LKY DOES NOT see how it is possible to rule very wisely if one does not rule very firmly. Strong leaders make hard decisions that stick. Weak leaders make bad situations worse by deciding poorly or not deciding at all. This is what the oft-quoted Niccolò Machiavelli was preaching in The Prince. At some length his fabled analysis went like this:
“A prince ... ought not to mind the reproach of cruelty; because with a few examples he will be more merciful than those who, through too much mercy, allow disorders to arise, from which follow murders or robberies; for these are wont to injure the whole people, whilst those executions which originate with a prince offend the individual only.... Upon this a question arises: whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with.... Nevertheless a prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that, if he does not win love, he avoids hatred; because he can endure very well being feared whilst he is not hated.”
LKY knows (and has elsewhere in effect suggested) that Machiavelli was on to something. He has often worried about the risk of meaninglessness and ineffectiveness if as ruler no one feared him.
Cultures of course differ, but human nature across the board reflects obvious and enduring species characteristics. Except in rare cases, perhaps usually wartime, slavishly excessive popularity is too often a reflection of mediocre governance. Great governance sometimes takes difficult decisions. No one likes to suffer pain even in the public interest. What populace is actually going to insist that vehicles be taxed for rush-hour usage, even though the result would clearly be in the public interest? Like the rest of us, LKY likes to be liked, but not at the cost of what he believes would lead to mis-governance. This is why his Machiavellianism is so often misunderstood (and, indeed, why Machiavelli’s own original Machiavellianism is invariably misunderstood). It is driven for maximum effect; there is nothing at all about it that is insincere. It is a strong and useful tool of proper governance, as part of a range of tools and priorities.
This leads us to look at Singapore’s great rival in the Over-Achieving World Bantam Division: Hong Kong. They share many distinctions, including being mainly Chinese, very successful and well observed by China. I think of its first Chinese governor in the post British colonial era, a man named Tung Chee-hwa. He is one of the most gentlemanly of politicians.
I say to LKY: “Before coming here I had a chat with Tung Chee-hwa, a very nice man, a jovial man. I like him very much. I think he’s got a bad press in Hong Kong and a raw deal, but I think history will treat him well. Anyway, he said, what are you working on? I said, well, I think I will be doing this book on Minister Mentor LKY and he goes, oh, he’s a great man.”
LKY, true to form, does not smile. He always makes a point of seeming impervious to flattery. Maybe he even is. I know I’m not.
He says: “Let me tell you my relationship with him. Tung Chee-hwa, I knew as a son of a great shipping magnate in Hong Kong. So, when the son was about to become the chief executive, I was in Hong Kong. I said to him, you know, the most important thing you can do is to get your education right because the British left you—deliberately left your people—with Cantonese as your language, and a bit of English for the upper classes to be useful to them. If I were you, I would concentrate on Mandarin and English; English because you need to connect with the world.”
Lee shakes his head sadly: “Whatever the reasons, under pressure, he decided to go for English, in all schools which have been taught in Cantonese, to Cantonese and English; and the result is English went down, Cantonese became more pronounced and now, they’ve got to learn Mandarin because their customers are from China. And it is from our experience we know that if you try to speak Cantonese all the time, and learn Mandarin at the same time, that’s possible; to speak Cantonese and learn Mandarin and learn English, that’s impossible for the average person. Well, for the elite who can go to America and immerse themselves four years, six years with a PhD, yes, of course.”
“So you see that as a strategic problem?”
“It was a grave mistake, and now their principals are coming down here to study us, but how at this point to change?”
I have always rather liked Tung and so I put this good word in for him: “Well, he had a tough job. I mean, he’s halfway between the bosses in Beijing and then his political activity in Hong Kong.”
“No, his problem was he’s too much of a gentleman. He’s not a politician and he got pushed around, that is all.”
What he means, of course, is that Tung was only a gentleman. I daresay Lee would not take it as a criticism if someone said he were only a bit of one. Overly nice gentlemen tend to get run over by the overly un-nice.
Maybe it’s time we call it a day. We had agreed to two late afternoon sessions. Maybe the first one is about to come to its natural end. I am beginning to feel a bit fatigued. What about LKY, now just a few days short of 86? Not only haven’t I fallen off an exercise bike in years, I am actually much younger.
Suddenly he turns to me. I am certain he has read my mind, and I am certain it is not the first time. He says: “How old are you now?”
I am actually caught off guard by the query. Why would he ask? “Well, I’ve retired from UCLA, but I haven’t retired from life. I just got bored with it.”
“No, but how old are you?”
Still surprised, I ask: “What do you think? How old did you think?”
“68?”
“Wow. I am devastated.”
“Why?”
“I am 55!”
“It’s your white hair.”
“I dye it to look distinguished.” (Laughter in room)
So we call it a day. Tomorrow I am going to try to get off the global geopolitical and get beneath the skin with some personal questions. I want more time with this outspoken, brilliant, egotistical, haughty and successful—i.e. fascinating—figure.