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90 cents A Singapore Press Holdings publication MARCH 23, 2015 SPECIAL EDITION SINCE 1845 MCI (P) 032/02/2015 ★ LEE KUAN YEW Sept 16, 1923 - March 23, 2015
90 cents
A SingaporePress Holdingspublication
M A R C H 2 3 , 2 0 1 5 � S P E C I A L E D I T I O N
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MCI (P) 032/02/2015 �
LEE
KUAN
YEW
Sept 16, 1923
- March 23, 2015
By WARREN FERNANDEZEDITOR
SINGAPORE’S founding father,Mr Lee Kuan Yew, has died, leav-ing behind the unlikely nation heand his colleagues built over fivedecades as his lasting legacy.
A brief statement from thePrime Minister’s Office early thismorning said: “The Prime Minis-ter is deeply grieved to announcethe passing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew,the founding Prime Minister ofSingapore. Mr Lee passed awaypeacefully at the Singapore Gener-al Hospital today at 3.18am. Hewas 91.”
A second statement two hourslater said a week-long period ofnational mourning would be ob-served, with state flags flown athalf-mast until Sunday. A two-day private family wake will beheld at Sri Temasek in the Istana,followed by his body lying in statein Parliament until Saturday, forthe public to pay their last re-spects. A State Funeral will beheld on Sunday at 2pm, followedby a private cremation.
Mr Lee had been in SGH sinceFeb 5 with severe pneumonia,prompting an outpouring of goodwishes as an anxious nation await-ed updates on his deterioratingcondition, hoping for a recovery.
He outlived several other titansfrom Singapore’s tumultuousfounding years – Goh Keng Swee,Lim Kim San, S. Rajaratnam,Devan Nair, Toh Chin Chye,Eddie Barker, Hon Sui Sen. Sadly,he will be greatly missed on Aug 9as Singapore marks the 50th anni-versary of the Republic he playedso critical a role in shaping.
He leaves his two sons, PrimeMinister Lee Hsien Loong, 63, andMr Lee Hsien Yang, 57, daughterLee Wei Ling, 60, daugh-ters-in-law Ho Ching, 61, and LeeSuet-Fern, 56, seven grandchil-dren and two siblings. His wife,Madam Kwa Geok Choo, died in2010 at the age of 89.
He was widely regarded as theman most instrumental in shapingthis country, from the time he andhis People’s Action Party col-leagues pushed for self-govern-ment in the 1950s to their questfor merger with the Federation ofMalaya, Sabah and Sarawak toform the new nation Malaysia inthe early 1960s, and their effortsto secure the Republic’s survivalafter independence was thrust on
it on Aug 9, 1965.He famously wept on TV an-
nouncing the “moment of an-guish”, when Singapore was “sev-ered” from Malaysia. Not onlyhad he believed deeply in a unifiedMalaysia as a multiracial society,but he must also have sensed theenormity of the task for the newcity-state to make a living in an in-hospitable world.
He would lead a pioneer genera-tion of Singaporeans to overcomea series of daunting challenges,from rehousing squatters inaffordable public housing, to re-building the economy after thesudden pullout of British forcesand the oil shocks of the 1970s,and a major economic recession inthe mid-1980s. Through it all, heexhorted people to “never fear” asthey looked forward to a better life.
“This country belongs to all ofus. We made this country fromnothing, from mudflats... Today,this is a modern city. Ten yearsfrom now, this will be a metropo-lis. Never fear!” he thundered at agrassroots event in Sembawang inSeptember 1965.
He delivered on this promise,earning the trust of voters who re-turned his party to office repeated-ly over the decades. He represent-ed Tanjong Pagar for 60 years,since 1955, when he was first elect-ed the area’s assemblyman.
He stepped down as PrimeMin-ister in 1990 after 31 years. Hechose to hand over the premier-ship to Mr Goh Chok Tong whilestill in robust health at the age of67, and took on the role of SeniorMinister, serving as guide andmentor in the Cabinet.
Noting this unusual willingnessto relinquish power, Time maga-zine said in 1991: “What reallysets this complex man apart fromAsia’s other nation-builders iswhat he didn’t do: He did not be-come corrupt, and he did not stayin power too long. Mao (Zedong),Suharto, (Ferdinand) Marcos andNe Win left their countries on theverge of ruin with no obvioussuccessor. Lee left Singapore witha per capita GDP (gross domesticproduct) of US$14,000, his reputa-tion gilt-edged and an entire tierof second-generation leaders totake over when he stepped downin 1990.”
It added that as an elder states-man, his “views continue to besought by statesmen and commen-tators who travel from all over the
world to pay court to him in Singa-pore”. Indeed, in a White Housestatement this morning, UnitedStates President Barack Obamacalled Mr Lee “a true giant of his-tory who will be remembered forgenerations”, and joined Singapo-reans in “mourning the loss ofthis remarkable man”.
When his son became PrimeMinister in 2004, Mr Lee becameMinister Mentor, taking a furtherstep back, spending his time pon-dering the longer-term challengesfacing Singapore.
His decades in office were notuncontroversial. Having survivedlife-and-death battles with thecommunists and communalists inSingapore’s troubled early years,
he made plain that he was notaverse to donning “knuckle-dusters” to take on and “demol-ish” his political adversaries.
He refused to be swayed bypopular sentiment or opinionpolls, believing that voters wouldcome round when they eventuallysaw the benefits of policies he hadpushed through.
As he said in an interview forthe book, Lee Kuan Yew: The ManAnd His Ideas: “I’m very deter-mined. If I decide that somethingis worth doing, then I’ll put myheart and soul to it. The wholeground can be against me, but if Iknow it is right, I’ll do it. That’sthe business of a leader.”
He was both a visionary and a
radical thinker, and was instru-mental in a host of major policiesthat have shaped almost every as-pect of Singaporeans’ lives, frompromoting public housing, homeownership, racial integration inpublic estates, and later estate up-grading, to adopting English as acommon language for the dispa-rate races in Singapore.
He made multiracialism andmeritocracy as well as economical-ly sound and corruption-free gov-ernment hallmarks of the Singa-pore way. He carried over his ownfrugal ways to the business of gov-ernment and was relentless in hisfight against the “cancer of cor-ruption”, making plain no onewas beyond being investigatedand ejected from office if theystrayed. He pushed for ministersand senior civil servants to bepaid salaries pegged to private sec-tor rates, despite that being con-troversial, believing it was neces-sary if Singapore was to continueto enjoy good, clean government.
And if this city gained a reputa-tion worldwide for also being oneof the cleanest and greenest, itwas because the Prime Ministerhimself took a personal interest inenhancing the island’s greenery,parks and waterways, long beforesuch environmental conscious-ness became fashionable.
Mr Lee soldiered on with hispublic duties after retirement, andeven after the loss of his wife of63 years, Kwa Geok Choo, whom
he mourned deeply, but mostly inprivate. They had married secret-ly as undergraduates in Cam-bridge in 1947, and Mr Lee is saidto have instructed, in a note to hischildren, that when the timecame, their ashes should be mixedso they might be “joined after lifeas they had been in life”.
His two-part memoirs, The Sin-gapore Story, revealed how heand his colleagues believed thatMalaysian leaders anticipated theday when an independent Singa-pore would fail and be forced toappeal for readmission to the Fed-eration, on Malaysia’s terms.
“No, not if I could help it,” heonce declared. “People in Singa-pore were in no mood to crawlback after what they had beenthrough. The people shared ourfeelings and were prepared to dowhatever was needed to make anindependent Singapore work. Idid not know I was to spend therest of my life getting Singaporenot just to work, but to prosperand flourish.”
