It never ceases to amaze how in places like Malaysia and Singapore, the old colonial measures of success and failure is measured in terms of European standards and their preferential treatment to stereotypes they created and left behind in the minds of local and foreign observers alike.
A success is inevitably measured by a Chinese exampl…
It never ceases to amaze how in places like Malaysia and Singapore, the old colonial measures of success and failure is measured in terms of European standards and their preferential treatment to stereotypes they created and left behind in the minds of local and foreign observers alike.
A success is inevitably measured by a Chinese example (especially in economic terms) a failure distinctively Malay. Yet no one gives consideration to the enormity of the transformation of the Malays into an economically successful community over the years with the help of Dr. Mahathir's policy and affirmative action policies.
Instead we get a fairy tale example of the Singapore model which conveniently covers their monumental failures like the Temasek Sovereign and pension Funds nearly US$100 billon losses in 2007-2008 from very myopic investment decisions approved by Lee Hsien Loong's wife the Yale 'Genius'. Lee Kuan Yews insensitive remark that "workers will have to work longer and harder and put of retirement was cold comfort to those suffering because of his daughter in law's failures.
Ho Jing was cautioned by the former BHP CEO Chip Goodyear who had been earlier recruited to head Temasek. There were personality clashes between the two. But Goodyear's superior intellect and business acumen did not count for anything.
Goodyear warned hHo Jing against throwing money into an already overheated banking sector. She thumbed her noses at him and the GFC came and wiped the smile off her face. A Chinese "success story".
The media was complicit in hiding the story as it did not fit the stereotypes. There was a spate of Singaporean corporates failures in the following year, many because of accounting fraud and concealment of of losses and padding of revenues and profits. A staple of South East Asia's Chinese. Malaysia is a perfect showcase for these examples.
In Malaysia however, thee Malays of the upper classes tend to willingly and blindly take on Chinese business partners in the vain belief that these partners will wave a magic wand like they did smuggling opium in earlier times like the Haw Par Tiger Balm family had done mixing their pharmaceutical profits with opium and heroin profits to launder the illicit profits of opium and its derivatives.
The celebrated case of Khoo Teck Phuat a man trusted by the Sultan of Brunei who trusted the magician race by allowing Khoo to invest his billions. Not long after in the aftermath of the National Bank of Brunei collapse did the Sultan realize what was happening to him and his wealth in the hands of these "successful" Chinese businessmen. Khoo had been robbing him blind. Unable to arrest Khoo the Sultan arrested his son David who was still in Brunei and jailed him for being an accessory to his fathers sins.
Not satisfied with that failure with Khoo, the Sultan's brother Prince Jeffrey had entered into partnerships and associations with Malaysian Chinese and Singaporean Chinese businessmen costing him and his government over US$9 billion.
By contrast- Daim Zainuddin, the Tun Razak family and a host of other Malay businessmen succeeded beyond a Chinaman's wildest dreams. They did it lawfully and with the same patronage of government and bumi putera's that the Chinese secured for their successes.
Back to the main game, no country in the world has been spared the impact of a looming world wide recession bordering in some places as a depression. The all mighty and powerful USA and China its nemesis today face an economic downturn of herculean proportions.
Germany is already in recession. Britain is a basket case as are Portugal and Spain. The road goes ever on.
Malaysia's economic woes are not an exception but the rule of the economic woes of the world at this time.
Sir, With the arrival of Covid 19, the Ukraine War, US-China tensions, more World turbulence etc, the glittering revenues for Singapore disappeared after March 2020 and the carefully crafted Lee Kuan Yew Legacy for Singapore's survival destroyed. Man proposes. God disposes. In her desperation, Singapore cosy up to China and forgot who made Singapore great. Hence, for the very first time, democrat Washington Post blasted Singapore with an article on 'Lianhe Zaobao and China.' In her heyday, Lee Kuan Yew would be sitting next to his democrat President buddy soon after a Presidential election. Now Prime Minister of India Modi takes precedence. Singapore only welcomed the US Vice President for only 2 days with no orchid named after her. Singapore's rebuttal on Washington Post's attack sounded arrogant and forgot who made Singapore great ! Sad !
