The Romance of Old Singapore

Dr. X posts this from the Fullerton:

"Wha a beautiful and wonderful place. Late Thursday night my wife and I were relaxing in the moonlight, sipping cool beverages and listening to a jazz trio explore the work of Nat King Cole. Nearby a monkey played at the edge of a reflection pool, while farther off a peacock could be heard rounding up his harem for the night.

"Gazing out over the palm trees I felt a profound sense of centredness, but also of loss.

" 'What are you thinking, dear?' asked Mrs. X.

" 'Well,' I replied, 'I was just thinking of the magnitude of the British military failure against the Japanese on the Malay Peninsula in 1942. We're accustomed to thinking of the Battle of Singapore as a discrete event, but it was really the culmination of a series of battles in which the British showed they had learned nothing from the events of the past two years. The Japanese, with inferior numbers but superior air power and mobility, forced the British steadily back, until finally, here, on this isolated island at the southern tip of Asia, they could retreat no further.

" 'And did they then turn and mount a heroic defense? Did they lure the Japanese, Stalingrad-like, into urban warfare, where their air superiorty and mobility could be neutralized? Did they deceive the enemy as the their whereabouts? Did they actively counterattack to throw the enemy off balance and slow their momentum?

" 'No, and Percival, meekly, went under a white flag, to the Ford Motor Factory, to capitulate. When he asked for a bit more time, Yamashita just stared at him in contempt. Percival did have the decency to go into captivity with his men. At that moment the wretched Lord Bennett was turning his command over to a brigadeer, and hopping on a boat for Australia.

" 'It is all forgotten now, darling, in the hubbub of the malls, the din of traffic, and the clamor of the stock exchange. The world rushes onward, and a wise man would let the memory fade.

" 'But here, in this place, is where the rottenness of the British Empire first showed for all the world to see. Quietly, slowly, imperceptibly, its elites had gone from hard men willing to sacrifice all, to ordinary men, the best acting like good civil servants, and the worst like cads. It must have been a sad moment for the Chinese here to see that it had all been a facade - when their worst enemies came calling, that this was the best account the British could give of themselves.'

"I cannot exactly recall her reaction to this, but let me add some additional thoughts. From that moment on, the leadership of the Chinese community in Singapore must have understood that they were on their own, come what may. Lee Kuan Yew is a hard man and has been much-mocked for this, but the soft men of his generation are all dead. It is much easier to understand him if you look at where he came from - a history of British colonization, Japanese military occupation and atrocities, and the fight against the communists in the 50s.

"Singapore is a strange place, but I think it is most interesting as a touchstone for conservative thought. You can tell pretty quickly what kind of conservative you are dealing with by how they react to Singapore. Thatcher loved it, despite the fact that it is the quintessential nanny state (85% of housing is built by the government). It is corporate, family-centered, and has less crime than virtually any other large city. Others, such as William Safire, have taken a different view, noting its dictatorial tendencies and brutal suppression of dissent.

"It is easy, being an American, to share Safire's views. I wish I could tell you it was a relief to come home. But stepping off the plane and meeting the black-uniformed security people, submitting to questioning about my holiday-making, going through the umpteenth inspection of my personal effect, I cannot say I felt any palpable lifting of the weight. It saddens me deeply to have to admit that."