Asked once in an interview ifhe would have done things differ-ently if he could live his life over,he replied: “All I can say is, I didmy best. This was the job I under-took, I did my best, and I couldnot have done more in the circum-stances. What people think of it, Ihave to leave to them. It is of nogreat consequence.What is of con-sequence is I did my best.”
THE Prime Minister is deeplygrieved to announce thepassing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew,the founding Prime Minister ofSingapore. Mr Lee passed awaypeacefully at the SingaporeGeneral Hospital today at3.18am. He was 91.
Arrangements for the publicto pay respects and for thefuneral proceedings will beannounced later.
FOR HOTLINE, ONLINE QUERIESAND TRIBUTES FOR MR LEE� Go online towww.rememberingleekuanyew.sgand www.facebook.com/rememberingleekuanyew toleave tributes for Mr Lee,or to find out more about thefuneral, and Mr Lee’s life andcontributions.� Or call the official hotline on6336-1166, or [email protected] if you haveany queries.
NOVEMBER 1961: Mr Lee Kuan Yew withTunku Abdul Rahman, who was ChiefMinister of the Federation of Malayafrom 1955 and the country’s first Prime
Minister after its independence in 1957.The Tunku initially opposed the idea ofa merger with Singapore, but changedhis stand in 1961. PHOTOS: ST FILE
Mr Lee overcame daunting challengesand delivered on his promiseof a better life for Singaporeans
PMO STATEMENT1923: Born on Sept 16 to Shell Oil
Company depotmanager Lee ChinKoon and Chua JimNeo in his family’stwo-storeybungalow at92, Kampong JavaRoad.
1935: Came in first in Telok KurauEnglish School in an islandwideexam and won a place in RafflesInstitution, where he met future wifeKwa Geok Choo in 1939.He previously attended twoChinese-medium schools.
1940: Topped the Senior Cambridgeexams in Singapore and Malaya, andwon the Anderson Scholarship toread English, economics andmathematics at Raffles College.
1946: Began law school at the LondonSchool of Economics, but moved toCambridge University the next year,when Kwa joined him. They marriedsecretly on Dec 23, 1947, inStratford-upon-Avon.
1950: Called to the Bar at the MiddleTemple after graduating the yearbefore. Returned to Singapore, joinedlaw firm Laycock & Ong and marriedMrs Lee officially on Sept 30. Theyhad three children: Hsien Loong(born in 1952); Wei Ling (1955); andHsien Yang (1957).
1954: Formed the People’s ActionParty, inaugurated at VictoriaMemorial Hall on Nov 21.
1955: Elected legislative assemblymanfor Tanjong Pagar on April 2.
Founded his own law firm Lee &Lee with Mrs Lee and youngerbrother Dennis on Sept 1.
1959: Sworn in as Singapore’s firstPrime Minister at the age of 35 afterthe PAP won 43 out of 51 seats in theGeneral Election.
1960: Enacted a law to wipe outcorruption and establish a clean andeffective government.
1961: Set up the EconomicDevelopment Board to draw foreigninvestments to an industrialisingSingapore.
1963: Malaysia formed, comprisingMalaya, Singapore, Sabah andSarawak.
Launched a home ownershipscheme which enabled 91 per cent ofHousing Board residents to own theirhomes by 1996.
1965: Singapore separated fromMalaysia on Aug 9. Mr Lee wept onnational TV, saying he had believedhis whole life in the unity of the twoterritories.
1967: Full-time National Serviceintroduced to build Singapore’sdefence force ahead of British troops’pullout in 1971.
1990: Stepped down asPrime Minister after 31years and succeededby Mr Goh Chok Tong.Appointed SeniorMinister on Nov 28.
1998: Published first volume ofmemoirs The Singapore Story.Second volume, From Third WorldTo First: The Singapore Story, waslaunched in 2000.
2004: Assumed the post of MinisterMentor after his son Hsien Loongbecame Prime Minister, and Mr Gohwas made Senior Minister on Aug 18.
2010: Mrs Lee died on Oct 2 after along illness caused by strokes.
2011: Stepped down from the Cabinet.
2015: Died today at 3.18am, leavingthree children and sevengrandchildren.
DEPUTY Prime MinisterTeo Chee Hean, Deputy PrimeMinister Tharman Shanmuga-ratnam and Cabinet colleaguessend our deepest condolencesto Prime Minister Lee HsienLoong and the family of ourfounding Prime Minister, MrLee Kuan Yew. We will alwaysremember his sound guidance,his constant questioning, andhis fatherly care for Singaporeand for all of us. Let usdedicate ourselves to Singaporeand Singaporeans, in the waythat Mr Lee showed us.
PRIME Minister Lee HsienLoong has declared aseven-day period of nationalmourning for Singapore’sfounding Prime Minister LeeKuan Yew, who died early thismorning at age 91.
As a mark of respect, thestate flags on all governmentbuildings will be flown athalf-mast for the mourningperiod, which starts today andends on Sunday.
A private family wake willbe held today and tomorrow atSri Temasek, a statement bythe Prime Minister’s Officesaid today.
Mr Lee’s body will lie instate at Parliament Housefrom Wednesday to Saturdayfor the public to pay their lastrespects. They can do so from10am to 8pm daily during thattime.
A state funeral service forMr Lee will be held at 2pm on
Sunday at the NationalUniversity of Singapore’sUniversity Cultural Centre.
The service will be attendedby the late Mr Lee’s family,friends and staff; PresidentTony Tan Keng Yam; Cabinetministers; Members ofParliament; and Mr Lee’sfellow founding members ofthe ruling People’s ActionParty.
Senior civil servants,grassroots leaders andSingaporeans from all walks oflife will also be attending theservice, which will be followedby a private cremation atMandai Crematorium.
Condolence books andcards will be available in frontof the Istana main gate fromtoday to Sunday, for thosewho wish to pen their tributesto the late Mr Lee. Condolencebooks will also be opened atall overseas missions.
CABINET STATEMENT
Seven-day mourning
March 23, 2015 The Straits Times 32 The Straits Times March 23, 2015
‘Never fear!’
By RACHEL CHANGand THAM YUEN-CASSISTANT POLITICAL EDITORS
ON THEIR way to school andwork this morning, several Singa-poreans took a detour to the Singa-pore General Hospital to stand wit-ness to the passing of a giant.
Personal assistant Roslina Ma-jid, 45, and her two daughters,aged 11 and 14, wept at the hospi-tal where Mr Lee died early today,aged 91. “We came to bid ourgoodbyes,” she said.
Many Singaporeans gathered togrieve for Mr Lee at SGH, his Tan-jong Pagar ward, and the Istana,as tributes poured in from leadersand groups in Singapore andaround the world.
Student Andy Tan andfull-time national servicemanIvan Tan, both 19, were amongthe first to arrive at SGH.
“He’s a good role model forus,” said Mr Ivan Tan. “We can’teven begin to describe how muchhe sacrificed for Singapore.”
At Tanjong Pagar CommunityClub, in the ward Mr Lee repre-sented for 60 years, property man-ager Eunice Ng, 41, was the firstto arrive at an area set up by grass-roots leaders for tributes.
“He’s not just a father, he’s theState’s father,” she said, holdingback tears.
Security supervisor S. N. Pillai,
50, headed for the Istana’s gatesas soon as his shift ended at 7am.“There would be no Singaporewithout Mr Lee,” he said.
The Singapore Chinese Cham-ber of Commerce and Industry is-sued a statement paying tribute toMr Lee’s contributions, as didMalay/Muslim self-help groupsMendaki and Association of Mus-lim Professionals, and the IslamicReligious Council of Singapore.
Mendaki said the community’sprogress was possible because ofMr Lee’s vision and genuine con-cern for the community.
