[The last time we heard from Dr. Chee Soon Juan, the leader of Singapore’s opposition party (SDP), he penned a column for this blog on the comparative authoritarian capitalist systems of Russia and Singapore. Since then, I’ve seen this comparison come up in several other examples, including the FT’s cheeky suggestion that Russia should solve the succession challenge by importing a Singaporean president. Here Soon Juan continues the arguments explored in his first piece. – Robert Amsterdam] Autocrat see, autocrat do By Dr. Chee Soon Juan Nearly half-a-century ago Lee Kuan Yew came into power with the help of the British government which was then the colonial overlord of Singapore. After becoming the prime minister, Lee wasted no time in cracking down on his opponents. He used the Internal Security Act to detain without trial opposition leaders, brought the mass media under the control of his government, and systematically dismantled civil society, including trade unions. This enabled the ruling party to retain power uninterrupted from 1959 till the present. Lee himself was prime minister for 31 years until 1990 when he handed over the reins to his successor, Goh Chok Tong who was then the deputy prime minister.