KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 — Singapore founding father Lee Kuan Yew’s death leaves Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the last of the “Machiavellian” leaders of the region, and is inviting comparison between the two men’s legacy and achievements.
In one such evaluation by the Associated Press, Lee was lauded for transforming Singapore from a swampy backwater into an efficient first-world state with good governance while Dr Mahathir is described as fostering political patronage through cronyism and achieving less than his contemporary despite greater resources.
"Both men are equally Machiavellian in their methods. They are both alike in the kind of politics they employ but Lee Kuan Yew achieved much, much more than Mahathir despite having a lot less resources and capital," Ibrahim Suffian, head of polling firm Merdeka Centre, was quoted as saying by the AP.
"Despite his autocracy, Lee Kuan Yew was driven with building meritocracy that saw Singapore grow by leaps and bounds, but Malaysia is hobbled by its racial politics and insecurities," Ibrahim added.
Driven by his “Malay Dilemma”, Dr Mahathir viewed the community as subjugated and sought to provide them with as much advantage as he was able through the New Economic Policy (NEP) and others like it.
According to the AP, Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister entrenched the system and the mindset that continues in the present day — long after the NEP was supposed to have ended in 1990 — where it fuels growing resentment in non-Malay communities.
In contrast, the Singapore leader had run his country exactly as it was described: “Singapore Inc”.
Lee also governed Singapore with without preferential treatment for any community, and even implemented safeguards to ensure that no political party could rule with just the support of the overwhelming Chinese majority.
"Lee went to the extent of amending the republic's Constitution to stop any party from sweeping into power without minority support," Cherian George, a Singaporean political commentator, was cited as saying by the AP.
The AP also sought to contrast the two men’s legacy after their retirement, pointing to Lee’s senior minister and, later, minister mentor positions that Singapore created as deferential tributes.
Lee’s son, Hsien Loong, also became Singapore’s prime minister and remains so today.
Unlike Lee, the AP said Dr Mahathir’s sway began to fade soon after he stepped down in 2003.
While he continues to draw attention and deference for his long years in power, Dr Mahathir is now viewed as a former leader berating those who came after him and grumbling on his personal blog.
Singapore founding father Lee died on March 23 after over a month on life support following complications arising from severe pneumonia.
Singapore joined Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to form the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, but was expelled two years later by an Act of Parliament following racial tensions over the republic’s insistence on equal treatment for all citizens.
