Wolf Review(Living the Asian Century, AN UNDIPLOMATIC MEMOIR by Kishore Mahbubani)
Living the Asian Century. AN UNDIPLOMATIC MEMOIR by Kishore Mahbubani is different from his earlier books which were largely geopolitics focused . This book is more personal. It was a beautifully written memoir on one of Singapore’s most established diplomats. It feels like a well aged vintage wine that drew you into his story. The professor, being a very good storyteller, brings you on a time travel machine with his memories of his childhood years. His story mimics those of Singapore’s success. He attributed his personal success to two miracles. First coming to Singapore to join his father who was on odd jobs and the awarding of a life transformative President scholarship by the Singapore government for his university education. Through this gift of education, it created the opportunity for him to turn around his family’s fortune.
The professor gave a glimpse of what it was like growing up. He mentioned his great fortune of been able to grow up in Singapore, something he described as a lottery. He would be less confident of doing well if he had been born in some other Third World country under the British Empire. Prof. Mahbubani was dealt with a poor hand during his childhood. Life in Singapore was tough living under the shadow of poverty. His dad led a turbulent life plagued by alcoholism and gambling addiction. Getting into fights and the display of abusive behaviour were a common occurrence. That childhood experience molded him into what he is today. There were personal stories about his divorce of his first marriage and the death of their child that touched the hearts of his readers.
During his 33 years of distinguished service at the Singapore Foreign Office, he was posted to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, during their trouble years. There were military coups, wars and genocide. Bombs were exploding near his residency. There were near-death encounters. In America, he had great memories of his posting in NYC, where generally people are more hospitable. His years in Malaysia were seen with suspicion by the host due to the Singapore-Malaysia rivalry.
His next posting came as ambassador to the UN, where he made his mark. He was in-depth with his work at UN, and he tried his hardest to reorganise UNSC in a better way, but he was met with considerable resistance from the P-5. The great powers of the world sought to undermine multilateralism, weakening the very institution that was created for the same reason. He enjoyed some success in lobbying for resolutions that were beneficial to the African nations. That gesture won him a lot of friends from Africa. He was key in the successful lobbying of nations to condemn Vietnam for its invasion of Cambodia. Vietnam did a complete withdrawal from Cambodia in 1989. There were stories about how small states were “bullied” at the UNSC which Singapore chaired during the US invasion of Iraq after the 9-11 terrorist attack on America. The readers will be able to understand the internal workings of the United Nation and why UN represents the best institution to participate for any aspiring country.
There was a time he aspired for higher office. He was given a PAP interview on the recommendation by Mr. Dhanabalan, his boss at MFA previously. The final interview went terribly wrong. He gave an impression that he was an individual player. People’s Action Party valued team playing as an important attribute to joining the party. His individualism and straight talking might have rubbed on the wrong side during the interview. It might be the main reason for getting a blackball from joining higher office. A person that speaks with such raw clarity is a rare find in our governmental organisation. Although his quick tongue and no bs views were well sought after by Goh Keng Swee and Lee Kwan Yew, but that wasn’t always appreciated by his fellow peers, sometimes, at the detriment of his personal career.
His other appointment included Deen of LKY School of Public Policy. He has enormous respect for Mr. Lee. When Dr. Tony Tan asked him whether he would be interested in accepting an appointment as Deen of the School. He took it with great pleasure and pride. His major contribution included seeking a SGS $100m donation from HK richest man, Mr. Li Ka Shing. By the time he left the post, the school had more than SGD $500m in endowment funds to support students/diplomats from poorer countries seeking an education in the school. LKY School of Public Policy, within its short history, rose in stature as one of the leading schools of public policy in the world.
The book goes on Lone Wolf investor recommendation list for people wanting to know an insider view of Singapore’s foreign policy. The title is one of the more interesting memoir I had read this year.
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All investments is highly speculative in nature and involves substantial risk of loss. We encourage our reader to invest very carefully. We also encourage reader to get personal advice from your professional investment advisor and to make independent investigations before acting on information that we publish. Much of our information is derived directly from information published by companies or submitted to governmental agencies on which we believe are reliable but are without our independent verification. Therefore, we cannot assure you that the information is accurate or complete. We do not in any way whatsoever warrant or guarantee the success of any action you take in reliance on our statements. All information provided are for education only. Buyer beware,do you own due diligence.
Please consider following us on telegram for the latest update on Lone Wolf investor by clicking on the link below. No form filling, no payment required, no collection of data, no data mining, no hard selling, no obligation.
https://t.me/joinchat/oCgkD3sQFRMzMWM1
Disclaimers
All investments is highly speculative in nature and involves substantial risk of loss. We encourage our reader to invest very carefully. We also encourage reader to get personal advice from your professional investment advisor and to make independent investigations before acting on information that we publish. Much of our information is derived directly from information published by companies or submitted to governmental agencies on which we believe are reliable but are without our independent verification. Therefore, we cannot assure you that the information is accurate or complete. We do not in any way whatsoever warrant or guarantee the success of any action you take in reliance on our statements. All information provided are for education only. Buyer beware,do you own due diligence.
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