The late Lee Kuan Yew was an anti-graft hero

Singaporean statesman Lee Kuan Yew, who passed away last week, will be remembered for a great many things. One of his legacies in particular can be used to motivate Thailand in its stuttering fight against corruption. Singapore was not much better off than Thailand during Lee's first days as its leader, but he turned it around, using a strong political will that left many corrupt Cabinet members reeling.

His anti-corruption philosophy is the most basic and most difficult at the same time. A leader shall not protect crooked subordinates – it’s as simple as that. Singapore used to be plagued by corruption, which spread from politics at the highest level to day-to-day life. Lee Kuan Yew’s approach was simple: if the country is to be cleaned up, it must be from the top down.

The anti-corruption system he advocated received strong support and it went about its business in a no-nonsense manner. Many heads rolled off the anti-graft block and several belonged to high-ranking government officials. Face-saving never came into play, as he declared that a small country lacking in natural resources could not survive without a transparent, honest 

and accountable administration.

Under Lee, Singapore’s battle against corruption was a lot different from that of Thailand, where clampdowns on graft are heavily politicised, thus very biased and selective. Government leaders are more worried about saving face than promoting a genuine national conscience that unconditionally despises corruption. In Thailand, corrupt ministers are protected by prime ministers and government parties. Censure debates are supposed to be an integral part of the checks-and-balances mechanism but degenerate into occasional numerical showdowns, won by the governments without fail.

On the one hand, Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew evolved into a political system in which the government faced little or no opposition. On the other, a questionable democratic system that seemed like a good breeding ground for political crooks became anything but. Singapore is now considered one of the world’s least corrupt countries. Investors give Singapore a strong vote of confidence, while development has been fast and undisrupted.

When it comes to the Thai political crisis, Singapore has not always been seen in a good light. Its close connection with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra means one half of Thailand can never fully trust the neighbouring country. However, Singapore’s friendship with the fugitive telecoms tycoon would seem to make a mockery of its status as a clean and transparent nation.

But let’s just forget about the controversial diplomacy for a while. If we are to learn anything from Singapore, it should be the country’s political will to protect its own interests against national corruption. That political will was instilled largely by Lee Kuan Yew, who gave us a memorable quote about graft and Singapore’s ability to survive. He made it clear that corruption was an evil that, if left unchecked, would put the country in jeopardy.

That Singapore was able to kick many ministers out of office for alleged corruption may have something to do with its political structure, which gave the opposition little opportunity to capitalise on graft scandals. However, it doesn’t mean countries like Thailand, where corruption is heavily politicised, cannot adopt the same kind of political will. It might be politically messy at first, as corruption is deep-rooted in this country and governments fall on a regular basis, but we should be able to see light at the end of the tunnel one day.