The concept behind the Melayu Baru idea is not new. Mao Tse Tung tried it during the Cultural Revolution in China. This proved a failure and actually sent China back to the middle ages. There was a great famine where 3 million died. Eventually they had to abandon this policy and hang the blame on somebody. The Gang of Four, one of them who was Madam Mao, became the scape goats. Then a new policy emerged called the Great Leap Forward. This was the foundation of China's industrialisation programme. Sounds familiar? Lee Kuan Yew tried to do the same in Singapore. He attempted to create the new Singaporean, basically a China Baru/Melayu Baru/India Baru combination. He declared Singapore as the melting pot of cultures where the Malays, Chinese and Indians would all be melted down into one common culture and language. What he succeeded in doing was to remove all the old values and culture leaving a vacuum in its wake. What eventually replaced this vacuum was a 'Cocacola/MacDonalds' culture.

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