Singapore and world leaders al-so issued tributes and condolenc-es. In a condolence letter to PrimeMinister Lee Hsien Loong, Singa-pore President Tony Tan KengYam said of Mr Lee: “Few havedemonstrated such complete com-mitment to a cause greater thanthemselves.”
Emeritus Senior Minister GohChok Tong, who succeeded MrLee as Prime Minister in 1990,called him “my leader, mentor, in-spiration, the man I looked up tomost. He made me a proud Singa-porean”.
United States President BarackObama said he “joined the peopleof Singapore in mourning the loss
of this remarkable man”.Calling him a “visionary and de-
voted public servant”, Mr Obamasaid Mr Lee’s insights were re-spected by many, “and no smallnumber of this and past genera-tions of world leaders have soughthis advice on governance and de-velopment”.
“He was a true giant of historywho will be remembered for gener-ations to come as the father ofmodern Singapore and as one ofthe great strategists of Asian af-fairs.”
Other world leaders who senttheir condolences included PrimeMinisters David Cameron of Brit-ain, Tony Abbott of Australia andJohn Key of New Zealand.
NTUC called Mr Lee a “dearbrother to our workers” since hisdays as a lawyer fighting for bet-ter pay and terms for them.
“Because of his care and con-cern for the people, countlessworkers have benefited from fairtreatment, higher wages and bet-ter conditions at the workplace. Itis because of him that we, as a peo-ple, can lay claim to better jobs,better lives and brighter futuresahead,” it said.
[email protected]@sph.com.sg
Excerpt from President TonyTan Keng Yam’s letter ofcondolence to Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong.
‘HE DEDICATED HIS ENTIRELIFE TO SINGAPORE’“Mr Lee dedicated his entire lifeto Singapore from his firstposition as a legal advisor to thelabour unions in the 1950s afterhis graduation from CambridgeUniversity to his undisputed roleas the architect of our modernRepublic. Few have demonstratedsuch complete commitment to acause greater than themselves...
“Many aspects of our livesbear Mr Lee’s imprint – be it ourHDB estates, our gardens, or theSAF. Without his remarkableforesight and relentless pursuit ofSingapore’s development, theSingapore that we know todaywould not exist. Singapore washis passion, and he continuedserving Singapore till the lastdays of his life. Singaporeans owean eternal gratitude to Mr LeeKuan Yew. The greatest tributethat Singaporeans can pay him isto treasure and build upon thelegacy that Mr Lee and his teamhave left us, and make Singaporean even better home for ourfuture generations.
“Our thoughts are with you atthis time of sorrow.”
Emeritus Senior Minister GohChok Tong paid tribute to MrLee Kuan Yew in a Facebook postshortly after news of his death.
‘HE WAS MY LEADER,MENTOR, INSPIRATION’“My tears welled up as I receivedthe sad news. Mr Lee Kuan Yewhas completed his life’s journey.But it was a journey devoted tothe making of Singapore. He hasbequeathed a monumental legacyto Singaporeans – a safe, secure,harmonious and prosperousindependent Singapore, ourhomeland. He was a selflessleader. He shared his experience,knowledge, ideas and life withus. He was my leader, mentor,inspiration, the man I looked upto most. He made me a proudSingaporean. Now he is gone. Imourn, but he lives on in myheart. On behalf of MarineParade residents, I offer ourprofound condolences to PM LeeHsien Loong and his family.”
HIS REMARKS IN ENGLISH:“The first of our founding fathersis no more. He inspired us, gaveus courage, kept us together andbrought us here.
“He fought for independence,built a nation where there wasnone, andmade us proud to be Sin-gaporeans. We won’t see anotherman like him.
“Tomany Singaporeans, and in-deed others too, Lee Kuan Yewwas Singapore. As Prime Minister,he pushed us hard to achieve whathad seemed impossible.
“After he stepped down, heguided his successors with wis-dom and tact. And in old age, hecontinued to keep a watchful eyeon Singapore. Singapore was hisabiding passion. He gave of him-self in full measure to Singapore.
“As he himself put it, towardsthe end of his life, and I quote: ‘Ihave spent my life, so much of it,building up this country. There’snothing more that I need to do. Atthe end of the day, what have Igot? A successful Singapore.What have I given up? My life.’
“I’m grieved beyond words atthe passing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew. Iknow that we all feel the same
way. But even as we mourn hispassing, let us also honour his spir-it. Let us dedicate ourselves as onepeople to build on his founda-tions, strive for his ideals andkeep Singapore exceptional andsuccessful for many years tocome.
“May Mr Lee Kuan Yew rest inpeace.”
TRANSLATION OFHIS REMARKS IN MALAY:“I am deeply saddened to informyou that Mr Lee Kuan Yew haspassed away. Mr Lee wasSingapore’s founding PrimeMinis-ter. He had dedicated his wholelife to Singapore. He built a nationwhere there was none, and foughttenaciously for Singapore’s inde-pendence. His indomitable cour-age and resourcefulness carriedthe day on many critical occa-sions, and laid the foundations ofSingapore’s success.
“We have lost the man whohad led us, inspired us and unitedus. As we mourn Mr Lee’s pass-ing, let us also honour his spiritand his life’s work. Let us contin-ue building Singapore, strengthen-ing our multiracial and multi-reli-
gious society, and standing togeth-er as one united people, some-thing which he had fought for allhis life.
“May Mr Lee Kuan Yew rest inpeace.”
TRANSLATION OF HISREMARKS IN CHINESE:“Today, we lost our beloved lead-er, founding Prime Minister LeeKuan Yew. Mr Lee is irreplaceablein our hearts. He has a specialbond with Singaporeans and waswell loved by them. When he washospitalised, people from all walksof life showed their care and en-couragement in different ways.
“This was of great comfort toMr Lee and my family. On behalfof my family, I would like to con-vey our sincere appreciation foryour good wishes.
“Singapore’s survival was MrLee’s greatest concern throughouthis life. He dedicated himself toSingapore, uniting us as one peo-ple and motivating us to be self-reliant. He took us from ThirdWorld to First, building a homethat we can be proud of.
“His passing is a great loss toSingapore and my family.
“In this moment of grief, let usalways remember Mr Lee’s contri-butions.
“The best way to honour himwould be to carry on his life’s pas-sion, and stay as one united peo-ple to keep Singapore prosperousand strong.
“May you rest in peace, MrLee.”
Personal assistantRoslina Majid(above) at SGH withher daughtersSarah AllysahNorhisam (centre)and Sophia AmeliaNorhisam (left)earlier today. ST
PHOTO: MARKCHEONG
Raffles Institutionstudents (left)observing aminute’s silence.
ST PHOTO: LIM SINTHAI
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong pausing to compose himself as he delivers the news to Singaporeans of the death ofMr Lee Kuan Yew this morning. The address was made at 8am. SCREEN GRAB FROM TELEVISION
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong addressed thenation on the death of former Prime MinisterLee Kuan Yew this morning. Delivering histelevised speech in Malay, Chinese and English,he appeared emotional and paused on occasion,especially in his remarks in Chinese.
GROWING up, my familyused to bathe using largedragon-motif ham dangong, or salted egg jars inCantonese. We would fillthem up with water andladle it out to washourselves at our home onOxley Road.
My parents did this foralmost six decades since myfather moved into the housein 1945, and my mother, in1950. It was only after mymother had her first strokein 2003 that a shower wasinstalled in their tinybathroom. I think it was inpart because they were soset in their ways. But it wasalso because my fatherneither cared for materialthings, nor coveted them.He lived in a simple spartanway; his preoccupationsand priorities lay elsewhere.
Some people collectwatches, shoes, pens, rarebooks, antiques or art, butnot my father. When peoplegave him all sorts of gifts,he kept almost none ofthem. He paid for and gavesome of these items to mywife and me, and Iselectively kept a few... andhe would sometimes takepleasure in seeing them inmy home, recalling theoccasion and the giver.
