I AM currently reading a book written by Lee Kuan Yew. The book is made of memoirs by world's best known state man and named "from third world to first". He recalls the days he and his old-guard colleagues who together made possible to transform tiny fishing village to incredible metropolitan city state which is widely respected by even world's biggest nations today. I am always curious how do they transform this resource-less island to first world country. Fortunately I found this book in the national library stands and it could able to answer my queries.
The book is too good to ignore for those who study modern political science because its contents are not only this tiny city state but the trends of regional countries as well as world's most developed countries nowadays. I could able to realize why Singapore's founding father is so powerful even he had stepped down from his top post. He has been reference for some world's leaders to get advices in coping their struggles. Since my country had a golden days while Singapore got its independent on 1965, their founding leaders couldn't able to afford to ignore our leaders. Therefore LKY's part of memoirs contain my country's history which is probably the reason why Myanmar have been upside down since Military cope in 1962. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew has shared his peak days of experiences and I see it valuable to understand for our citizen to know the real story. It prompt me to post this Myanmar section before I return the book to library so I could able to read it in sometime in future. I am grateful to MM Lee for his sharing the past of our history especially in the range of 1962 to 2000 period. I sincerely hope you'll find this story interesting especially if you are one of my fellow citizen. I believe knowing our own history as it is might be our universal right and hope you'll find it valuable sharing.
My first visit to Rangoon (Yangon) was in April 1962. Prime Minister U Nu of Burma (as Myanmar was called before 1989) had asked General Ne Win to take over in 1958 because his elected government could not contain the insurgencies and rebellions of the many minority groups. After 18 months of military rule, a general election was held. When U Nu's party was returned, Ne Win handed back power. But soon U Nu was in difficulties again, and Ne Win seized power in March 1962, just before my visit.
Unlike Colombo, which I visited in 1965, Rangoon seemed dilapidated and run-down. It had been under Japanese occupation, and although spared the worst when the British fought their way back from Bengal, the damage had been considerable. Ne Win received Choo and me warmly at his house. I was disconcerted to see it ringed with guns and tanks. Obviously he took no chances. My visit was to counter the propaganda of Indonesia's President Sukarno that Malaysia was a neo-colonialist plot. Over lunch, Ne Win listened to my explanations, but was not attentive. He was preoccupied with maintaining law and order, keeping down insurrections and holding Burma together.
He lived in a medium-sized bungalow in the suburbs. He was friendly, as was his wife, Khin May Than (Kitty), a former nurse and a vivacious lady. Both were English-speaking and intelligent. Burma was one of the better-endowed countries of Southeast Asia, a rice and food exporter before the war. However, the democratic system of government did not work. The people were not of one race, speaking one language. The British had brought together into one country a whole host of different races occupying different parts of this mountainous country.
"The Burmese way to socialism" was Ne Win's motto for the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma. His policy was simple: achieve self-reliance and get rid of the Indians and Chinese who had come into Burma with the British. The Chinese had started to leave even under U Nu, many settling in Thailand and Singapore. The larger number were the Indians, whom the British had recruited into the government service. They were slowly squeezed out.
My next visit to Rangoon was in May 1965, after attending a conference for Asian socialists in Bombay. Ne Win liked that part of my speech where I had said, "If we approach Asian problems of poverty and underdevelopment through the rosy spectacles of the Western European socialists we are sure to fail." I did not realize at that time how determined he was to be self-sufficient, to have little to do with the outside world and to return to a romantic, idyllic past when Burma was rich and self-sufficient.
(to be continued)
The book is too good to ignore for those who study modern political science because its contents are not only this tiny city state but the trends of regional countries as well as world's most developed countries nowadays. I could able to realize why Singapore's founding father is so powerful even he had stepped down from his top post. He has been reference for some world's leaders to get advices in coping their struggles. Since my country had a golden days while Singapore got its independent on 1965, their founding leaders couldn't able to afford to ignore our leaders. Therefore LKY's part of memoirs contain my country's history which is probably the reason why Myanmar have been upside down since Military cope in 1962. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew has shared his peak days of experiences and I see it valuable to understand for our citizen to know the real story. It prompt me to post this Myanmar section before I return the book to library so I could able to read it in sometime in future. I am grateful to MM Lee for his sharing the past of our history especially in the range of 1962 to 2000 period. I sincerely hope you'll find this story interesting especially if you are one of my fellow citizen. I believe knowing our own history as it is might be our universal right and hope you'll find it valuable sharing.
My first visit to Rangoon (Yangon) was in April 1962. Prime Minister U Nu of Burma (as Myanmar was called before 1989) had asked General Ne Win to take over in 1958 because his elected government could not contain the insurgencies and rebellions of the many minority groups. After 18 months of military rule, a general election was held. When U Nu's party was returned, Ne Win handed back power. But soon U Nu was in difficulties again, and Ne Win seized power in March 1962, just before my visit.
Unlike Colombo, which I visited in 1965, Rangoon seemed dilapidated and run-down. It had been under Japanese occupation, and although spared the worst when the British fought their way back from Bengal, the damage had been considerable. Ne Win received Choo and me warmly at his house. I was disconcerted to see it ringed with guns and tanks. Obviously he took no chances. My visit was to counter the propaganda of Indonesia's President Sukarno that Malaysia was a neo-colonialist plot. Over lunch, Ne Win listened to my explanations, but was not attentive. He was preoccupied with maintaining law and order, keeping down insurrections and holding Burma together.
He lived in a medium-sized bungalow in the suburbs. He was friendly, as was his wife, Khin May Than (Kitty), a former nurse and a vivacious lady. Both were English-speaking and intelligent. Burma was one of the better-endowed countries of Southeast Asia, a rice and food exporter before the war. However, the democratic system of government did not work. The people were not of one race, speaking one language. The British had brought together into one country a whole host of different races occupying different parts of this mountainous country.
"The Burmese way to socialism" was Ne Win's motto for the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma. His policy was simple: achieve self-reliance and get rid of the Indians and Chinese who had come into Burma with the British. The Chinese had started to leave even under U Nu, many settling in Thailand and Singapore. The larger number were the Indians, whom the British had recruited into the government service. They were slowly squeezed out.
My next visit to Rangoon was in May 1965, after attending a conference for Asian socialists in Bombay. Ne Win liked that part of my speech where I had said, "If we approach Asian problems of poverty and underdevelopment through the rosy spectacles of the Western European socialists we are sure to fail." I did not realize at that time how determined he was to be self-sufficient, to have little to do with the outside world and to return to a romantic, idyllic past when Burma was rich and self-sufficient.
(to be continued)
Really interesting and waiting !
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