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OPINION | Does Khairy Jamaluddin have Lee Kuan Yew's wibawa?
30 Apr 2026 • 8:00 AM MYT
Image credit: Southeast Asian Gallery / Shinmin News
60 years ago, when you compare a Malaysian with a Singaporean, you will find no difference.
Today, if you compare a Malaysian and Singaporean, you can sense the difference viscerally.
What is the the difference?
Well, if I can answer you in one word, that word will be : Lee Kuan Yew. In the last two or three generations , Singaporeans have transformed themselves in the image of Lee Kuan Yew, to the point that today, Singaporeans are noticeably and palpably different from Malaysians - so much so that though they might look similar to us, but if you interact with Singaporeans, you will know they are not Malaysians viscerally .
In terms of being a father of a nation, Lee Kuan Yew is truly a father of the nation, because all of Singapore modelled itself in his image.
Singaporeans today speak like Lee Kuan Yew, think like Lee Kuan Yew and act like Lee Kuan Yew. They do so not because they were forced to, but because they genuinely admired Lee Kuan Yew and wanted to be like him.
Why ?
Because Lee Kuan Yew was truly a great man.
In my books, together with Nelson Mandela Lee Kuan Yew is the greatest nation builder in the post world war 2 era. In the pantheon of world leaders, these two stand apart.
Lee Kuan Yew did not only make Singapore become one of the greatest city-state that the world has ever known, he is also the uncredited architect of the unsurpassed development and growth of China.
History will probably credit Deng Xiaoping for transforming the backward China of the 90s to the superpower that it is today, but Deng could only do it because he followed closely the counsel of Lee Kuan Yew.
I am not the only person saying this, by the way - wise men like the late Charlie Munger, amongst others, have also noted that Lee Kuan Yew is actually the uncredited Father of China's progress and development.
Munger didn't leave it vague. "If you ask me who is the one man who did the most for China, it was Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore," he said, referring to Singapore's first prime minister. "They copied him," Munger said, in reference to what the leaders of China did to bring about the astounding success of China.
Lee Kuan Yew in other words, was not only the father of Singapore, he was also the godfather of China.
To think we had him for two years, before we lost him when Singapore separated from Malaysia. If he could do so much for Singapore and even China, imagine what he could have done for us, had we not lost him.
But what is done is done. No point crying over spilt milk. Looking forward, I must say that of all the politician in the country that I think might be able to do what Lee Kuan Yes did for Singapore, it is Khairy Jamaluddin.
In Khairy, I see the same ruthlessness, efficiency, intelligence and energy that Lee Kuan Yew has.
Khairy is capable of forcing Malaysians to do what he wants - look at Tobacco Generational End Game or the vaccine mandates - just as how Lee Kuan Yew had no qualms forcing Singaporeans of his time to toe to his line.
You know, there is a Malay word called Wibawa that a lot of people use, but don't really know what it means.
Wibawa, comes from the Sanskrit or Pali words Vibhava. Bhava means being. Vibhava means becoming . In indian philosophy, being and becoming is two states of one's existence. Although it has a neutral meaning in indian philosophy , in Malay, it has a positive meaning. In Malay, if you have wibawa, you can become what you need to be. You can become a winner tomorrow, even if you are a loser today, or become the solution tomorrow, even if you are mired in problems today.
I don't think anyone in this world has doubts that Lee Kuan Yew adalah seorang manusia gergasi yang berwibawa.
Khairy though, probably needs to find a platform to prove himself yet.
NOTE: Anyway, I am just going to end this train of thought here because this is where it ended. I know it ended abruptly, but that is how it is with trains of thoughts - sometimes they just end abruptly.
I was reading an article about how Khairy might be standing in Kedah in the next election, and this thought came to my mind. Now it has run its course.
60 years ago, when you compare a Malaysian with a Singaporean, you will find no difference.
Today, if you compare a Malaysian and Singaporean, you can sense the difference viscerally.
What is the the difference?
Well, if I can answer you in one word, that word will be : Lee Kuan Yew. In the last two or three generations , Singaporeans have transformed themselves in the image of Lee Kuan Yew, to the point that today, Singaporeans are noticeably and palpably different from Malaysians - so much so that though they might look similar to us, but if you interact with Singaporeans, you will know they are not Malaysians viscerally .
In terms of being a father of a nation, Lee Kuan Yew is truly a father of the nation, because all of Singapore modelled itself in his image.
Singaporeans today speak like Lee Kuan Yew, think like Lee Kuan Yew and act like Lee Kuan Yew. They do so not because they were forced to, but because they genuinely admired Lee Kuan Yew and wanted to be like him.
Why ?
Because Lee Kuan Yew was truly a great man.
In my books, together with Nelson Mandela Lee Kuan Yew is the greatest nation builder in the post world war 2 era. In the pantheon of world leaders, these two stand apart.
Lee Kuan Yew did not only make Singapore become one of the greatest city-state that the world has ever known, he is also the uncredited architect of the unsurpassed development and growth of China.
History will probably credit Deng Xiaoping for transforming the backward China of the 90s to the superpower that it is today, but Deng could only do it because he followed closely the counsel of Lee Kuan Yew.
I am not the only person saying this, by the way - wise men like the late Charlie Munger, amongst others, have also noted that Lee Kuan Yew is actually the uncredited Father of China's progress and development.
Munger didn't leave it vague. "If you ask me who is the one man who did the most for China, it was Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore," he said, referring to Singapore's first prime minister. "They copied him," Munger said, in reference to what the leaders of China did to bring about the astounding success of China.
Lee Kuan Yew in other words, was not only the father of Singapore, he was also the godfather of China.
To think we had him for two years, before we lost him when Singapore separated from Malaysia. If he could do so much for Singapore and even China, imagine what he could have done for us, had we not lost him.
But what is done is done. No point crying over spilt milk. Looking forward, I must say that of all the politician in the country that I think might be able to do what Lee Kuan Yes did for Singapore, it is Khairy Jamaluddin.
In Khairy, I see the same ruthlessness, efficiency, intelligence and energy that Lee Kuan Yew has.
Khairy is capable of forcing Malaysians to do what he wants - look at Tobacco Generational End Game or the vaccine mandates - just as how Lee Kuan Yew had no qualms forcing Singaporeans of his time to toe to his line.
You know, there is a Malay word called Wibawa that a lot of people use, but don't really know what it means.
Wibawa, comes from the Sanskrit or Pali words Vibhava. Bhava means being. Vibhava means becoming . In indian philosophy, being and becoming is two states of one's existence. Although it has a neutral meaning in indian philosophy , in Malay, it has a positive meaning. In Malay, if you have wibawa, you can become what you need to be. You can become a winner tomorrow, even if you are a loser today, or become the solution tomorrow, even if you are mired in problems today.
I don't think anyone in this world has doubts that Lee Kuan Yew adalah seorang manusia gergasi yang berwibawa.
Khairy though, probably needs to find a platform to prove himself yet.
NOTE: Anyway, I am just going to end this train of thought here because this is where it ended. I know it ended abruptly, but that is how it is with trains of thoughts - sometimes they just end abruptly.
I was reading an article about how Khairy might be standing in Kedah in the next election, and this thought came to my mind. Now it has run its course.
You have got to be kidding.
ReplyDeleteFor Lee Kuan Yew, love him or loath him, he had a bedrock of integrity that people understood clearly, and was a Big factor in how Singapore developed.
KJ, no matter how clever he sounds, is essentially a slimy slug.
In the Kingdom of the Blind ,,, wakakaka
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