Kuanu, you had these three distinct communities.

You know, the cost of this is that he has virtually destroyed some of these smaller ethnic communities and a lot of the cohesion they had. Um, so that's the price, but there aren't the same ethnic

tensions that that there had been and that there are in other similar parts of Asia. So, we've had economic

Asia. So, we've had economic development, social progress. Number

three, beautifying the city. If you go to Singapore, there's virtually no litter, no chewed gum on the sidewalks.

Chewing gum is illegal. There's no

graffiti. There's no urine. There are

virtually no homeless people. Uh, it's

clean. The buildings are wellkept.

There's very little public bayet or dirtiness. He created a green city with

dirtiness. He created a green city with tons of beautiful trees and flowers and landscaping. His actually his first

landscaping. His actually his first motto for the transition he wanted to make was a clean and green Singapore.

That's what everyone rallied around. He

actually later said greening is the most coste effective project I have launched and Singapore is a very green city now.

And it because of that you I would say the architecture it looks modern it looks nice but it's uninspiring if you ask me. However the greenery is really

ask me. However the greenery is really beautiful and they've done a remarkable job for that and I do think uh that's one of the most impressive things that he has done visually to the city. So

beautifying the city is number three.

Number four um this could go with that I'll put it in its own and that is the airport. Changeni airport it's the name

airport. Changeni airport it's the name of the airport is the most beautiful airport in the world. Uh I don't even know what would come in second. like you

can go look up pictures of it. It's got

this huge water feature in the middle.

It's got these gardens and this beautiful greenery and it's got all these amenities and um it has Cheni airport has been voted the best airport

in the world 12 times in a row and uh you know he put all this investment into it to make it beautiful to make it functional uh because it's a huge welcome mat for Singapore. you know, you show up in this beautiful airport, you

think, okay, what is this place? And so,

it helps to attract foreign talent to Singapore and um it's just a remarkable jewel of a place. I guess related to that, number five, public

transportation. Singapore is a very

transportation. Singapore is a very dense, crowded city. It's very small and at one point this led to huge traffic jams, just complete stoppage. You

couldn't even get around the city. But

through clever construction of roads, bus lanes, rail, and through public planning, traffic is now quite manageable. There are still traffic jams

manageable. There are still traffic jams like there is in any major city, but compared to other nearby cities like Manila or Jakarta, uh it's very

manageable. And so his management of

manageable. And so his management of public transportation infrastructure has been remarkable. And then for number

been remarkable. And then for number six, I would just say other public infrastructure. So, as I said, Singapore

infrastructure. So, as I said, Singapore used to be a very dirty place. Tons of

litter was a huge problem. Uh, very

dirty ocean and river. People just threw trash everywhere. But garbage services

trash everywhere. But garbage services uh have been improved significantly.

Uh, as I said at the beginning, they didn't have their own fresh water. That

has been a huge public infrastructure accomplishment that Singapore uh now does have access to their own fresh water. So they're not dependent on

water. So they're not dependent on Malaysia. It can't be cut off at at

Malaysia. It can't be cut off at at another nation's whim. They have used land reclamation to create more space.

The city's so crowded they need more land. So they have it's actually not

land. So they have it's actually not land reclamation. It's more like land

land reclamation. It's more like land creation. They have created new islands

creation. They have created new islands um and new land to build on. And so that is uh I guess in some what he has

accomplished. It's really remarkable.

accomplished. It's really remarkable.

You know, I think some people there there the let me make the opposite case.

Okay, the opposite case is this.

Singapore was um yes, it was poor and dirty and yes, it had crime and yes, it was politically unstable in 1965 when he took over, but that also describes

places like Korea and Taiwan and Hong Kong, which have all been successful in ways similar to Singapore. And it had a

great location on a major shipping lane with a big port and a great history of free trade and uh and low taxes created by the British. Okay, so

Lee Kuanu was handed pocket aces and yeah, he did well, but it's not that hard. Look, I mean, Hong Kong did it,

hard. Look, I mean, Hong Kong did it, Taiwan did it, Korea did it. It's not

that impressive. Okay. And I hear that case and I think sometimes he is a little flippant when he says third world to first.

Um, but that's just the title. Actually,

I think he does give a lot of credit to the British who left a wonderful legacy for Singapore. But here's why Singapore

for Singapore. But here's why Singapore is different from Hong Kong and Taiwan and Korea. First of all, Taiwan and

and Korea. First of all, Taiwan and Korea are I mean, I know Taiwan's an island. It is a much much larger island

island. It is a much much larger island than Singapore. Much much larger. It's

than Singapore. Much much larger. It's

just completely different. Korea and

Taiwan Yeah. can have a hinterland. Are

self-sufficient lands. like they're not tiny tiny tiny citystates that are surrounded by these huge larger neighbors. So, they're both much larger

neighbors. So, they're both much larger and the two of them are much more propped up by the United States, especially the American military, keep significant forces in Korea to help

patrol the DMZ between North and South Korea. And similarly

Korea. And similarly uh Taiwan has all these connections to the United States because uh the US wants to keep it out of communist China's hands. When it comes to Hong

China's hands. When it comes to Hong Kong uh yes that is a very apt comparison but there's one big big

difference which is Singapore in 1965 finds itself suddenly out of a job. you

know, it had been the entropo, the the place of embarcation, disembarkcation for the Malaysian Peninsula, and that's what Hong Kong was for China.

The main difference is that Hong Kong could continue to be that for China, and Singapore could not. You know, Hong Kong didn't have that issue of being cut off

from its historical role. And so in that way, yes, I mean, you could look at Hong Kong and say, "Yeah, it's had similar outcomes to Singapore, but it wasn't in a similarly difficult

position." And the other thing I would

position." And the other thing I would say is that a big part of what Lie Kuanu did was make sure that Singapore had an independent future, which is not something that Hong Kong has anymore now

that it is being absorbed into China.

And so that is a remarkable accomplishment. And so yes, I I do think

accomplishment. And so yes, I I do think it is an amazing, incredible transformation, someone who has in many ways created, if not a nation, then at

least this citystate from scratch. I

mean, I just can't think of anyone quite like him in the in the 20th century.

There have been other great leaders, of course. I'm not saying that he's the

course. I'm not saying that he's the greatest leader of the 20th century necessarily, but just that um there's no one who has done something quite like what he has done. He is unique. He's a

one of one. And that's difficult to figure that out from scratch, but he has. I'll end with this quote that I

has. I'll end with this quote that I think just kind of sums up uh what mattered to him and what he accomplished. He said, "I have no

accomplished. He said, "I have no regrets. I've spent my life, so much of

regrets. I've spent my life, so much of it, building up this country. There's

nothing more that I need to do at the end of the day. What have I got? A

successful Singapore. What have I given up? My life."

up? My life."

So, I'll leave it there for free listeners. I actually have a ton more

listeners. I actually have a ton more quotes. He's very quotable. He's he's

quotes. He's very quotable. He's he's

very fun to listen to. So if you want to hear his thoughts on leadership and organization and how to run an organization and a country, I'll have even more takeaways and more quotes after this. That is for premium

after this. That is for premium subscribers. So if you would like to

subscribers. So if you would like to subscribe, go to takeoverpod.supcast.com

or if you're listening on Apple Podcasts, you can go ahead and subscribe in app. Okay, I'll wrap it up there.

in app. Okay, I'll wrap it up there.

Thanks for tuning in. Until next time, thanks for listening to How to Take Over the World.

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