YOURSAY ‘One believed in meritocracy while the other, Malay supremacy.’

Dr M: Lee Kuan Yew and I

Ferdtan: One big difference between Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Lee Kuan Yew, which is indisputable, is the end result of the state of the their respective countries, Malaysia and Singapore.

One country has fallen to complete failure in all aspects; education, corruption, monetary achievements, governing efficiency, crimes, you named it, it’s all bad.

Singapore has achieved success; with its standard of living many times higher than Malaysia’s, and Singaporeans can walk safely in their streets without fear of mugging, not forced to live in gated communities, and low, if not negligent, corruption in the government and its civil service.

Pemerhati: If Mahathir were to speak frankly he might say, “Lee was not as smart as me when it came to accumulating wealth. As Malaysia’s leader, I impressed the majority Malays by reinforcing the apartheid-like discriminatory system to favour them so as to get their political support and win elections.

“I got dictatorial powers by putting incompetent apple polishers and corrupt people in charge of the judiciary and the enforcement and other agencies. I was thus able to siphon off tens of billions of the people’s money for my family and now one of my sons is one of the top billionaires in Malaysia. My successors such as (Abdullah Ahmad) Badawi and Najib (Razak) also did the same thing.

“Lee, on the other hand, got the people’s votes and remained in power by impressing them with money being used to develop the country. But he was not clever in siphoning off their money. Thus my family and I have a net worth that is many times more than that of Lee’s family. Now who is the smarter person?”

Roar For Truth: "He included me among the ultra-Malays who was responsible for the racial riots in Singapore. Actually I never went to Singapore to stir up trouble. Somebody else whom I would not name did," said Mahathir.

Tun, you know the one who went to stir up problems in Singapore. Do you also know the identities of the persons behind May 13? I hope you will tell the truth and make peace with God and Malaysians soon.

Kubang: It was gracious of Tun M to pen a tribute to LKY. Life's too short to hold grudges. Live and let live. Whatever their differences, they would have held each other with a measure of respect for their accomplishments.

Letitia: Both men did their utmost for their respective countries. However, the key difference that is so evident is one believed in meritocracy while the other (with a chip on his shoulder) was determined to uplift the Malays at all cost.

LKY can RIP (rest in peace) that his legacy is safe and successful, while Mahathir still has to battle the scourge of the entitlement culture he has unwittingly unleashed.

Negarawan: Mahathir, you can see for yourself the growing success of non-communal politics and policies in Singapore, and the opposite results in Malaysia. LKY believed in suppressing the differences among the different communities and strengthening the common ground.

In Malaysia, the Malays want to retain political dominance and this has resulted in the Malays, Chinese and Indians forming their own parties as every race feels that it has to protect its own rights for fear of being shortchanged by the others.

Today, Malaysia is no better than it was 50 years ago. In fact, there is no real sense of unity, only a false pretence of it. LKY had the foresight, wisdom and courage to do what is right, with the right people in the right jobs.

There was no dilemma for the Malays in Singapore, and they chose to stay on in the country and are glad to do so. It is just sad to see Malaysia in its deplorable state now, destroyed by religious and racial extremism, dirty politics, corruption, and mediocrity.

Babylon: One used the country's resources to enrich the citizens and build up his country, the other abused the country's resources to enrich his cronies and let the country slide to what it is today - fragmented and in debt.

Muhibbah: I think it's wrong to belittle and cast negative comments on Tun. Not here anyway. Tun has penned his views and experiences with the late Lee Kuan Yew. Frank and direct.

LKY may have accused Tun of instigating the Singapore racial riot in 1965 but he did not put it in his book, ‘The Singapore Story’. The ball-headed Arab's father was one of the ultra-Malays responsible for the massacre.

There were others but not Tun. I'm no fan of Tun but just wanted to put the record straight.

Bystander: Why the exceptional late response from you, Mahathir? Was it an afterthought or the unpleasant sentiments from the rakyat over your very unforgiving attitudes, especially to someone who have much more achievements over you that cause you to put up this message?

LKY just happened to be smarter and done a much better job to turn round the little red dot into a very successful nation duly recognised and viewed by the whole wide world in all aspects positively.

It’s sad Malaysia has slipped down all the way.

Anticonmen: One stuck to the original constitution. The other reneged and changed his country's original constitution to suit his plans.

One is of calibre, competent, clean and meritocratic. The other is a fraud, incompetent, corrupt and racist. The only thing in common is their ruthless demolishing of political opponents.

Tok Karut: Dictators unite?

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