He also had no idea whatthe cost and value of thingswere. He did not go to thesupermarket to buy thingsor pay for his meals atrestaurants, so he had noreference point as to howmuch things cost. Materialthings did not matter tohim; Singapore did.
How would I like myfather to be remembered?Well, he never worriedabout winning anypopularity contest. Hewould speak his mind. Hefought for what he believedwas best for the countryand the people ofSingapore. Healways had thebest interestsof the countryat heart. Andat home, it wasalways theinterests ofhis childrenand ourmother.
We won’t see anotherman like him: PM Lee HIS SON, LEE
HSIEN YANG, 57
S’poreansgrieve astributespour in
Condolences fromPresident Tanand ESM Goh
4 The Straits Times March 23, 2015 March 23, 2015 The Straits Times 5
THE LEE KUAN YEW
I REMEMBER
AS A newly minted lawyer who had just returned home from Britain,the young Mr Lee Kuan Yew devoted time to helping the unions andother vulnerable groups in their run-ins with the British.
His first major case was the postal workers’ union, for whom hesecured wage increases. These cases rarely raked in the big money,much to the chagrin of his firm, Laycock & Ong. He once asked for atoken $10 for a case when another lawyer wanted to charge $15,000.
Soon, Mr Lee built a reputation as a champion of society’sunderdogs. He became legal adviser to more than 100 unions andassociations within two years. That reputation reaped political capital.Many workers whom he helped became fervent campaigners when hefirst ran for election in 1955.
Later, he became uncomfortable with the strident unionism of theleftists within the People’s Action Party. Their strikes often ended inviolent action and detentions – such as during the Hock Lee busstrike.
After becoming Prime Minister in 1959, Mr Lee continued to take akeen interest in industrial relations, often stepping in personally tomediate between workers and management.
UNION RABBLEROUSER
6 The Straits Times March 23, 2015 March 23, 2015 The Straits Times 7
1952 POSTALSTRIKE: Mr Leemeeting postalworkers at theirquarters in MaxwellRoad (above). Hesecured for themsalary increasesfrom the colonialgovernmentthrough acombination ofstrikes, negotiationsand favourablepress coverage.When the city’s500 postal workerswere on strike,trishaws (right)were used to ferryparcels and mail tocollection centres,which residents hadto visit to collecttheir mail.
1955 CITY COUNCIL STRIKE: Mr Lee speaking to 8,000 striking workers from theCity Council Labour Unions Federation. He was legal adviser to the workers during the15-day strike, which ended with concessions on public holiday pay, annual leave andallowances.
1963 NURSES’ UNREST (above andbelow): A strike among nurses is calledoff after a 75-minute meeting betweenPrime Minister Lee Kuan Yew andrepresentatives of the nurses.
PHOTOS: ST FILE
1963 HARBOURWORKERS’ UNREST(above): Mr Lee speakingto workers from theSingapore Harbour Board.When members of theSingapore Harbour BoardStaff Association decidedto proceed with a strikeafter he promised a$2 million award for wageclaims, he deregisteredthe union on July 22,1963.1955 HOCK LEE BUSRIOTS (right and farright): Mr Lee meetingunionists during the HockLee bus strike. Led byleftists Fong Swee Suanand Lim Chin Siong, thestrike turned violent,leaving four dead, and wasthe first in a series ofincidents that convincedMr Lee that hispartnership with Fong andLim had to end eventually.
MR LEE Kuan Yew became the first prime minister of Singapore afterhis People’s Action Party won a landslide victory in the 1959 election– Singapore’s first election under full internal self-government.
As then PAP chairman Toh Chin Chye and Organising SecretaryOng Pang Boon later recalled, he got the post only after beatingcomrade Ong Eng Guan by one vote at a post-election centralexecutive committee meeting. Mr Lee disputed this, pointing to aletter Dr Toh later wrote that said the decision had been unanimous.
By 1963, Mr Lee had led Singapore to independence through amerger with Malaysia. During the Malaysia years, he retained his jobtitle as prime minister, rather than changing it to “chief minister” – apoint of unhappiness with then Malaysian Prime Minister TunkuAbdul Rahman.
The Tunku’s personality clash with Mr Lee, as well as theirdivergent views on race relations, caused Singapore and Malaysia topart ways in 1965, making Mr Lee the first prime minister of a fullyindependent and separate Singapore.
Over the next 21/2 decades, he was able to govern decisively. Heopened up the economy to free trade and multinational corporations,which brought about dramatic growth. He also placed specialemphasis on meritocracy, multiracialism and a corruption-free societyand government. But his hardline approach to political opponentsdrew some criticism at home and abroad.
He retired in 1990 after 31 years as prime minister, and wassucceeded by Mr Goh Chok Tong. He became Senior Minister andthen Minister Mentor, before stepping down from the Cabinet in 2011.
March 23, 2015 The Straits Times 9
SINGAPORE’SFIRST PRIMEMINISTER
LEE Kuan Yew is one whofollows the rules. When I wasSpeaker, for example,sometimes MPs do not cometo sittings, and if you do notattend, you are supposed toinform me or write in.
Lee Kuan Yew wassomeone who even if he didn’tcome for one afternoon, hewould write me a note. In fact,he was the only one who didthat. To his credit, he madesure he followed the rules, youcouldn’t fault him.
I remember during thesevere acute respiratorysyndrome (Sars) outbreak,every time we went intoParliament, we had ourtemperatures checked.
He was coming in, andpeople were intimidated. Iremember there was thissecurity officer who hesitatedbecause this was Mr Lee afterall. So he didn’t take thetemperature. And Mr Leewound down his window screenand asked the guy: “Why aren’tyou checking me?” He was thesort of person who wouldfollow the rules.
His contribution toSingapore is undeniable.Whatever you may disagreewith him, he brought us towhere we are now. Peopleargue that he could have doneit differently, or done things acertain way, but you can’tdeny his significantcontribution.
He was a man of his time.In that context, he did what hecould as a leader, and he didwell.
8 The Straits Times March 23, 2015
NOVEMBER 1954: Straits Times senior executive artist Miel recreates the meeting of the founding membersof the People’s Action Party brainstorming to come up with the logo for the new political party. The PAP wasconceived in the basement dining room of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s Oxley Road home. Founding members included(clockwise from top right) Messrs Ismail Rahim, Lee Kuan Yew (standing), K.M. Byrne, S. Rajaratnam, DevanNair, Toh Chin Chye, Goh Keng Swee and Samad Ismail.
AUG 9, 1965:Mr Lee broke downduring a TV pressconference toannounceSingapore’sseparation fromMalaysia.Holding back hisemotions, he said:“For me, it is amoment of anguishbecause all mylife... you see, thewhole of my adultlife... I havebelieved in mergerand the unity ofthese twoterritories.”
FORMER COLLEAGUEABDULLAH TARMUGI, 70
OCT 1, 1962: Mr Lee meeting Malayan Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman (centre) inKuala Lumpur a year before the merger. With them is former Singapore Chief MinisterLim Yew Hock. Mr Lee called the merger a “historical necessity” and the Tunku saidthe idea “caught the imagination of all the peoples concerned”.
MOMENT OF ANGUISH:AUGUST 1965 INDEPENDENCE
SETTING UP THE PAP AT OXLEY ROAD
JUNE 5, 1959: (Above) A painting of MrLee’s swearing-in by artist Lai Kui Fang, withlast governor of Singapore William Goode tothe right and an aide-de-camp to the left.(Left) Mr Lee and some members of his firstCabinet leaving City Hall after theswearing-in ceremony. From left areDr Goh Keng Swee, Dr Toh Chin Chye,Mr Yong Nyuk Lin, Mr Lee Kuan Yew,Mr Ong Eng Guan and Mr Ong Pang Boon.
