The young should give MM due respect, credit

April 19, 2006
The Straits Times

IT PAINED me to watch the repeat telecast of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's dialogue with the younger generation.

I felt sorry for MM Lee having to defend his continuing presence in Singapore politics. The numerous interruptions from the floor when he reminisced about the fight against the communists and Barisan Sosialis showed that the younger generation - those below 30 years - is simply not interested in the past.

To them, MM is a 'has been'. His experience is history and he is perceived, rightly or wrongly, to impede rather than further Singapore's current politics.

Never mind the fact that he has led Singapore from Third World to First. And they couldn't care less that MM is well respected by many countries and that he can open a lot more doors for us than any other minister.

In their limited world view, through no fault of theirs as they are young, the present and the immediate is more important. They clearly do not care about history and giving MM his due respect and credit. I almost flipped when one of them asked him why he is still hanging around and not retiring.

In case you are wondering, I am in my late 30s.

While I enjoyed the dialogue as some of the questions were bold and refreshing, some made me feel uncomfortable. To make MM justify his political presence reflects not only the ignorance of this cohort of young people about his contributions but also the mentality that as he is already so old, he should just retire and disappear. I wonder how we can bridge this huge divide and disconnect.

Today, our younger generation is brought up to process information quickly in order to respond to the rapidly changing world. I can understand why the past is readily dismissed as irrelevant because we need to constantly move forward and the past would be considered an information overload.

However, to take for granted the man who laid the foundation for all that we have today - clean government, racial and religious harmony, meritocracy, education, public housing and medical care - is callous.

The conventional wisdom is that our future lies with our young. However, if my future is in the hands of these young people, I wonder if they will take care of me when I am old, on account of my contribution to the country when I was young.

We are looking at a 'what-can-you-do-for-me' generation. It is transactional and there is no gratitude.

Hopefully, when they reach their 30s and beyond and have seen some of the world and contributed enough to the country, their families and their children, they will begin to appreciate MM, who braved impossible odds to clear the path for us so that we may all pursue our dreams.

Tan Bee Lan (Miss)