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Lee Kuan Yew and Oz: white trash or white tribe of Asia (2)
Posted By Graeme Dobell on April 9, 2015 @ 06:00
‘After several more visits in the 1960s I concluded that Australia was indeed a lucky country with an embarrassment of riches, and there was no reason why it should not continue to prosper, on and on, effortlessly. But the world’s economy underwent basic changes after the quadrupling of the price of oil in 1973...Britain’s membership of the European Community in 1971 hastened the decline in Australia’s primary exports to Europe. The underpinnings of a comfortable Australian way of life were slowly but inexorably dissolving. The Lucky Country thesis was not valid for all time.’
‘Gough Whitlam and Lee Kuan Yew are men of substantial intellect, ego and self-confidence. They tended to compete and tensions between them became evident from time to time. Lee regarded Gough as a ‘new boy’ at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Ottawa in 1973. He also considered Gough to be impulsive, especially in his repartee. Gough regarded Lee as rather self-important and a leader who occasionally chose to lecture Australia. Over a tea break Gough said to Lee that when the history of the 1970s was written it would be recorded that he (Lee) had made a unique contribution to political science and governance. Lee looked pleased and a little bit suspicious. ‘Why do you say that?’ he asked.
Whitlam replied: ‘I have two matters in mind. One, you formed a coalition with the communists and, once in power, you prevented them taking over and successfully dumped them.’ Lee acknowledged this and smiled.
‘Second,’ Gough continued, ‘you are the first political leader to use the Westminster system to create a one-party state out of a democracy.’ There was no smile this time.’
‘No Asian expects Australia to convert itself into an Asian nation, either linguistically, in language, culture or religion or by race. But there are certain parts of the old Australia, the old Australian culture and attitudes which will not be compatible with this easy relationship with Asia. For instance, if I could broach a very delicate subject, this idea that all Asians need to be told how to behave and conduct themselves, that their ways of doing things are crude, that they are culturally inadequate, that they are politically immature, that they run oppressive regimes, that they have such deplorable standards of human rights; generally not up to standard.’
Dobell: That quote, or that warning, about Australia becoming the white trash of Asia. I know that you have, in some senses, have disowned that quote or...
Lee: No I’ve never disowned it. It was said in 1978, 79.
Dobell: Do you think Australia, because of its economic changes, has Australia moved past that danger of being the white trash of Asia?
Lee: Well, Paul Keating said something not very far different when he also tried to shock Australia, which was my intention, from a sense of complacency, when he said, ‘Watch out, we’re going to become a banana republic.’ I think it is a problem you will always have to live with. You know that you are sitting on an enormous wealth of riches. All you need do is dig it up from the ground – coal, uranium, diamonds, gold. You name it, Australia’s got it. Australians go on strike from time to time when digging for it, but the Japanese will come with more automated machines and will not require many Australian workers. And so all you’ve got to do is collect the rent.
Dobell: Is it still a danger you see for Australia, as it goes to Asia?
Lee: Well I think, culturally, in you work attitudes, in you motivations, because of your circumstance, you will not have that same drive, that same intensity of purpose, to make up for the lack of resources. Most East Asians—Koreans, Chinese, Vietnamese—are resource poor, and they’ve just got to make up for it by the extra effort. So they gear themselves and become very intense and highly determined people, out to do better, because that’s the only way they can improve their lives.
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URL to article: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/lee-kuan-yew-and-oz-2/
[1] Image: http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/16374568703_17a89b1ff7_z.jpg
[2] last column: http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/lee-kuan-yew-and-oz-white-trash-or-white-tribe-of-asia-1/
[3] previously noted: http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/lee-kuan-yew-and-oz/
[4] Australian: http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/to-argue-with-a-prime-minister/
[5] diplomat: http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/to-think-and-to-do-in-defence/
[6] column: http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/2012/07/04/Lucky-in-the-Asian-Century.aspx
[7] 1974 cartoon: http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/131760/20120120-0944/www.nla.gov.au/pub/nlanews/2004/jun04/story-5.pdf
[8] wonderful anecdote: http://books.google.com.au/books/about/The_Hot_Seat.html?id=BFrqPQAACAAJ&redir_esc=y
[9] Asian Financial Crisis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Asian_financial_crisis
[10] here: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/onairhighlights/450892