“Success arrives only when you are seriously disposed to something. Without the actual work the words of the leaders are pointless,” yesterday said the former Prime Minister of Singapore, author of the Singaporean Miracle Lee Kuan Yew.
To the words uttered by the 84-year-old man would silently consent or nod the members of our government – Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, minister of economy Nerses Yeritsyan, chairman of the Central Bank Artur Javadyan and others, including over 50 Armenian businessmen. It couldn’t be otherwise. This person during his life has proved that he understands well the nature of economy and the life in general. Lee Kuan Yew submitted the post of the Prime Minister in 1959. At that time Singapore was a poor and repressive country. The GDP per person was only 400 USD. In 1990 when he left the post of the Prime Minister the index was 12.000 USD per person. According to the data of 2008 the GDP per Singaporean is 51.000 USD. For a comparison let us say that in Armenia this index is 55.00 USD. For a better comparison let us mention that the territory of Singapore is less than 700 square kilometers. This small, densely populated country, which has miserable natural resources, is currently among the top prosperous countries. And it is natural that Lee Kuan Yew should speak proudly about this; he may even confidence some hues of lecturing because he and his administration not only succeeded in economically developing the country but also establish a culture, educate people and literally build a society from the zero point. The 84-year-old Lee Kuan Yew was telling the Armenian statesmen that back in the day the Singaporeans didn’t even know how to use the toilet. “It was easy. We moved these people to multi-floor buildings. Many of them would take their hens and pigs up to the 10th floor. It took us 4-5 years to teach these people that it was wrong to do so,” he says. And this is not all. He says that the Chinese (who make over 70% of the population of the country) were fond of spitting on the streets. They would spit even when leaving the theaters, near the entrances. Therefore it is not surprising that in Singapore the fine for spitting is 1500 Franks. Now they don’t spit any more. The former Prime Minister says that only by numbers it is hard to reach the level of developed states and that an educated and polite society is also needed for success. And so he breaks the stereotype that the smart man marries a pretty but stupid woman. As a result, the men, who marry women with diplomas of higher education, are awarded by the state. And the women, who have the second baby and not have a certificate of a higher education institution, end up paying fines. Moreover, Lee Kuan Yew thinks that the children can get a good education if their number is no more than 2 in the family. As a result, the police call the families, who have over two children every evening and warn them of using contraceptives. Many of you may just say that these people are crazy. But it turns out that these “crazy” people reached a level, which is used as an example by other states and many others are trying to resemble them. Our statesmen are no exception in this aspect. They don’t miss the occasion of pointing to the Singaporean model during their speeches. The Singaporean model is considered the least corrupt, the best for business starters, etc. In fact, this model is adequate for our statesmen because this country gives limited liberties to its citizens. Nevertheless, there is no reason why we wouldn’t repeat the Singaporean model. Moreover, our base is incomparable. If the Singaporeans got accustomed to toilets only in the end of the 20th century we had irrigation during the era of Urartu. And we had a theater during the tenure of King Artashes. And if the Singaporean government is making women to have diplomas then in Armenia almost all the women are striving for one to include in their dowries. And besides as our statesmen always claim we are Armenians and the smartest and most resourceful nation in the world. So there is no need to worry that years later all the others will start speaking about the “Armenian miracle.” Nothing hinders us from reaching success. But we won’t. Don’t get surprised but this is the opinion of Armenia’s Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan. According to Lee Kuan Yew their experience prompts that the high level education lays on the bases of efficient development of the state, for which necessary conditions should be created giving the youth an opportunity to study in the foreign high level educational establishments. The architect of Singapore’s economic miracle noted that his country is also surrounded with Muslims yet Singapore never picked quarrels with them and even offered help when necessary. In this context, Lee Kuan Yew added that Singapore managed to outdistance its neighbors and keep developing. ”Armenia has to resolve: no matter what happened in the past, the future is of greater importance,” Lee Kuan Yew emphasized. Yesterday during the joint press conference with Lee Kuan Yew he said, “We cannot reach the level of Singapore.” But there is no need to get frustrated because the Prime Minister continued in a wise smile, “because we should reach our Armenian goals.” Is it clear now? We will have our unique miracle and even the Singaporeans may end up being jealous of us. Nonetheless, Sargsyan confessed that many of the steps tested by Singapore are worth learning. We will hardly follow the route of Singapore. “In order to fight corruption it is worth starting from the leader,” says Lee Kuan Yew. “If the statesman has property that he cannot afford with his salary then he must have been corrupt. And he will have to prove at the court that he attained that property in a legal way.” Can you imagine how many statesmen would be arrested in Armenia if we had such a law? The second reason, which Lee Kuan Yew mentions in one of his articles, is this, “We have made many mistakes.” He brought up concrete examples. It means that these people are confessing that they had made mistakes. But our statesmen don’t make mistakes. At least they are sure of that. “I was feeling that the confidence of people had an essential role in the fight for survival of Singapore,” in one of his speeches mentioned Lee Kuan Yew. Our statesmen also speak about confidence but only during elections. Besides that Lee Kuan Yew is against overcoming difficulties with the help of others. “I was always sure that people should never rely on someone else’s help and support. The world doesn’t have to feed us. We cannot be fed by beggary and we should always rely on us,” reads one of his articles. Yesterday one of the participants of the forum asked whether a country, which is receiving support from outside, can be competitive (by meaning that Armenia is receiving a support worth millions of dollars). “I don’t believe in the help. But if they send us help from the Diaspora it helps us speed up the process of development,” answered Lee Kuan Yew perhaps due to politeness. But we instead brag when some international organizations agrees to help us financially by considering us a poor African state. We receive help to build our Armenian, very Armenian world.