My one unforgettable conversation during that visit was with the butler at the Strand Hotel - an Indian in his late 50s, with greying hair and beard. He brought in breakfast looking forlorn and dejected, and said in English, "Sire, this is my last day, I shall not be here tomorrow." He did not know whether his Burmese assistant would be able to serve me the same breakfast: British-style tea with milk and sugar, toast and scrambled eggs. I asked why he wanted to leave. He replied, "I have to leave. I was born and have lived here all my life, but the government wants all Indians to leave. I cannot take with me more than a small sum of money and my personal belongings." Where was he going? "India." Did he have relatives there? "No." His grandparents had been brought in by the British but the government wanted to send him back. He was right about my breakfast. The next day the tray was not as neat nor the toast as crisp.
That afternoon, Ne Win played golf with me at the former British Rangoon Golf Club. It was an extraordinary game. On both sides of every fairway and surrounding us, the four players, were troops with guns, facing outwards. When not swinging a club Ne Win wore a steel helmet. I hesitated to ask why. His minister, one of the players, murmured something about an assassination threat.
When Ne Win visited Singapore in 1968 and played golf, he was not security-conscious and did not wear a steel helmet. When he next came, in 1974, I suggested we should coordinate our policies to get the United States, China and the Soviet Union to maintain a presence in the region, so as to have some power balance. He was not in the least interested, preferring to leave these matters to the superpowers.
I last visited Rangoon in January 1986. Ne Win's new wife was a doctor, well-educated and much younger than Kitty, who had died. Ne Win had an excellent recall of events that happened 15-30 years ago. Over dinner, I found that despite Burma's 20 years of economic stagnation, he was as distrustful of foreign powers as ever. He spoke of being locked in a "battle of wits" against elements outside Burma who wanted to make as much as they could at the expense of his country.
It was sad to see Rangoon worse than it had been since my 1965 visit. There were no new roads or buildings. Everything was in disrepair and there were potholes in the main roads. The few cars were of 1950 or '60 vintage. There was nothing any of his ministers could do, given his policies. The English newspaper was a single-leaf, four-page tabloid. The Burmese paper was slightly less skimpy. The people in attendance at their famous Shwe Dagon pagoda looked shabby and poor. From my car, the shops looked empty.
(To be continued)
source: From third world to first-the Singapore story by Lee Kuan Yew
That afternoon, Ne Win played golf with me at the former British Rangoon Golf Club. It was an extraordinary game. On both sides of every fairway and surrounding us, the four players, were troops with guns, facing outwards. When not swinging a club Ne Win wore a steel helmet. I hesitated to ask why. His minister, one of the players, murmured something about an assassination threat.
When Ne Win visited Singapore in 1968 and played golf, he was not security-conscious and did not wear a steel helmet. When he next came, in 1974, I suggested we should coordinate our policies to get the United States, China and the Soviet Union to maintain a presence in the region, so as to have some power balance. He was not in the least interested, preferring to leave these matters to the superpowers.
I last visited Rangoon in January 1986. Ne Win's new wife was a doctor, well-educated and much younger than Kitty, who had died. Ne Win had an excellent recall of events that happened 15-30 years ago. Over dinner, I found that despite Burma's 20 years of economic stagnation, he was as distrustful of foreign powers as ever. He spoke of being locked in a "battle of wits" against elements outside Burma who wanted to make as much as they could at the expense of his country.
It was sad to see Rangoon worse than it had been since my 1965 visit. There were no new roads or buildings. Everything was in disrepair and there were potholes in the main roads. The few cars were of 1950 or '60 vintage. There was nothing any of his ministers could do, given his policies. The English newspaper was a single-leaf, four-page tabloid. The Burmese paper was slightly less skimpy. The people in attendance at their famous Shwe Dagon pagoda looked shabby and poor. From my car, the shops looked empty.
(To be continued)
source: From third world to first-the Singapore story by Lee Kuan Yew
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