SINGAPORE – Former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said the claim in a cable released by WikiLeaks, in which he had “characterised Islam as a ‘venomous religion'”, is false.
Mr Lee this morning issued a statement following the release by Wikileaks of a cable by the United States Embassy in Singapore, reporting on the visit of then-Senator Hillary Clinton to Singapore in July 2005.
He added that that he looked up Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ filenote of the meeting and “nowhere does it record me describing Islam as ‘venomous’, nor did I say anything which could have given that impression”, said Mr Lee in the statement.
In the statement, Mr Lee said that at the meeting, he talked about extremist terrorists like the Jemaah Islamiyah group, and “the jihadist preachers who brainwashed them”.
“They are implacable in wanting to put down all who do not agree with them. So their Islam is a perverted version, which the overwhelming majority of Muslims in Singapore do not subscribe to,” the statement read.
Mr Lee said he also pointed out that Singapore Muslim leaders are rational, adding that “the ultimate solution to extremist terrorism was to give moderate Muslims the courage to stand up and speak out against radicals who have hijacked Islam to recruit volunteers for their violent ends”.
http://www.todayonline.com/Hotnews/EDC110905-0000640/WikiLeaks-claim-is-false–Lee-Kuan-Yew
Comments collected from the net :
1. People can and will always have suspicions. But if one knows the man and the level of integrity he has …you will not have doubts. I personally do not have a grain of doubt that Mr Lee Kuan Yew did not make such a statement that will jeopardise the country that he has built. A rose by any other name is a rose. You can deny him the title ‘ The founding father of Singapore’ but you cannot change the fact that he has brought our country to where it is today.
2. If he did say it then there’s one wrong,if he didn’t and 6 billion people said he did,then there’s 6 billion wrong.Look at it this way,we want to spent time going to every single words that he said throughout his entire life?Even if we deci…ded to do so,what do we gain?He has done much for this nation to bring it to the level that we are now.Singapore is only 46 years old as a nation.The US of A took more then 140years to give the black people equal rights.They have yet to give the Red Indians the things that they stole from them.We as a nation on a political platform is still on learning curve.Don’t rush things.learn to value the best things that our nation has achieved rather then asking for things even when we have we can’t give.As a Malay I can raised a thousand grievances against Lee Kuan Yew but I don’t,and it’s not because I’m fearful nor am I “bochap”, but as a father I know how hard it is to raised my children,to be a husband, to be the house leader..imagine the burden of leading a nation…he has done well that Lee Kuan Yew and history will acknowledged that…:-}
