Economist – Double Issue, 20 Dec 2003 – 2 Jan 2004
Singapore
No More Mr Nasty Guy
A kinder, gentler BG
Singaporean politicians are a stern and technocratic lot. Lee Kuan Yew, the country’s founding father and first prime minister, was a famously severe and hectoring leader. Goh Chok Tong, his successor, is a much friendlier fellow. That prompted many Singaporeans to write him off as a mere seat warmer for Mr Lee’s son, Hsien Loong, though Mr Goh has already lasted 13 years. Now the younger Mr Lee – universally known as BG, since he used to be a brigadier general – is indeed set to ascend to the premiership, probably in 2005. But before he does so, Mr Goh recently said, he has to learn “to let his soft side show.”
Since then, the local media have dutifully bombarded Singaporeans with proof of Mr Lee’s softness. Alongside the usual photographs of ribbon-cutting ceremonies and formal receptions, the papers have printed snaps of Mr Lee eating dinner with his children, walking arm-in-arm with his wife, and practicing the clarinet as a child. The normally sober Straits Times devoted a two-page spread to Mr Lee’s private life, highlighting his thoughtfulness (despite his busy schedule, he still finds time to advise old friends), his heroism (he once helped rescue passengers trapped in a cable car) and his humility (he uses public transport). Having described how Mr Lee broke down in tears during an interview, the paper concluded, “here is a man of deep emotion, who’s not afraid to show his feelings.”
Some impassioned pundits have even argued that Mr Lee’s warmth and humanity are so obvious that they do not need advertising. In an article entitled “Mirage of Mr Lee Hsien Loong’s Image Problem”, one columnist pointed out that Mr Lee had once shaken a fishmonger’s hand, and, unlike his father, was fond of children. Another commentator dismissed all the fuss his colleagues were making about Mr Lee’s new, fashionable red shirts, saying, “It’s not just the shirt. It’s how you wear it.”
These are unfamiliar concerns for Singapore, whose leaders are more or less immune to the swings in public opinion that plague politicians elsewhere. The prime minister is chosen by parliament, not the electorate at large. Only one party ever manages to get more than one or two candidates elected: the ruling Peoples Action Party, which has strolled easily to victory in every election since independence. When the prime minister announces his retirement, the party elders choose a successor, and then reveal him to the voters, as they recently did with the younger Lee. Having been handed the prime ministership on a platter, it is touchingly public-spirited of him to show any concern for his image at all.