From Third World to First The Singapore Story pdfdrive com

part of Asia. It was his visceral reaction, one not shared by most of the other
leaders. I believe before too long the logic of geography and economics will
prevail against old prejudices, and Australia and New Zealand will be included
in ASEM.
Robert Muldoon won the election in December 1975 and remained prime
minister until 1984. He was stout, with a big bald head, pugnacious face and a
combative temperament to match. He stood up to and freely traded verbal
punches with his Australian counterparts, Malcolm Fraser and Bob Hawke, to
remind them that Australia could not take New Zealand for granted.
He wanted to separate sports from politics, and strenuously defended New
Zealand’s All Blacks rugby team for playing in South Africa and receiving a
South African rugby team in New Zealand. To his surprise, there were violent
protests against them in New Zealand. Over the next few years I watched him
discover at Commonwealth meetings that New Zealand would be isolated if he
continued his policy. So, after a strenuous defence of his position at the 1977
CHOGM in London, he agreed to a declaration boycotting South Africa in sports
because of apartheid. It was not worth the fight. He did not hide his sentiments.
In 1979 he was one of the few at the Lusaka CHOGM who sympathised with
Mrs Thatcher’s stand on Rhodesia and South Africa. But he saw sooner than Mrs
Thatcher that the tide of history was against white domination of Africa. Unlike
Whitlam, Muldoon never postured as a white Afro-Asian. Instead he focused his
time and resources on the South Pacific islands. He was a chartered accountant
with a mind that could master details and crunch numbers. His analysis of

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economic problems sounded tough-minded but he was soft when it came to
policy implementation. When farm prices fell, he maintained price supports for
his farmers. When the manufacturing sector faced problems, he gave them more
protection.
It was left to his Labour Party successor, David Lange, to begin the difficult
process of trimming down subsidies, causing enormous pain to those who had
been cosseted. Lange was an unusual character of medium height but
considerable girth. He had an easy-going manner, a quick mind and a good
memory. Soon after he won the 1984 election he visited me in Singapore on his
way to Africa to increase trade with them. I expressed my doubts whether this
was likely. He chided me for being a sceptic but later conceded that I was right.
He had a good sense of humour and an infectious laugh.
When the Australians announced in 1972 that they would withdraw their
battalion from Malaysia in 1973, the New Zealanders decided to remain and did
so for another 17 years until 1989. Their sturdier nature earned them the
nickname “Gurkhas of the South Pacific”. However, New Zealanders underwent
a sea change in July 1984 when they elected Lange and his Labour Party. His