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Monday, June 02, 2025 - 21:26 SGT
Posted By: Gilbert

Prestige In Paradise



A mark of incomparable esteem; 真的受不起！
(Source: channelnewsasia.com)


It was with rapt interest that I watched United States Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth address international dignitaries at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, and my heart swelled with pride when he very diplomatically honoured the hosts by comparing TRUMP to LKY, in very kindly pointing out the many similarities and parallels between these two undeniably-great (and strong) men (as also noted on this blog back in 2017)

The wise Secretary of Defence was indubitably exactly spot-on in recognizing both worthies as "historic men" possessed of "common sense and (grounded in) national interests (i.e. America/Singapore First)", and if anything Hegseth's flattery - in placing the President of the only universally-recognized superpower on a par with the leader of a pretty-successful, but ultimately minor city-state - felt slightly excessive.

Ironically, there would be slightly-emotional vehement objections on certain local subreddits, and it was left to the less-censored EDMW forum to be more objective (as usual*) in discussing Hegseth's assertions. Consider:

  • Both share personality cults. Pretty obvious this. Additionally, this extends to a (minimally near-)divine status as ascribed by their many supporters, with TRUMP recognized as the GOD-EMPEROR, and Kuan Yew feared as the God of No Mercy (in contrast to Guan-Yin, the Goddess of Mercy), alongside bowing sessions arranged by party kindergartens.



    At least one guy is having fun here!
    [N.B. It turns out that his Word is indeed Law on tariffs...]
    (Source: yahoo.com)


  • Authoritarian style of governance, with LKY famously "brooking neither democracy nor dissent". Check.

    In fact, on this, one figures that if TRUMP has a fault, it's actually in being too nice (something that he has by the way vowed to stop being, just a few days ago); let's be very frank here - if TRUMP had actually locked his major political opponents up without trial (as LKY did), placed all major print and video media channels under state control (as LKY had), and consolidated political power over decades (sans term limits) via convenient gerrymandering of electoral districts (as LKY did, well beyond what is currently practised in the U.S.), are you sure that TRUMP would not eventually have a 60++% approval rating too (all the more with many of his detractors driven [or self-selecting] out of the country)?



    Summers has gotten it exactly right - smart guy!
    [N.B. Also a casualty of DEI, in having to resign as Harvard president in part for positing several very reasonable hypotheses to try and explain the underrepresentation of women in science; one can only pray for any poor, blighted soul who tries to critique LKY on similar (ok, more extreme) views!]
    (Source: cbsnews.com)


    LKY's penchant for showing opponents who's the boss (so much like TRUMP) notably extended to universities too, as he dissolved the Chinese-medium Nanyang University (Nantah) basically for not bending the knee** - as Harvard and the other Ivy League unis (to begin with) are currently finding out (including some, such as Columbia, that have long capitulated) with TRUMP. Interestingly, the boogeyman in both cases has been Team Red ([Chinese] Communist influence for LKY, and supposed CCP links for TRUMP, with a dash of countering campus antisemitism and bias for the latter)

  • Zero patience for "wokeism". In fact, this attitude has been wisely carried on*** by his son and successor too!

  • Both TRUMP and LKY have reassuringly tended towards commerce more than martial might in international relations - if with a shared preference for flaunting strength through military parades - but it is perhaps their individual experience towards war that is more telling.


    Brother from another mother!
    "An over-strong dollar has caused the huge trade deficits... It is right to compel [those who impose tariffs] to help the system function better... and if threatening retaliation for unequal access to markets is part of this process towards open and fair trade, then so be it."
    [Full transcript of LKY's 1985 address to the U.S. Congress]


    TRUMP has gotten plenty of flak for dodging the Vietnam War draft (mostly for college, and once for a legitimate medical condition), but it may be telling that said offensive war is now popularly recognized as a mistake by Americans, all the more with many Vietnam veterans treated horribly by the public upon their return; given this, however he avoided participation, TRUMP has a good argument as to being on the right side of history here.

    As for LKY, it is common knowledge that he was a Japanese (i.e. enemy, at that time) collaborator after the fall of British Singapore during World War II, who sought out a job transcribing Allied wire reports for the occupiers (that had, of course, just brutally slain so many of his countrymen). 严格来说，这是名副其实的汉奸，但也算是日后将功抵罪吧！ Now, one might take into account that it was not that uncommon for locals to choose to work - indirectly or otherwise - with the new rulers for survival, but one also figures that not doing so often remained possible. In any case, it probably helps one's reputation in this regard, if one is able to imprison or banish those who would point it out in the future...

  • No-nonsense attitude towards application of laws. It often boggles my mind that there exists some local critique of TRUMP for simply enforcing American immigration laws, when overstayers in Singapore can be (and are often) caned if the duration exceeds just ninety days (though LKY reportedly intended its use more as a warning to the rest). Logically, there is no nation that can afford unlimited immigration, thus laws to control immigration are justified. Given this, what can one expect a responsible government to do? Signal that illegal entry is a-ok, but with no actual legal protection for those lured to come? Does that make any sense?


As it is, since our government has not charged Hegseth under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), one supposes the U.S. Secretary of Defence's statement on TRUMP and LKY to be fundamentally true, which I personally reckon is about right. Our new Defence Minister has also clarified that Singapore is not trying to balance anybody, and that the country is just a (open and inclusive) platform for dialogue. One supposes this a clever move - any smug indications of trying to play both sides don't seem likely to go down well, with both of the actual sides in The Greatest Game!

And to close off, to any American friends who may be perusing this blog - if you happen to be of the (standard mainstream media) mind that LKY is, indeed, a more effective leader than TRUMP - and that he should therefore take a leaf out of LKY's book - well, you guys may yet get what you wish for!


[*As the saying goes, EDMW is smart people pretending to be stupid, while r/singapore Reddit is... er, not so smart people pretending to be smart.]

[**That said, refocusing universities towards hard science and technology with a view towards Cold War II, is entirely rational; given that Rubio has confirmed that Singaporean students can still submit visa applications, one imagines that the recent mass revocation of student visas was (again) aimed largely at China - who have been improving greatly in that department, by the way. Not that the liberal arts has exactly taken root locally, what with Yale-NUS being unceremoniously shut down following yet another Palestine-supporting convocation speech, and maybe a few dicey questions too many. The college then caught a furor for destroying hundreds of books before being found out, perhaps a sign of how much actual knowledge is valued here.]

[***While I do have some sympathy for the downtrodden and/or discriminated, it is difficult to escape much of (officially-sanctioned) DEI as a power grab, these days. As an example, if one accepts the right of individuals to self-identify, the gulf in treatment between transsexual people (must be accepted without question, fine) and (sincere) transracial people (denigrate due to supposed cultural appropriation, because I guess their feelings aren't valid in this case) only suggests that not all social constructs are created comparably oppressive...]



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