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| Lawrence Wong's Facebook Page |
Yesterday was Singapore's 59th foundation day. Okay, I missed it but it's not too late to write this post. Above is a photo of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong shaking hands with President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr. Whenever Singapore is mentioned, I noticed that some Filipino clowns on Facebook (or any social media) tend to say, "Oh no! Not Singapore again! The Singapore card again! I'm getting tired of the Singapore argument!" Some of these Filipino Facebook clowns may even have the habit of blaming the rich for their poverty, saying that the rich don't really need that money (never mind big businesses require big amounts of money to sustain it), and maybe even raise the same old Flor Contemplacion Card (read here). This reminds me that I wrote a post mentioning that the Philippines will never get richer by blaming its richer neighbors. One of the neighbors is Singapore.
It can be a common practice for the poor to hate the rich. Okay, not all the poor hate the rich and not all the rich got rich by exploitation. However, some fools on Facebook say that rags-to-riches stories are impossible--unless one did something illegal. I wonder where they get their ideas? They still believe that all the rich are evil only because they're rich. What they don't realize is that the rags-to-riches journey is never a get-rich-quick-fast story. If only they read more rags-to-riches stories, they would realize the journey was never easy. The late Henry Sy Sr. started out peddling shoes and Lucio Tan Sr. was once a janitor at Fortune Tobacco. Maybe, my favorite example is Warren Edward Buffett, something I'll never be but he's someone I can learn from. Singapore is also a rags-to-riches story as demonstrated by the great late Lee Kuan Yew, someone who people tell me that I should follow him to the grave. I guess these people are still mourning over Flor, never mind that the evidence of her guilt is that stacked up.
While reading the book From Third World to First by LKY, I was amazed at the policies that he went for. In fact, LKY had to deal with third-world-minded economists who taught people that foreign investment is bad. However, LKY proved them wrong when he brought in the late Albert Winsemius to help Singapore. LKY made policies that allowed Singapore to become a shining example. A lot of photos of Singapore before LKY, would look like Tondo, Manila, today. Singapore's rise from rags to riches attracted other countries. In fact, people went to Singapore seeking LKY's advice. Today, we've got people looking up to Kishore Mahbani, not Atty. Hilario Davide Jr. for advice on national success!
As I was reading From Third World to First--I saw the difference between the Philippines and the other Asian countries. China was devastated by the late Mao Zedong's long reign. Vietnam was still learning the ropes of economics. The Philippines had suffered economic setbacks during the first Marcos Administration. However, there's a difference there. Vietnam's late great leader Nguyen Duy Cong aka Do Muoi was amazed by LKY. Instead of blaming Singapore, Do Muoi decided to learn from Singapore. The late Deng Xiaoping did the same thing. The late Fidel V. Ramos wanted to implement reforms. However, misinformation on the part of the Philippine media was there. Later, LKY called the Philippine press to be rambunctious. The same truth is true today, as it continues to demonize the need for charter change.
If you think about it, the poor aren't necessarily poor because the rich got richer. I'm not saying that the exploitation of the poor by the rich is non-existent. Some people get rich by exploiting the poor (and some poor people even got there) but such wealth is unsustainable. Any wealth that's not given to long-term isn't advisable. Eventually, the employees either do a riot or peacefully leave for better employment. However, when I listen to some people who used to be poor, they talk about why some of their childhood peers remained poor. Some poor people remain poor because of their poor choices in life. Some people are born into poverty. However, some people become poor or stay poor because of poor life choices. Is it the fault of the rich if a poor person remains poor because he or she chooses to go gambling instead of investing (read here) or other similar habits? Is it the fault of the rich if the poor person remains poor because they choose to drain their paycheck (read here)?
If Singapore gets rich, it doesn't automatically mean the Philippines become poor. Was it Singapore's fault that the Philippines is still following the lousy Filipino First Policy? Was it Singapore's fault that the Philippines continues to have too many restrictions in the outdated 1987 Constitution of the Philippines? Was it Singapore's fault that the Philippines is so much into personality politics? Why can't we have a win-win scenario where the Philippines can get rich while Singapore gets rich too? Instead, some Filipinos want to play the zero-sum game where the Philippines loses if Singapore (or any richer neighbor) wins. I believe that any Filipino saying, "We can't learn anything from Singapore." might be a bitter person, thinking it's Singapore's fault that the Philippines is poor. If they want to say that the late Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. made Singapore "rich" with the Marcos Wealth--that can be easily disproven by LKY's words in the book From Third World to First. Take note that LKY also called Cesar Virata a non-leader, verifying that the Philippines never had a parliamentary form of government.
That's why the ASEAN was formed. That's why the Philippines is part of ASEAN. ASEAN was created to promote economic and political stability. The Philippines was never meant to be an isolationist state. The Philippines can learn from its ASEAN neighbors, which includes Singapore. As Buffett would say, "Surround yourself with people better than you are." Nothing good comes out of hating people more than you are. The Philippines can't expect to get better if it just keeps playing the blame game either.