Kishore Mahbubani, a distinguished diplomat and author, shares his inspiring journey from childhood poverty in Singapore to becoming a major diplomatic figure. He discusses the profound influence of his mother and the cultural ties between India and Southeast Asia. Mahbubani reflects on his experiences at the UN, the principles behind Singapore’s success, and his interactions with the influential Lee Kuan Yew. The conversation delves into Asia's cultural renaissance and its implications for the global order, emphasizing the region's rising importance in the 21st century.
46:19
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
question_answer ANECDOTE
Childhood Poverty
Kishore Mahbubani's family struggled with poverty after his father lost his job due to bad habits.
Debt collectors frequently visited their home, sometimes with threats of violence.
question_answer ANECDOTE
A Mother's Resilience
Mahbubani's mother displayed immense resilience in the face of hardship, refusing to break down.
Her strength inspired him to persevere through his own challenges.
insights INSIGHT
An Unlikely Path to Government
Mahbubani's outspoken criticism of the Singaporean government as a student garnered attention.
This, combined with his academic achievements, may have contributed to his recruitment into the foreign service.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Published in 1949, '1984' is a cautionary tale by George Orwell that explores the dangers of totalitarianism. The novel is set in a dystopian future where the world is divided into three super-states, with the protagonist Winston Smith living in Oceania, ruled by the mysterious and omnipotent leader Big Brother. Winston works at the Ministry of Truth, where he rewrites historical records to conform to the Party's ever-changing narrative. He begins an illicit love affair with Julia and starts to rebel against the Party, but they are eventually caught and subjected to brutal torture and indoctrination. The novel highlights themes of government surveillance, manipulation of language and history, and the suppression of individual freedom and independent thought.
Living the Asian Century
Kishore Mahbubani
Kishore Mahbubani is widely regarded as one of Asia’s most well-known diplomats, commentators, and strategic analysts. Having grown up in poverty in Singapore in the 1950s, however, there was nothing preordained about Mahbubani’s success.
But over the course of the second half of the twentieth century, he would go on to become one of the most recognizable and revered diplomats of his generation.
Mahbubani served in Cambodia, Malaysia, and the United States. He was Permanent Secretary at the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs and twice served as the country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He later served as founding dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
Mahbubani’s journey mirrors Singapore’s own metamorphosis and the book sheds equal light on Mahbubani’s life as it does the Asian country’s own improbable evolution.
To talk more about the book, Kishore Mahbubani joins Milan on the podcast this week. They discuss Kishore’s childhood poverty, his “Indian soul,” and his lifelong interactions with former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Plus, Milan and Kishore discuss the explosion of cultural self-confidence in Asia and what this means for the emerging world order.
Grand Tamasha 