It never ceases to amaze how in places like Malaysia and Singapore, the old colonial measures of success and failure is measured in terms of European standards and their preferential treatment to stereotypes they created and left behind in the minds of local and foreign observers alike.
A success is inevitably measured by a Chinese example (especially in economic terms) a failure distinctively Malay. Yet no one gives consideration to the enormity of the transformation of the Malays into an economically successful community over the years with the help of Dr. Mahathir's policy and affirmative action policies.
Instead we get a fairy tale example of the Singapore model which conveniently covers their monumental failures like the Temasek Sovereign and pension Funds nearly US$100 billon losses in 2007-2008 from very myopic investment decisions approved by Lee Hsien Loong's wife the Yale 'Genius'. Lee Kuan Yews insensitive remark that "workers will have to work longer and harder and put of retirement was cold comfort to those suffering because of his daughter in law's failures.
Ho Jing was cautioned by the former BHP CEO Chip Goodyear who had been earlier recruited to head Temasek. There were personality clashes between the two. But Goodyear's superior intellect and business acumen did not count for anything.
Goodyear warned hHo Jing against throwing money into an already overheated banking sector. She thumbed her noses at him and the GFC came and wiped the smile off her face. A Chinese "success story".
The media was complicit in hiding the story as it did not fit the stereotypes. There was a spate of Singaporean corporates failures in the following year, many because of accounting fraud and concealment of of losses and padding of revenues and profits. A staple of South East Asia's Chinese. Malaysia is a perfect showcase for these examples.
In Malaysia however, thee Malays of the upper classes tend to willingly and blindly take on Chinese business partners in the vain belief that these partners will wave a magic wand like they did smuggling opium in earlier times like the Haw Par Tiger Balm family had done mixing their pharmaceutical profits with opium and heroin profits to launder the illicit profits of opium and its derivatives.
The celebrated case of Khoo Teck Phuat a man trusted by the Sultan of Brunei who trusted the magician race by allowing Khoo to invest his billions. Not long after in the aftermath of the National Bank of Brunei collapse did the Sultan realize what was happening to him and his wealth in the hands of these "successful" Chinese businessmen. Khoo had been robbing him blind. Unable to arrest Khoo the Sultan arrested his son David who was still in Brunei and jailed him for being an accessory to his fathers sins.
Not satisfied with that failure with Khoo, the Sultan's brother Prince Jeffrey had entered into partnerships and associations with Malaysian Chinese and Singaporean Chinese businessmen costing him and his government over US$9 billion.
By contrast- Daim Zainuddin, the Tun Razak family and a host of other Malay businessmen succeeded beyond a Chinaman's wildest dreams. They did it lawfully and with the same patronage of government and bumi putera's that the Chinese secured for their successes.
Back to the main game, no country in the world has been spared the impact of a looming world wide recession bordering in some places as a depression. The all mighty and powerful USA and China its nemesis today face an economic downturn of herculean proportions.
Germany is already in recession. Britain is a basket case as are Portugal and Spain. The road goes ever on.
Malaysia's economic woes are not an exception but the rule of the economic woes of the world at this time.
Sir, With the arrival of Covid 19, the Ukraine War, US-China tensions, more World turbulence etc, the glittering revenues for Singapore disappeared after March 2020 and the carefully crafted Lee Kuan Yew Legacy for Singapore's survival destroyed. Man proposes. God disposes. In her desperation, Singapore cosy up to China and forgot who made Singapore great. Hence, for the very first time, democrat Washington Post blasted Singapore with an article on 'Lianhe Zaobao and China.' In her heyday, Lee Kuan Yew would be sitting next to his democrat President buddy soon after a Presidential election. Now Prime Minister of India Modi takes precedence. Singapore only welcomed the US Vice President for only 2 days with no orchid named after her. Singapore's rebuttal on Washington Post's attack sounded arrogant and forgot who made Singapore great ! Sad !