From CDHR
January 31, 2008
Time to Surpass Stone Age Mentality
By Ali Alyami
The Saudi royal family’s policies and practices of rejecting modern economic and democratic developments have been under relentless global and domestic attack in recent years, especially since September 11, 2001. The most recent assault came from a humble but genius leader, Singaporean Minister, Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who changed the outlook of his small country’s diverse population, comprised of four ethnic nationalities, nine distinct languages and eight different religions (including Islam), from a lifestyle in which people relied on fishing to survive, into one of the world’s most modern and participatory economies. In a speech delivered by Mr. Yew during a conference known as the “Global Competitiveness Forum” in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on January 22, Mr. Yew indirectly attacked the blatant corruption in Saudi Arabia, along with the Saudi socialization process, educational system and global responsibilities. Mr. Yew told his attentive audience, addressing the Saudis specifically, “You have to move from a Bedouin culture into the modern world…you have to move to a knowledge society… It all starts through the inquiring mind ‘why?’” he pointed out. “When your child asks you why, you should not tell him ‘because I said so’. But try to explain to him. And then he’ll ask the next question: ‘Why is that?’ That is human progress,” he said to the applause of the crowd.
Mr. Yew succeeded in transforming his country and the mindset of his diverse people because he maintained accountability, while keeping religion for the individuals and groups to decide for themselves. Mr. Yew’s ideology is a perfect example of an instance in which a country’s leadership strives to empower its people, instead of squashing their hopes, dampening their spirits, and turning them against other peoples, while denying them the right to explore their natural and divine potentials and use them to build a peaceful, prosperous, and tolerant society.