/substanceBreakling reply @dmuthuk /substance 2026-09-07
Original · Muthukrishnan Dhandapani
Lee Kuan Yew did not wipe corruption out of the human heart. He made it rare, dangerous, and shameful at every level that mattered. That is different from a magic clean society. It is a system. He started with himself. When well wishers sent gifts after he took office, he refuse…
/substanceBreakling
Lee Kuan Yew did not remove corruption from the human heart. He made it rare, dangerous and shameful through a system: he refused gifts himself and held ministers to the same rule, gave the anti-graft bureau power over anyone including ministers, paid officials enough that they did not need bribes, and made the bribe a public stain rather than a clever move. Remove any one piece and it weakens. Singapore stayed clean because the men at the top were willing to punish their own, which is the part most countries refuse.