MALAYSIA YEARS
MAY 25, 1965: Mr Lee talking to members of the PAP delegation at the opening ofthe Federal Parliament in Kuala Lumpur. Mr Lee described the PAP delegation as“cross-benchers” – neither part of the Government nor part of the opposition.
THE LEE KUAN YEW
I REMEMBER
PHOTOS: ST FILE, COURTESY OF LAI KUI FANG
MARCH 10, 2001: Senior MinisterLee and Minister for CommunityDevelopment andMinister-in-charge of MuslimAffairs Abdullah Tarmugi at aclosed-door meeting with Malayleaders and the Malay communityin Parliament House.
JOBS and housing were Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s most urgent prioritieswhen his People’s Action Party took power in 1959. Many lived inunhygienic slums. The economy, while prosperous compared to otherSouth-east Asian cities, had not industrialised and struggled togenerate jobs for the baby boomers.
Early on, Mr Lee sought to connect Singapore to the world bymaking the sea port more efficient, reforming its shift-work system.It was later upgraded and mechanised into the world’s second-busiestport. With the help of his economic czar Goh Keng Swee, Mr Lee alsoencouraged the growth of job-intensive industries, including an oilrefinery in Pulau Bukom and manufacturing in Jurong.
He also pursued a massive public housing plan, implemented byformer businessman Lim Kim San. Some 26,000 flats were built bythe new Housing Board in three years – more than its predecessor,the Singapore Improvement Trust, had built in 32 years.
By the time Mr Lee stepped down as PM in 1990, gross domesticproduct per capita had grown seven times in real terms to nearlyUS$14,711, and eight in 10 Singaporeans were living in public housing.
AUGUST 1963:(above)Four newdeep-water berthsat the SingaporeHarbour. Mr Leeunderstood thepotential benefitsfrom sea trade andcarefully developedSingapore’s ports,in time replacingthe island’s losthinterland ofMalaysia with amuch larger one –the world.
MAY 1972: (right)A container craneat the PSA wharf.
EARLY YEARS:PORT, HOMES,INDUSTRY
10 The Straits Times March 23, 2015 March 23, 2015 The Straits Times 11
JULY 1961: A view of the $30 million Shell Oil Refinery on Pulau Bukom, whichopened in July 1961 after being constructed in a world-record time of 12 months.
PUBLIC HOUSING
OCTOBER 1962 (above): Mr Lee inspecting a vacant plot in Jurong, soon to be the heart of Singapore’smanufacturing sector. Initially dubbed “Goh’s Folly” as cynics doubted the venture led by Deputy PM GohKeng Swee would take off, Jurong became Singapore’s most important generator of jobs. Five decades on,the economy has expanded into services. Manufacturing now accounts for one-fifth of Singapore’s total GDP.
MAY 1964 (below): Mr Lee touring Jurong industrial estate. He is accompanied by Yang di-Pertuan NegaraYusof Ishak and Economic Development Board chairman Hon Sui Sen.
PORT INDUSTRY
PHOTOS: ST FILE
SEPT 18, 1959(above and left):Mr Lee touring ahousing estate afterNationalDevelopmentMinister Ong EngGuan announced afive-year plan tobuild nearly 84,000units of publichousing. A rapidexpansion in homeownership quicklybecame the hallmarkof his socialistdemocraticgovernment.
MARCH 15, 1963(far left): Mr Leeand Mr Lim Kim Sanviewing models ofthe upcomingCantonment Roadhousing estate.
HIS LIFE’S WORK
“What are the thingsimportant to me inlife? My family and mycountry. My family, mywife looked after. Shebrought up the children. Ispent some time with them,trying to impart somevalues...But Singapore is an ever-goingconcern. Singapore is myconcern till the end ofmy life.”– Hard Truths To KeepSingapore Going
FAMILY LIFE
“Loong is a different personality from me.He’s more, how would I say, equable – lessintense than my daughter who takes afterme. Ling is very intense... She gravitated toan activist role... She should have married and hadtwo children, then things would have happeneddifferently. But what to do? She was happy as she was,so that’s that. They lead their own lives.”– Mr Lee on his daughter Wei Ling, in Hard Truths
PEOPLE
“We would have been a grosser, ruder, cruder societyhad we not made these efforts to persuade our peopleto change their ways. We did not measure up as acultivated, civilised society and were not ashamed toset about trying to become one in the shortest timepossible. First, we educated and exhorted ourpeople. After we had persuaded and wonover a majority, we legislated to punish thewilful minority. It has made Singapore amore pleasant place to live in. If this is a‘nanny state’, I am proud to have fosteredone.”– From Third World To First
HIS LIFE’S WORK
“I have never been over-concerned orobsessed with opinion polls or popularitypolls. I think a leader who is, is a weakleader. If you are concerned with whether your ratingwill go up or down, then you are not a leader. You arejust catching the wind... you will go where the wind isblowing. And that’s not what I am in this for.Between being loved and being feared,I have always believed Machiavelliwas right. If nobody is afraid ofme, I’m meaningless.”– The Man And His Ideas
12 The Straits Times March 23, 2015
FAMILY LIFE
“Her last wish she shared with me was to enjoin ourchildren to have our ashes placed together, as we werein life... I have precious memories of our63 years together. Without her, I wouldbe a different man, with a different life.She devoted herself to me and our children.She was always there when I needed her.She has lived a life full of warmth and meaning.I should find solace in her 89 years of lifewell lived. But at this moment of the finalparting, my heart is heavy with sorrowand grief.”– Mr Lee’s eulogy to his wife Kwa Geok Choo (left)at her funeral on Oct 6, 2010
HIS LIFE’S WORK
“Would I have been a different person ifI had remained a lawyer and not gone intopolitics? My work experience would havebeen more limited and my horizonsnarrower. In politics I had to range over the wholegamut of the problems of human society. As theChinese saying goes, ‘Thesparrow though small hasall five organs.’ Smallthough we may be, ourneeds are the same asthose of any large country,domestically andinternationally. Myresponsibilities gave me awide perspective of humansocieties and a worldviewthat a lawyer would nothave.”– From Third World To First
LEE KUAN YEW ON...
LEAVING THE SCENE
“Let me give you a Chinese proverb: ‘Do notjudge a man until you’ve closed his coffin.’Do not judge a man. Close the coffin, then decide.Then you assess him. I may still do something foolishbefore the lid is closed on me... The final verdict willnot be in the obituaries. The final verdict will be whenthe PhD students dig out the archives, read my old
papers, assess what myenemies have said, sift theevidence and seek the truth?I’m not saying thateverything I did wasright, but everythingI did was for anhonourable purpose.I had to do some nasty things,locking fellows up without trial.”– Mr Lee in an interview withThe New York Timeson Sept 1, 2010
RUNNING THE COUNTRY
“Running a government is not unlikeconducting an orchestra. No prime ministercan achieve much without an able team.While he himself need not be a great player, he has toknow enough of the principal instruments, from theviolin to the cello to the French horn to the flute, or he
would not know whathe can expect fromeach of them. Mystyle was toappoint the bestman I had to be incharge of themost importantministry at thatperiod, usuallyfinance, except atindependencewhen defencebecame urgent.”– From Third World ToFirst
RUNNING THE COUNTRY
“We had been entrusted with the people’s fate.The first duty of the leader is to fulfil this trustwhatever the danger to himself personally, or he shouldnot have sought this position. Those who look forsoft options in crises are not leaders;history will condemn them as cowards;theirfriendsandrelativeswill beashamedof them,longbefore thejudgmentofhistory.”– PAP’s 25thanniversarypublication in1979
RUNNING THE COUNTRY
“Over 100 years ago, this was a mudflat,a swamp. Today, this is a modern city.Ten years from now, this will be ametropolis. Never fear!”– Speech on Sept 12, 1965, just a month after Independence
Barisan Sosialis leaderChia Thye Poh wasdetained in 1966.
