CIA's failed attempt to bribe Lee Kuan Yew
mothership.sg
mothership.sg
Based off his background (old moneyed, Cambridge educated) and how he governed Singapore (with an iron fist), obtaining more wealth was probably low on his list of priorities, what he wants is power.
He definitely had character.
Lee rejected the offer, and asked the U.S. to provide formal economic aid to Singapore instead.
Wait, so instead of taking the money personally, he just asked the CIA to give it to Singapore? And he still kept it secret?
Still sounds like a bribe to me.
It shows a lot about Lee’s character…many Asian, Latin American, and African leaders have sold out their countries for less.
Singapore really lucked out having Lee Kuan Yew in charge in its early stages.
It's the same as if someone tried to bribe me by giving money to my parents. It doesn't benefit me directly, but it benefits me.
In your metaphor, it's as if you're working to negotiate a deal on behalf of your parents for the family business.
But if someone agrees to it in exchange for staying silent, that's still a bribe.
In other words, he was Andy Dufresne negotiating beers for his fellow inmates.
As the head of the state, his is responsible for the state, and not more.
Here, he asked US to pay the state instead of himself. Whether or not it would actually turn out to be a net benefit to the state is one matter, but given the information we have, he acted in accordance to his duty. You can't call that bribery.
Maybe you think he has a moral obligation to not keep quiet, and he defied that obligation. But no, that's not how it works. A head of state that chooses this as a hill to die on, regardless of trade-offs, is one that fails his people.
> This led the U.S. ambassador to Malaysia and the State Department to both deny the incident, which prompted a furious Lee to furnish Rusk's formal letter of apology as proof of the incident.
> "The Americans should know the character of the men they are dealing with in Singapore and not get themselves further dragged into calumny.....They are not dealing with Ngo Dinh Diem or Syngman Rhee. You do not buy and sell this Government."