The Sunday Times published a nice little tribute article by Lee Wei Ling, daughter of Lee Kuan Yew, titled, "What Papa's death taught us about ourselves", on April 5, 2015.

It's a personal reflection by her in the aftermath of her father's passing and his state funeral, and her trying to come to terms with the imponderables, such as, "Why did Singaporeans openly mourn for her father?" and "Where did all that sadness come from?".

The piece is making its rounds on social media. Click on picture to go to article:

Anti-criticism mindset

However, one cannot help but notice the anti-criticism mindset and racist undertones in her writing that is masqueraded as Singaporeans having Singapore pride.

For example, toward the end of the article, she writes that Singaporeans by and large should disregard criticism by others, particularly those belonging to "some Westerners", and especially those that are critical of Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew, even going so far as to say: "Never be impressed by the white man who thinks he is superior to you. We are no less and probably more capable than he is".

This is what she wrote:

We need not be concerned about impressing foreigners. Papa thought he was answerable only to his own people. Even then, he wanted to do only what was right, regardless of whether it was popular or politically correct. It is now apparent that though he never courted popularity, most Singaporeans know how much he did for them and that he devoted his life to his country.

[...]

I was educated in Chinese-language schools up to the equivalent of the O levels. My anti-colonial sentiments are hence somewhat stronger than those who attended English-language schools.

I watch with despair when Singaporeans buy into the dismissive views of some Westerners about Singapore. And I was very happy to see Singaporeans reject Western journalists who wrote dismissively of Papa and the response of Singaporeans to his death.

We must keep our heritage and respect the culture and language of our different races and be proud of Singapore. Never be impressed by the white man who thinks he is superior to you. We are no less and probably more capable than he is. If Papa and his Old Guard colleagues did not believe that, they would not have fought for independence and built up this country.

Read on its own, this is a strange mindset to have given that Singapore and Singaporeans willingly accept, uphold and even welcome the effusive praise heaped onto Lee Kuan Yew by "The Western Media" but we seem to want to draw the line at the criticisms.

Cherry picking and double standards much?

Even stranger still is that early on in the article, she wrote that she is self-aware enough to know that she cannot trust her own judgment about her father, hence, her need to rely on another person's opinion about Lee Kuan Yew:

I asked another doctor friend who had been involved in Papa's care since 1996: "What does LKY's death tell us about Singapore and Singaporeans?" I added that I did not trust my own feelings on this issue because my view of Papa would be coloured by my being his daughter.

Not to make too much of this point, but still: In the same sense, Singaporeans ought not to rely only on our own critical assessment of Singapore and ourselves, but those of others, such as foreigners -- be it good or bad assessments.

Plus, outright rejection of criticism based on its origin (i.e. turning a deaf ear to White Man from The Western media) is not a heuristic worth following: It is precisely a blind spot.

And we should be more critical of that.

Related articles:

Dr Lee Wei Ling’s eulogy was something Singaporeans would’ve appreciated to hear

Li Hongyi and Li Shengwu are the two latest Internet sensation from the Lee family

11 terms Lee Kuan Yew used that made you Google the meaning

Charlie Munger in 2010: ‘Don’t ask Charlie Munger. Study the life and work of Lee Kuan Yew, you’re going to be flabbergasted’

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