SINGAPORE’S FUTURE
“So, friends and fellow citizens, we got alittle island – 600 sq km. You unwind this,you will not drop down on soft paddy fields,it is hard hard concrete, your bones arebroken and it’s kaput. And if you want to knowwhy I am tough, it’s because I know what happens.I travel and I am not looking at the tourist sites...And you know that Singapore has only onechance and that is to go up – tighter, morediscipline, up the ladder. You unwind this,it’s curtains for everybody.”– National Day Rally, Aug 16, 1981
SINGAPORE’S FUTURE
“Friends tell me many young Singaporeans believeSingapore’s best years are behind us. Because wemade it from Third World to First in one generationthey believe that there will be no further dramatictransformations in their lifetime, that the best pickingsof cheap standalone houses that their elders got are nolonger available. They are pessimists and wrong.Singapore is like an aircraft flying at30,000 ft. We have another 6,000 ft to riseto 36,000 ft, the height top US and EUairlines are flying. Furthermore we have notreached First World standards in the finer things in life,music, culture and the arts, the graces of a civilisedsociety. The generation now in their 30s to50s can take Singapore there in the next15 to 20 years. The best is yet to be.”– Speech at Tanjong Pagar GRC Lunar New Year dinneron Jan 30, 2004
PEOPLE
“The problem is that the human being is unable yet toassess this thing called ‘character’. You can assess aman’s intelligence: set him tests, then rate his IQ... It isamazing the number of highly intelligent persons in theworld who make no contribution at all to the well-beingof their fellowmen. And it is this unmeasurablequality called ‘character’ which, plus yourmental capacity or knowledge or discipline,makes for leadership.”– Speech at a youth and leadership conference, April 10, 1967
PEOPLE
“I believed that a deep sense of property wasinstinctive in a person. During the riots of the1950s and early 1960s, people would join inthe rioting, stone windshields, overturn cars,and burn them. When riots broke out in themid-1960s, after they owned homes andproperty, they acted differently. I saw youngmen carrying their scooters parked on the roads tosafety up the stairs of their HDB blocks. I wasstrengthened in my resolve to give every family solidassets which I was confident they would protect anddefend, especially their home. I was not wrong.”– From Third World To First
SINGAPORE’S FUTURE
“No geographic or political boundary can contain theimplications of what we set out to do when we succeed.And, there is no reason why given patience,tolerance, perseverance, we should not – inthis hub, in this confluence of three, indeedfour, great civilisations – create a situationwhich will act as a yeast, a ferment for whatis possible, given goodwill, forbearance andgood faith.
Every year, on this 9th August for many years ahead– how many, I do not know – we will dedicate ourselvesanew to consolidate ourselves to survive; and, mostimportant of all, to find an enduring future for what wehave built...”– First National Day Rally, Aug 8, 1966
RUNNING THE COUNTRY
“If there was one formula for our success,it was that we were constantly studyinghow to make things work, or how to makethem work better. I was never a prisoner of anytheory. What guided me were reason and reality.The acid test I applied to every theory orscheme was, would it work? This was the goldenthread that ran through my years in office.”– From Third World To First
RUNNING THE COUNTRY
“The single decisive factor that made forSingapore’s development was the ability ofits ministers and the high quality of the civilservants who supported them... We soondiscovered that they needed to have other qualitiesbesides a disciplined mind able to marshal facts andfigures, write a thesis for a PhD, or be a professional.Leadership is more than just ability.It is a combination of courage,determination,commitment,character andability thatmakes peoplewilling tofollow aleader.”– From Third WorldTo First
PEOPLE
“In Singapore, a society barely above the poverty line,welfarism would have broken and impoverished us...I have developed a deep aversion towelfarism and social security, because Ihave seen it sap the dynamism of people towork their best. What we have attempted inSingapore is asset enhancement, notsubsidies. We have attempted to give eachperson enough chips to be able to play atthe table of life. This has kept the peopleself-reliant, keen and strong.”– The Man And His Ideas
March 23, 2015 The Straits Times 13
EARLY YEARS:BARISAN WALKOUT,BRITISH PULLOUT,SOCIAL SHAKE-OUT
MY PARENTS, two elder sistersand I lived in Beo Lane at theBukit Ho Swee kampung until Iwas 13. On May 25, 1961 – itwas a public holiday – whenthe big fire broke out, mymother and I were at mysecond auntie’s house. Wereached home before the firereached it and my mothermanaged to take away asarong with our birthcertificates. My family wasamong the 16,000 fire victimsleft homeless that night.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew promisedthat in nine months we wouldall have new flats to live in.
The Housing Board (HDB)had taken over from SingaporeImprovement Trust (SIT) foronly three months. SIT, afterover 30 years, had built only23,000 flats. So people wereasking if the PAP Governmentand Prime Minister Lee wouldbe able to do better than theBritish government.
So when we got the JalanBukit Ho Swee HDB flat lessthan a year later, we werereally grateful. We were saying,at least this Government cankeep its promise.
In 1962, Mr Lee visited ourestate to see how the firevictims had settled in. Myfriends and I followed himaround. A neighbour had aprovision shop in the kampung,so he made his new flat like ashop. We bought flavoured icetubes, sweets and cookies for10 cents from him.
The Prime Minister wasquite understanding. It was notright but people had to make aliving. He also inspected thecommunal toilets. He was avery simple guy. When hevisited, he wore short sleeves.
Many from the kampungwere very poor, uneducated, alot of coolies, port workers.They approached the PrimeMinister with job problems.Kampung people keep theirgratitude in their hearts, they
didn’t say it. But therespect we have forhim is because MrLee got thingsdone. He was not
the kind whocared aboutpopularity...He gave myfamily ahouse, hewas ourbenefactor.
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OCT 29, 1971 (above): A farewell parade at KangawBarracks in Sembawang, where the Union Jack camedown for the last time, marking the end of Britishmilitary command since the first British soldier,Major William Farquhar, arrived in Singapore withSir Stamford Raffles on Jan 19, 1819.
MARCH 28, 1967 (right): Four years before theBritish pullout, which left the defence of Singapore inits own hands, youths were called up for NationalService. The first batch consisted of 9,000 youthsborn between Jan 1, 1949 and June 30, 1949.
AUG 9, 1966 (far right): Thousands took part in thefirst National Day Parade, among them the policeand other security forces, which assembled at thePadang before proceeding along St Andrew’s, NorthBridge, South Bridge and Tanjong Pagar roads.
A CLEAN AND GREEN SINGAPORE: Mr Lee sweeping streets in 1959 in a mass clean-up campaign (above, left) and planting amempat tree (above, right) on Tree Planting Day in 1963, the latter a tradition he kept up annually for the next five decades.A tidy city, he believed, pointed to an orderly government, and a people with good social habits and pride in their surroundings.There were campaigns to not litter, spit, chew gum, deface or destroy the spruced-up new look. Citizens were exhorted to KeepSingapore Clean, Use Your Hands, Queue Up For Buses, Don’t Waste Water, Stop At Two and Speak Mandarin. Mascots like Teamythe productivity bee, Singa the courtesy lion and Bobo the water-saving elephant appeared to give a soft touch to pushing change.
AFTER Separation, Mr Lee faced the grim prospect of having to fightthe pro-communists without the help of the Malaysian government,while trying to govern a new country without a hinterland or a decentdefence force.
A Barisan Sosialis walkout from Parliament raised the possibility ofchaos, as there was talk of them taking the fight into the streets.
