Singapore's founding father Mr Lee Kuan Yew dies aged 91
This article by Warren Fernandez for the Strait Times may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:
"This country belongs to all of us. We made this country from nothing, from mud-flats... Over 100 years ago, this was a mud-flat, swamp. Today, this is a modern city. Ten years from now, this will be a metropolis. Never fear!" he thundered at a grassroots event in Sembawang in September 1965.
?He delivered on this promise, earning the trust of generations of voters. This would see his party returned to office repeatedly over three decades. By the time he stepped down in 1990, he had served 31 years as PM, from 1959 to 1990. At the age of 67, he chose to hand over the premiership to Mr Goh Chok Tong, and took on the role of senior minister, serving as guide and mentor in the Cabinet.
Noting this unusual willingness to relinquish power, Time magazine wrote in 1991: "What really sets this complex man apart from Asia's other nation-builders is what he didn't do: he did not become corrupt, and he did not stay in power too long. Mao, Suharto, Marcos and Ne Win left their countries on the verge of ruin with no obvious successor. Lee left Singapore with a per capita GDP of $14,000, his reputation gilt-edged and an entire tier of second-generation leaders to take over when he stepped down in 1990.
Also see David’s piece last week.
The world has seen so many examples of the corrupting influence of power that Lew Kwan Yew has been for many the exception that proves the rule. His triumph in creating a vibrant economy and country from nothing can be equalled only by the profound legacy of governance that succeeds him. His creation of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, Temasek, in 1974 is not mentioned in the above articles but is one of his more prescient moves. The fund’s holdings which include AIA Group, ICBC, Thermo Fisher Scientific and BG Group highlight the astute business decisions Singapore has made in tandem with its desire to promote good governance.
I’m greatly looking forward to visiting Singapore for The Chart Seminar next month.
The stock market has been ranging with a mild upward bias for much of the last three years and is currently bouncing from the region of the 200-day MA.
Meanwhile the Singapore Dollar is unwinding its short-term oversold condition.