Don't get me wrong. Democracy is a total joke in Singapore. That's why I left. My dad has never voted in his life because there aren't enough opposition candidates. The police actively harrasses members of the opposition (I had a friend who's husband was an opposition MP).
But given all that could have happened, I do stand by that assessment.
> Yew would have been thrown out of office in a week and some "coup" would have been organized if some big foreign power has special interests in the area and wanted him gone.
There was significant interest from foreign powers doing just that, look up Operation Coldstore and the history of communist insurgency in Singapore.
I've reflected on this a lot over time. My conclusion is that it would be pointless. That would be akin to companies like Google and Walmart looking to a wildly successful mom and pop shop for business advice.
But given all that could have happened, I do stand by that assessment.