LKY’s “Chinese is useless” doctrine, the shameful pride of failing mother tongue, and an irreversible legacy —Subtitle: Is this the real reason behind Lawrence Wong’s miscalculation on Sino-Japan relations?

 

LKY’s “Chinese is useless” doctrine, the shameful pride of failing mother tongue, and an irreversible legacy

—Subtitle: Is this the real reason behind Lawrence Wong’s miscalculation on Sino-Japan relations?

We are not here to completely negate Lee Kuan Yew. In his time, his choice may have been the least bad one. But history is never a single-answer question. When he placed English on a pedestal for the sake of survival, he also planted a time bomb for Singapore’s future — a bomb that exploded in Lawrence Wong’s speech, that surfaced in Ong Ye Kung’s address, and that will continue to ache in every future generation of young Singaporeans.

Wong’s “miscalculation” on Sino-Japan relations is not because he is a bad diplomat. It is because he is a typical product of Singapore’s linguistic machinery. He is not an exception — he is the standard model. And most citizens agree with him. If even the Prime Minister cannot instinctively understand that history — and the majority of the population sees nothing wrong with that — on whose strategic judgment can this country rely?

Lee Kuan Yew gave Singapore a prosperous shell, but extracted the soul that understands Asia. That bill is now being paid in installments — by Lawrence Wong’s generation, and by every Singaporean.