{"id":77647,"date":"2026-08-19T12:31:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T04:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=77647"},"modified":"2026-08-19T12:31:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T04:31:44","slug":"was-lee-kuan-yew-actually-more-open-to-persuasion-than-singaporeans-realise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=77647","title":{"rendered":"Was Lee Kuan Yew actually more open to persuasion than Singaporeans realise?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Synopsis: Conversations and interviews that give you something to think about. Each Wednesday, In Your Opinion speaks to thinkers, leaders and the people shaping our lives and the issues of the day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Governing Singapore today is a tough task, made more difficult by frequent comparisons with the immediate post-independence decades \u2013 a period dominated by the towering figure of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"responsive-iframe-base podcast aspect-landscape podcast-embed\" title=\"podcast embed\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/omny.fm\/shows\/in-your-opinion\/can-you-change-lee-kuan-yew-s-mind-he-will-listen-say-s-jayakumar\/embed\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer;falseclipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;\" loading=\"eager\" height=\"180\" data-testid=\"responsiveIframe\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Yet was Lee more open to persuasion than we realise? Was governing Singapore far more complex, nuanced and more akin to a team sport?\u00a0What enabled the Singapore Cabinet to have vociferous debates on policy including the Elected Presidency, the Group Representation Constituency and the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament?<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">And after recent developments and the power of hindsight, would one of their chief architects say they\u2019re due for a refresh?<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">These are the subjects of the book Creating Three Unique Singapore Laws: An Inside Story by S. Jayakumar, launched on Aug 12.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In an exclusive hour-long podcast with The Straits Times opinion editor Lin Suling, he opens up on Cabinet deliberations and sheds light on a milieu in Singapore\u2019s history after the 1981 Anson by-election, which sparked the creation of three powerful institutions that have become indelible parts of Singapore\u2019s political system.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Highlights (click\/tap above):<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">1:49 Are recent resignations of minority Members of Parliament a setback for the GRC system? Is the GRC system due for a review?<\/p>\n<p>13:03 Has public understanding on the limits of the Elected Presidency improved?<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">21:26 Was the NCMP scheme created to secure the ruling People\u2019s Action Party\u2019s dominance in Parliament?<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">29:27 Do PAP backbenchers pull their punches in Parliament? What was it like being <!-- -->J.B. Jeyaretnam\u2019s<!-- --> \u201csparring partner\u201d?<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">31:41 Was Lee Kuan Yew actually more open to persuasion than Singaporeans realise?<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">33:15 What allowed Lee\u2019s Cabinet to have such vociferous debates? Does <!-- -->S. Jayakumar <!-- -->worry about political correctness dampening discussions? What does it take to recruit capable Cabinet Ministers?<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">40:50 Why did a proposal on constitutional design go through DEFCO \u2013 the defence council overseeing national security?<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">44:04 Are any of Singapore\u2019s constitutional institutions due for a refresh?<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">47:04 How did <!-- -->S. Jayakumar<!-- --> balance heavy ministerial portfolios with constituency duties in Bedok and family life?<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Creating Three Unique Singapore Laws: An Inside Story is published by Straits Times Press and available for $38.90 (excluding GST) at major bookstores and online at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stbooks.sg\/?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_self\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stbooks.sg\/?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">https:\/\/www.stbooks.sg<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stbooks.sg\/?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Read ST\u2019s Opinion section: <a href=\"https:\/\/str.sg\/w7sH?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_self\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\"><a href=\"https:\/\/str.sg\/w7sH?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">https:\/\/str.sg\/w7sH<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Follow Lin Suling on LinkedIn: <a href=\"https:\/\/str.sg\/hiLQ?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_self\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\"><a href=\"https:\/\/str.sg\/hiLQ?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">https:\/\/str.sg\/hiLQ<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Host: Lin Suling (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/mailto:linsuling@sph.com.sg\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_self\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/mailto:linsuling@sph.com.sg\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">linsuling@sph.com.sg<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/a>)<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Produced and edited by: Teo Tong Kai<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Executive producers: Danson Cheong and Lynda Hong<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Follow In Your Opinion Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Channel:<a href=\"https:\/\/str.sg\/w7Qt?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/str.sg\/w7Qt?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 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class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/str.sg\/icyX?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_self\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\"><a href=\"https:\/\/str.sg\/icyX?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">https:\/\/str.sg\/icyX<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">&#8212;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/can-you-change-lee-kuan-yews-mind-he-will-listen-say-s-jayakumar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Synopsis: Conversations and interviews that give you something to think about. Each Wednesday, In Your Opinion speaks to thinkers, leaders and the people shaping our&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":77648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=77647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/77648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=77647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=77647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=77647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}