ABSTRACT
It is somewhat ironic that an Asian leader who has achieved a widelyreputed global stature in the contemporary period has been the leader of one of its smallest nations: Lee Kuan Yew has become a leader – like Castro in Cuba – whose reputation has outgrown that of his country, to the extent that it is unquestioned and unchallenged. It is almost impossible to think of Cuba without Castro, or Singapore without Lee Kuan Yew, because the two diametrically opposed ideologies of these nations are represented by their leaders’ beliefs and values so that both countries appear to be manifestations of their complex psychologies. Existing alongside much larger and potentially threatening neighbours, the size difference of Cuba and Singapore was used by both leaders as an excuse for autocratic rule. Both leaders experienced similar personal and historical circumstances: they were born into upper middle class families, educated in the most prestigious schools and colleges,1 studied law and were politically inspired by a rejection of colonialism. Both were so successful in dominating their national political culture, and extinguishing any effective opposition that, paradoxically, as with Mahathir, their major failing was in ensuring their succession.
