i want to be quite frank with you here
if the british withdraw
i am prepared to go on with the
australians and the new zealanders
but i am not prepared to go on with the
americans
what why not mr prime minister why do
you think america can i put it this way
i think there are highly
intelligent well-meaning often
people and some of their leaders
like kennedy the late president had
signs of
growing greatness depth but
you know by and large the administration
lacks death
and judgment or wisdom
which comes out of an accumulation of
knowledge of human beings and human
situations
over a long period of time that's
lacking
and it's not therefore what have they
got
three 400 years of history and they've
become a nation just recently
you know i'll tell you this i've had
three experiences
only three experiences with the
americans
and they did not intend any harm in each
one of them
but the tragedy was they did real harm
first this is old stuff now
we caught an american cia agent trying
to
subvert our intelligence special branch
officer
bribe him so that the special branch
officer
will feed the cia because the cia
wants to know what's happening i mean
subverting
a singapore officer the man
might have succeeded but i'm proud to
say that the officer
offered large sum of money and
continuing
sums of money this was in 1960
refused and reported the matter to his
chief
who reported it to me man was caught
locked up
and it was on razor's edge whether we
charged him in open court or not
no no let me explain this when i told
the american government
all right we keep quiet you take this
man away
100 million dollars to the singapore
government for economic development
no no no listen to me i didn't you know
i i never spoke to the americans direct
because
you know it's they are they lack the
finesse and you know some they
they may say yes they give it to you why
not why should the singapore government
just give to you
to me which would have ruined me
but through an intermediary they offered
me
and my party 10 million dollars
i mean the insult you know i told them
keep it earth men like ramses alexander
caesar napoleon hitler lee kwan
your whole earth history is made up of
men seeking absolute power
you