As it turned out, however, the manoeuvre gave Mr Lee and the PAPthe space to decisively roll out policies that helped pull Singapore upby the bootstraps.
Conscription at 18 for the entire male population – termed NationalService – began within the second year of independence, a move thatwould prove vital for the nation’s defence when the British pulled outtheir troops in 1971.
Meanwhile, Mr Lee sought to build not just the country’s hardwarebut also its software, moulding the moral make-up and social gracesof Singaporeans through several campaigns.
BUKIT HO SWEE FIRE VICTIMJAMES SEAH KOK THIM
SOCIAL SHAKE-OUTBRITISH PULLOUT
BARISAN WALKOUT
DEC 8, 1965:Yang di-PertuanNegara Yusof Ishakaddressing ahalf-full Houseafter the BarisanSosialis contingentof 13 MPs decidedto boycottParliament.Parliament wouldbe made upentirely of PAPMPs from thispoint until 1981.
THE LEE KUAN YEW
I REMEMBER
PHOTOS: ST FILE
IF ANYONE blazed the campaign trail, it was Mr Lee Kuan Yew. Hewas a fiery orator who roused the crowds with his legendary speeches.Whether he was sketching a vision or socking it to an opponent, MrLee often had his audience transfixed.
He led the ruling People’s Action Party through 14 GeneralElections and he had campaigned at each one since 1955. In 2011, onNomination Day, at age 88, he promised his Tanjong Pagar voters hewould take care of them for another five years. By then, he had doneso for 56 years.
In 1961, he forced himself to pick up Hokkien when he found thecommunist leaders were masterly Hokkien orators whose speechescould move the masses. His Fullerton Square rallies were marqueeevents, where at one election – 1980 – he stood through 65 minutesof rain arguing against those who put Singapore’s future at risk.
Maintaining that “no party or group of men, however powerful,can be more powerful than the people from whom a party derives itsright to rule”, he sought the moral authority to lead at every contest.
March 23, 2015 The Straits Times 17
ON THECAMPAIGN
TRAIL
MAY 30, 1959: Mr Lee became Singapore’s first prime minister when the PAP swept43 out of 51 seats to form the country’s first fully elected government under the new
Constitution. “The people’s verdict is clear and decisive. It is a victory of right overwrong, clean over dirty, righteousness over evil,” he said at a press conference.
16 The Straits Times March 23, 2015
PHOTOS: MINISTRY OF CULTURE, ST FILE
APRIL 2011: (above)Mr Lee lending hissupport to his formerprincipal privatesecretary Heng SweeKeat as he made hiselectoral debut inTampines GRC. Othersin the GRC presentincluded Mr Mah BowTan and Ms Irene Ng.
(left) Mr Lee’ssupporters clad inT-shirts with hispicture on NominationDay, April 27.
JUNE 18, 1961(above): “Merdeka!”Mr Lee thunderedthrice, using theMalay word for“independence”at a by-electionrally in Anson.
DEC 15, 1962(right): Mr Lee,seen here inThomson, revivedgrassroots supportfor the PAP bytouring all 51constituencies in10 months. Thegroundswell ofenthusiasm made itseem like he was“a political popstar”, he recalled.
DEC 20, 1976: Mr Lee’s lunch-time rallies at Fullerton Square, where he delivered hismost memorable speeches, were the highlight of election campaigns.
DEC 24, 1980 (above, right): Mr Lee thanking Tanjong Pagar residents for theirsupport during his victory tour. He won 92.74 per cent of the vote.
DEC 23, 1996:Mr Lee celebratingwith his TanjongPagar GroupRepresentationConstituency teammembers – ProfKoo Tsai Kee, Dr S.Vasoo, Mr ChayWai Chuen, Mr LimSwee Say andDr Ow Chin Hock –and PAP colleaguesafter they werereturnedunopposed onNomination Day.
NOV 11, 2001:Another victory forTanjong PagarGroupRepresentationConstituency,which has beenuncontested since1991. Garlanded inred, white andpurple blooms,Mr Lee shared hisvictory with (fromleft) Prof Koo TsaiKee, Ms IndraneeRajah, Mr ChayWai Chuen, as wellas (not in picture)Mr Khaw BoonWan and Dr ChongWeng Chiew.
EVEN as he cared little for the label,other world leaders regarded Mr LeeKuan Yew as a statesman whoseviews were sought after.
He was also someone who hadseen it all, from being a child of theBritish empire to a leader who foughtagainst colonialism and steered asmall developing country to chart apath for itself amid the big powers.
He approached relations with afirm view to advancing Singapore’sinterests and saw the world for whatit was rather than what it ought to be,observers have said.
In helping to raise Singapore’sprofile on the world stage for nearlyfive decades, he met leaders ofrevolution, from Mao Zedong toNelson Mandela to Gamal AbdelNasser, and he forged close ties withregional leaders such as Suharto.
Some relationships blossomed intodeep friendships. There is the fabledbond between Mr Lee and his threefriends – former US secretaries ofstate George Shultz and HenryKissinger, and former West Germanchancellor Helmut Schmidt.
“A small state must seek amaximum number of friends, whilemaintaining the freedom to be itselfas a sovereign and independentnation,” he said in 2009.
ONE evening in 1967, a youngLee Kuan Yew walked into alion’s den and emerged with afriend for life.
At a dinner with HarvardUniversity scholars, theliberals were taking turns tobrand US President Lyndon B.Johnson a “war criminal” anda “psychopath” for escalatingconflict in Vietnam.
But when it came to MrLee, he made it clear theycould not be more wrong.America’s stand was crucialfor the future of anon-Communist South-eastAsia.
Recalls Dr Henry Kissinger,who was meeting him for thefirst time: “His first wordswere ‘you make me sick’.Which took great courage.”
That display won over theformer US Secretary of State,who was then a Harvard don.Thus began one of the world’smost high-powered andenduring friendships betweentwo masters of realpolitik.
From the beginning, DrKissinger says, “he impressedme with his clarity of analysis,with his strength that heshowed in facing hischallenges, and with thecourage in which he defendedhis position”.
As much as Mr Lee isknown for his force ofpersonality, Dr Kissinger isadamant his friend did notgain the influence he did bycharm or cultivatingpersonality.
“He did it, andinsists on doing it,by performance,” he
says.Their
friendshiphas beenmarked byregular
phone callsand visits, butDr Kissingerinsists it wasnever a
“sentimental”one. Ever therealist, he says:“When Lee KuanYew and I meet,we don’t protesteach other’sfriendship toeach other. Wehave shown it inour actions toeach other.”
GLOBALLINKS
March 23, 2015 The Straits Times 19
HIS FRIEND HENRYKISSINGER, 91
MAY 13, 1969: Mr Lee with United States President Richard Nixon during hisvisit to Washington, where they exchanged views on security in South-eastAsia. He saw Mr Nixon as a “serious geo-political conceptualist with a cleargrasp of the world and of America’s place”.
18 The Straits Times March 23, 2015
JUNE 8, 2001 (left): MrLee receiving a book onChina from ChinesePresident Jiang Zeminduring his visit toSuzhou Industrial Park(SIP), a jointdevelopment betweenSingapore and Chinastarted in 1994. Hepresented Mr Jiang witha copy of his memoirFrom Third World ToFirst and a book on theSIP entitled In Unison.
NOV 14, 2010 (left): InSingapore to mark20 years of bilateral ties,Chinese Vice-PresidentXi Jinping, who is nowChina’s President,unveiled a bronze statueof the late Chineseleader Deng Xiaopingtogether with Mr Lee ata ceremony inParliament House.The bust is now locatedalong the SingaporeRiver.
