LESSONS NG SINGAPORE PARA SA MGA PILIPINO
By Maria Lourdes Sereno
Si dating Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew ng Singapore ay may malinaw na pagtingin sa character ni Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. at ng kaniyang pamilya, at kung ano ang kailangang ayusin sa Filipino culture. Mababasa ito sa isinulat nyang aklat na “From Third World to First”.
Matapos ang People Power Revolution, umasa si Lee Kuan Yew na makakaahon muli ang Pilipinas sa tulong ng sumunod na pangulo na si Corazon Aquino. Ngunit habang lumilipas ang panahon, ang hindi mabilang na banta ng kudeta sa Pilipinas ay lalong pinasama ang investment reputation ng bansa.
Narito ang ilan sa mga statements ni Lee Kuan Yew patungkol sa mga Pilipino:
“This was a pity because they had so many able people, educated in the Philippines and the United States. Their workers were English-speaking, at least in Manila. There was no reason why the Philippines should not have been one of the more successful of the ASEAN countries”.
“Something had gone seriously wrong. Millions of Filipino men and women had to leave their country for jobs abroad beneath their level of education. Filipino professionals whom we recruited to work in Singapore are as good as our own. Indeed, their architects, artists, and musicians are more artistic and creative than ours. Hundreds of thousands of them have left for Hawaii and for the American mainland. It is a problem the solution to which has not been made easier by the workings of a Philippine version of the American constitution.”
“The difference lies in the culture of the Filipino people. It is a soft, forgiving culture. Only in the Philippines could a leader like Ferdinand Marcos, who pillaged (pinagnakawan, binangkarote) his country for over 20 years, still be considered for a national burial. Insignificant amounts of the loot have been recovered, yet his wife and children were allowed to return and engage in politics. They supported the winning presidential and congressional candidates with their considerable resources and reappeared in the political and social limelight after the 1998 election that returned President Joseph Estrada.”
“Some Filipinos write and speak with passion. If they could get their elite to share their sentiments and act, what could they not have achieved?”
IBIG SABIHIN, huwag nating baluktutin ang forgiveness para paboran ang mga mandarambong. Huwag rin nating hayaan na ang gentleness natin ay abusuhin ng mga mapanlinlang na mga pamilya gaya ng mga Marcos.
Pansinin niyo po ang mga pinuna ni Lee Kuan Yew dito:
Una, si Marcos Sr. dahil sa kaniyang pagkasakim at pagnanakaw;
Pangalawa, ang ambisyon ng pamilya Marcos na bagamat nahatulan na ng napakaraming sektor sa pagnanakaw ay pilit pa ring bumalik sa kapangyarihan at pinondohan pa nga ang ibang mga pulitiko para sa pagbabalik na ito; at
Pangatlo, ang Pilipino na MALI ang pananaw sa “pagpapatawad” at pagiging “soft” kaya’t ang mga magnanakaw na politicians ay napapaboran.
Makinig po tayo kay Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Siguradong ang respeto ng mga Singaporean leaders sa Pilipino ay nakasalalay sa kung natuto ba tayo sa aral na ibinabahagi ni Lee Kuan Yew. Ang secret ng progress ng Singapore ay isang government that is HONEST and MERIT-BASED. Maipapakita ba yun ng Marcos family brand, kung mismong si Lee Kuan Yew ay ang tingin kay Marcos ay kawatan?
Bilib si Lee Kuan Yew sa individual talents ng mga Pinoy, ngunit hindi siya bilib sa political choices nila, gaya ng pag-accommodate muli sa mga Marcos. Gusto po ba nating hangaan tayo at igalang bilang isang bansa sa Singapore? Then, let’s take the lessons of history seriously.
