A leader should sound like this.

Not like those dull speechces without intonation and clearly lack of spirit to make people think. Those we have been listening to for the past 4 years.

The youtube on ZAM (Minster of Information) still bugs me. A leader yet not even close to being articulate. Besides, he answered Al Jazeera's questions so badly, it appeared (or may be it was in actual fact) rather personal and emotional.

I normally just browse through morning papers, not that I agree with all Lee Kuan Yew's policies but this is to me an example of a good leader addressing the rakyat. Apparently, it was a 35-minute off-the-cuff speech in English and then Mandarin.


Using the same timeframe, he then spoke at length on Singapore’s growth in the global economy as he issued a warning.

“We are doing fine, we’re likely to do well, but there are dangerous market signals,” he said.

He cited especially oil prices, now nearing US$100 (RM334) a barrel, which he finds unbelievable.

In response, the United States is looking to turn corn into ethanol, an alternative source of fuel. This has a domino effect on food prices.

“When you turn food into energy, food prices go up. When you have grain turned into something else, (prices of) chickens go up, pigs go up.

“So there’s a real possibility that a year down the road, prices go out of control, America goes into recession, stop buying so much, China stops exporting so much, India stops exporting, we also stop exporting so much ...

“Please remember don’t just believe that everything is just going to go up and never come down,” he said.

“I won’t be here for very long, I’m already 84, I’m giving you disinterested advice. In 10 years’ time, you may go up, you may go down, I’m not likely to be able to address you, I’ll be 94. If I’m around, I’ll be in a wheelchair.”

However, Lee is confident Singapore will come through the turbulence in top form.

He pointed to several major investments already snagged: the integrated resorts, a S$6.3bil Norwegian project to build the world’s largest integrated solar plant, ExxonMobil’s US$4bil (RM13.4bil) petrochemical plant and Formula One racing.

“So ... even if the world economy goes slowly down, the construction work that goes on with these investments and the two Integrated Resorts and Formula One and the hotels, you will not starve,” he said.

picked from THE STAR today.