8/11/2015

Raffles Revealed – A lesson in history

Raffles Revealed is currently being run on Channel News Asia on the man himself and his role as an Imperialist serving the British Empire. It touched on Raffles ambition to wrestle Indonesia from the Dutch and French and bring it under the ambit of the Empire. The Dutch and French were fully in control of Indonesia operating from Batavia, present day Jakarta. Raffles was in Calcutta, the HQ of the British East India Company or front of the British Empire.

His strategy was to sow discord among the native tribal chiefs to rise against the Dutch. The natives were eager beavers, seeing the potential of an external power to assist them to overthrow the Dutch colonialists. But they did not realise that the British were doing it for their own convenience and their objective was to replace the Dutch as the colonial master and the native chiefs would still remain under another colonial power. Or the native chiefs might just play along, to get the British to fight the Dutch. They did negotiate with the British for their independence but was turned down. The British eventually attacked them as well and seized control of Indonesia for themselves.

The situation and the tactics used by the British then were similar to the situation in South China Sea. The Americans are here, sowing discord among the Asean countries against China. The difference is that China is not colonising any of the Asean states but with counter claims to the some of the islands in the South China Sea. But the Asean states are behaving like the native chiefs, thinking that they could invite the bigger devil to deal with a smaller devil, and thinking that at the end of the day the bigger devil will allow them to take control of the disputed islands.

The Americans today share the same strategic interests of the British in Raffles’ times. They are here for their own interests and carving out areas of influence and control. And the Asean countries are behaving like the native chiefs, thinking that they are wiser and could play the big powers against one another. The Americans seized the moment and the opportunity to agitate the Asean countries to rise against China.

In the narrative of Raffles Revealed, it was all about power and domination. There were no issues or concerns about human rights, national sovereignty and territorial integrity.  The Americans are here simply to guard their own interests and manipulating the Asean states to do their bidding but would be the ultimate winner and ruler of the region.

Eventually the use of force and power would rule the day. The Asean states, like the native chiefs of Indonesia, were just pawns in a bigger chess board. They are only to be used and to be controlled or dominated by either of the two super powers. Their silly dreams of taking advantage of big power conflicts to serve their interests would be like the dreams of the native chiefs, eventually still be conquered and ruled by the British Empire, now the American Empire.

Anything changed? History is a good teacher provided the students are not daft and willing to learn from it.

8 comments:

  1. Hmmm... I dunno about this narrative lah. Plus the probable BIAS of the presenter and CNA.

    It is very interesting how the local mainstream media turn Lee Kuan Yew into DEITY, as if he's the "saviour" of Singapore...the Singapore that EVIL Stamford Raffles built up from scratch.

    Local = good hero

    Colonial master = evil scumbag.

    Hmmm..., very interesting indeed.

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  2. What's more the TIMING is superb. SG50 rah rah rah, wow look at the Black Knights, wow look at the fireworks, wow look how FANTASTIC Lee Kuan Yew and his PAP were in making Singapore the #1 "Success story" of our modern era.

    ....oh look, a TV/ web program. It's a "documentary": Stamford Raffles, was a prick! WOW, who knew? Lucky we're finally told "the truth". Lucky Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP came along to "undo the damage" Raffles and his colonial imperialists did.


    Lucky lucky lucky!

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  3. In the documentary Raffles turned a fishing village into a free port. Singapore was already a famous entrepot by the early 50s.

    Now who said Singapore was still a fishing village in the 50s? Asia Building was the tallest building in Singapore. There were Robinson and John Little in Raffles Place plus all the big banks. There was Fitzpatrick and MacDonald House in Orchard Road. And there was the governor's house now the Istana.

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  4. @ RB

    Exactly. Film/ video are mediums where "producers" create the content they desire for the objectives they desire.

    I'm no conspiracy theorist. However, conspiracies do occur, and crafty 💀 motherfuckers get away with the girl and the money, and scot-free, all the time. There could also be the "cultural biases" of the time being reflected in the content, depending on the period the film/ video were made.

    All writers, directors and producers are human beings and ALL HUMANS (without one single exception) have their own cognitive biases, and thus there is NO SUCH THING as an "objective" documentary or news item.

    IMO, I just thought to myself: "Those cheeky cunts...no doubt, a stroke of pure genius, but a totally low-down, low-class, cheeky cunty thing to do to people."

    What I'm referring to is of course, the pumping up of LKY to god-status, and the introduction of doubt, or the outright vilification of Stamford Raffles, around the time of Singapore's National Day.

    This is premeditated mind fuckery aimed straight to, deep and direct, 💉 into The Sheeple's minds.🔫

    Social Engineering. 1st Class. 👍 Don't know who the puppet-masters are, but they are damn good. 👏👏

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  5. Haha......

    Pulau Bukom is the Largest Oil Refinery for over 120 years until it is overtaken by.a few larger ones recently.

    It is still one of the Largest.

    Without Raffles having developed Singapore into one of the Largest Seaport in the World for the Last 2 Centuries, Sinkies might have moved North for livelihoods.
    In fact, many did work at tin mines, rubber and pineaple plantations and factories and now some are owners of palm plantations, manufacturing plants and food peoducing factories up North.

    Many Sinkies have bought residential properties overseas as well, especially up North.

    In time to come, Sinkies may have to leave Sin for survivals too.
    As it is, many had already done so.

    patriot

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  6. Raffles was bad, scheming, ambitious, vindictive and brutal against his enemy.
    He was also power conscious.

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  7. LKY had fail to ask british to put territory in east kalimantan as part of their singapore ( republics of lanfang)

    today, kalimantan are so poor and underdeveloped.

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  8. british took sabah from sulu kingdom and incorporate it as malaysia
    british took sarawak from dutch and incorporate it as malaysia

    british should have taken kalimantan and incorporate it as singapore.

    at that time, british influence in the region still remain strong and military to protect it.

    bafter all, british had done such thing before - partition palestinian land into two part, israel and Palestine.

    LKY fail to see the future of singapore in 100 years later.( they had land shortage, size of nation does MATTER in world affairs)

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