I have been looking forward to read your further blogs and see what you have made of your first few days in Singapore after such a hard trip, hoping that you would be able to add in some photos of what you saw and did in Singapore.

I must say that I was not expecting to read your summary of how Singapore came about, or your views about the governance in Singapore. I don’t know if you knew much about Singapore before coming here or where or how you have obtained your information, but unfortunately I believe that there are several factual errors in what you have written and do not believe that your last paragraph of observations is factually correct, or can be considered fair or warranted.

Lee Kuan Yew is held in high regard by most Singaporeans. He and his political party the PAP went through, elections every five years, and won overwhelming majorities each time.

He cannot be held up and compared to Suharto and called a dictator as you have done.

When you understand this region a bit more you will understand that nation building, economic prosperity, health, welfare and avoiding social unrest in a rather diverse community were held as much more important than a western style free media, if indeed such a thing exists.

Singapore’s future was rather bleak in the early independent years. A very far cry indeed from today. Utopia as you call it. Economic prosperity and well being as most Singaporeans would refer to it.

I do realize they are your own opinions, and it’s your blog, but in my case I don’t agree with what you have written, and many people within the country that you are a guest in at the moment will find what you have written unfair and offensive.

Good luck with the rest of your trip.

Great job in prompting rational discussion - fascinating to me seeing/hearing/reading world views from those with much more real world experience than myself. I love Rich Herron’s quote: “Father of history or father of lies, depends on how well you take someone else’s travel report about your people I guess.” I enjoy hearing both sides…

BTW - love the blog! Dedicated reader… I enjoy all of the posts - the boat, the nature, the local cultures. Thank you!

Now here’s some interesting stuff: Singapore could be misnamed!

From wikipedia:
“The name Singapura comes from the Malay words singa (”lion”) and pura (”city”).[11] According to the Malay Annals, this name was given by a 14th century Sumatran prince named Sang Nila Utama, who, landing on the island after a thunderstorm, spotted an auspicious beast on the shore that his chief minister identified as a lion.[12] Recent studies of Singapore indicate that lions have never lived there (not even Asiatic lions), and the beast seen by Sang Nila Utama was likely a tiger, most likely the Malayan Tiger.”

I was there 25 years ago. The only thing I can remember is Raffles bar and prawns. HUGE, delicious prawns.

I never miss a day.

Have to agree with Peter Sheppard, all of your reports are interesting,
but I love the one’s on the water.

Keep up the good work, and be safe.

1. “Dictator” does not refer to how one got into power, but instead how much power they are allowed to wield in office. Singapore’s Lee wields a tremendous amount of power and thus falls in the “dictator” category. Not all dictators are bad, some are benevolent leaders who do great things for their countries that would not be possible with less power, such as Singapore. Too much power in the right set of hands can bring about much good, just as too much power in the wrong hands can bring about much bad.

2. This is a journal of all the things we experience – see, do and learn — on our journey. We are not merely sightseeing; we are trying to learn more about the people, lifestyle and cultures of each country we visit. Understanding the history, religion and political structure is fundamental to understanding the culture and mentality of the people. Also, understanding the politics (what is not legal, how the police operate, etc), as well as social taboos, keep us from foolishly getting ourselves into trouble.

3. As it is clearly spelled out in “About This Blog”, this is a travel log and not a boating site. Yes, we talk about Kosmos a lot because she is both our home and our primary mode of transport, but boating is not the primary focus of this site.