JAN 19, 1980: Singapore’s enduring friendship with Brunei began in 1960 when Mr Lee firstvisited the late Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien and the two countries began a partnership indefence, economics and education. Mr Lee hosted Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (left) and hisbrother Prince Mohamed (second from right) to a dinner at the Istana during their five-dayvisit. They were accompanied by Senior Minister of State (Foreign Affairs) Lee Khoon Choy(right).
SEPT 3, 1966: Mr Lee visited Indian PM IndiraGandhi four times between 1966 and 1971 tonurture cultural, commercial and strategicrelations with the world’s largest democracy.
OCT 8, 1985:Mr Lee said in histoast at the WhiteHouse dinnerhosted by USPresident RonaldReagan (far right)that relationsbetween the USand Singapore were“at their best”.They are seen herewith (from left)Mrs Lee and MrsNancy DavisReagan by thegrand staircase ofthe White House.
OCT 9, 1985:On the same trip,Mr Lee hosted ablack-tie dinner inhonour of USVice-PresidentGeorge Bush at theFour Seasons Hotelin Washington, DC.From left: Mr Lee,Mr Bush, Mrs Lee,Mrs Barbara Bush,Mrs George Shultzand another of hisgood friends,Secretary of StateGeorge Shultz.
AUG 11, 1981: Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang’s arrival at the Istana on histhree-day visit, the first official trip by a Chinese prime minister to Singapore.It marked the beginning of rapid trade growth between the two countries,from $1.99 billion in 1980 to $22 billion in 2000.
AUG 23, 1982: Mr Lee and Malaysian PrimeMinister Mahathir Mohamad at a pressconference after a two-day meeting in KualaLumpur. They announced plans for a natural gaspipeline from Terengganu to Singapore. It wascompleted 10 years later in January 1992.
SEPT 7, 1982: Mr Lee’s legendary “four-eyemeetings” with Indonesian President Suhartoover 31 years from 1967 to 1998 helped tofoster strong bilateral ties and contribute to
peace and stability in the region. Mr Lee shareda close friendship with Mr Suharto, and was thefirst foreign leader to visit him in a Jakartahospital before his death on Jan 27, 2008.
OCT 10, 1989: Queen Elizabeth II at a state banquet hosted by President Wee Kim Wee (right)during a three-day visit. At the dinner, she paid tribute to Mr Lee for proving to be “one of theCommonwealth’s sturdiest sheet anchors, prudent in counsel and wise in judgment”. Singaporewould have undoubtedly been a very different place without him, she added.
THE LEE KUAN YEW
I REMEMBER
OCT 30, 2009:Mr Lee called onUS PresidentBarack Obama atthe White Houseduring a 10-dayvisit to New Yorkand Washington.He also met topUS diplomat HillaryClinton, TreasurySecretary TimothyGeithner, FederalReserve chairmanBen Bernanke andthe White House’sNational EconomicCouncil directorLawrenceSummers.
MAY 10, 1976: Despite his failinghealth, China’s Chairman Mao Zedonggave Mr Lee a 15-minute meetingduring his two-week goodwill visit toBeijing, as well as Yanan and Shanxiprovinces.
NOV 12, 1978: Mr Lee called China’selder statesman Deng Xiaoping –whom he met during this three-daytrip to Singapore – “a great historicfigure who saved 1.2 billion peoplefrom disaster and chaos”.
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF LEE KUAN YEW, ST FILE
AT 67, Mr Lee Kuan Yew stepped down voluntarily after 31 years asPrime Minister.
Political renewal was a key task he had set for himself since the1970s, inducting younger, better-educated talent to replenish theranks even if at times it rankled some of his Old Guard comrades.
Mr Lee had worked towards a smooth, orderly transition afterseeing too many Third World nations come to grief without suchdiscipline. When he handed over the reins to Mr Goh Chok Tong inNovember 1990, there was no crashing of the gears, as he put it,because so carefully had the succession been planned.
Mr Lee became Senior Minister and then Minister Mentor, sharinghis databank of a lifetime of experience with the Cabinet. Successionplanning is now accepted as a given. Mr Goh handed over the reins toMr Lee Hsien Loong after 14 years. Mr Lee Hsien Loong, 63, who doesnot want to stay beyond 70, is searching for Singapore’s fourth PM.
March 23, 2015 The Straits Times 21
GROOMINGYOUNGERLEADERS
SEPT 1, 1988:Mr Lee gave FirstDeputy PrimeMinister Goh ChokTong (second fromright) his vote ofconfidence at thislunch-time rally inFullerton Square ashe urged voters togive his successor“a ringingendorsement”.This election wasdifferent becausevoters would becasting theirverdict not on hisown performance,but that of MrGoh’s, he said. Andthey had to decideif they approved ofMr Goh’s moreconsultativeapproach togoverning, headded. Votersresponded byreturning the PAPto power with 63.2per cent of thevote.From left: Mr S.Jayakumar, Mr LeeHsien Loong,Dr Yeo Ning Hong,Mr Lee Kuan Yew,Mr Goh Chok Tongand Mr GeorgeYeo.
20 The Straits Times March 23, 2015
NOV 28, 1990(above): Mr GohChok Tong wassworn in asSingapore’s secondPrime Minister atCity Hall Chamber.He passed themantle ofpremiership toMr Lee HsienLoong in August2004 after 14years, and wasSenior Ministeruntil 2011.
AUG 12, 2004(left): Mr Leecongratulating hisson Lee HsienLoong (centre)after he was swornin as Singapore’sthird PrimeMinister at theIstana. Mr Lee,who was SeniorMinister, receivedhis appointment asMinister Mentorfrom thenPresident S RNathan (at right).
APRIL 27,2011 (left):Mr Lee withPAP new faceand fellowTanjong PagarGRC candidateChan ChunSing onNominationDay atSingaporeChinese Girls’School.Mr Chan, whois now Ministerfor Social andFamilyDevelopmentand SecondMinister forDefence, ispart ofSingapore’sfourthgeneration ofleadership.
PHOTOS: ST FILE, BT FILE
AWAY from the public eye, Mr Lee Kuan Yew had a loyal, caring side.He was a family man who kept in close contact with his siblings,worried after his children and loved his wife deeply.
The eldest of five siblings born into a middle-class Straits Chinesefamily, he said he knew “they will not let me down” if he were ever introuble. He outlived his two brothers Dennis and Freddy and issurvived by sister Monica and brother Suan Yew.
Mr Lee was deeply attached to his wife Kwa Geok Choo, who washis academic rival at Raffles Institution in 1939 before they werere-acquainted later and romance blossomed. While studying inEngland, they married in secret. They exchanged vows officially againin Singapore in 1950. They had three children: Prime Minister LeeHsien Loong, paediatric neurologist Lee Wei Ling and businessmanLee Hsien Yang; and seven grandchildren.
When Mrs Lee died in 2010, he said in a moving eulogy for his wifeof 63 years: “Without her, I would be a different man, with a differentlife.”
I KNOW best what my brotherliked to eat. He loved ourmother’s Nonya cooking andsometimes he would crave hisfavourite dishes.
When he lost weight afterMrs Lee died in 2010, he calledme and said: “Mon, I’ve lost21/2 pounds. What can youteach my maid to cook so Ican put the weight back on?”
So I taught his Indonesiancook how to prepare satay,gado gado, mee siam androjak. And to help him build upan appetite, I presented thefood on beautiful dishes that Icarried by hand back fromItaly.
When he saw the way thefood was laid out, withvegetables on the side andfruit in the middle, he calledout to his daughter, who callsme Gu Ma (aunt in Mandarin):“Wei Ling, come and see whatyour Gu Ma has done. Comeand join me!”
Sometimes he would callwith a special request. Once heasked for a Dutch-style chickenbut I did not know how toprepare it. See, whatever hewants to eat, he thinks I’msuch a great chef I’m able toproduce it! Thankfully, I couldand it came out perfectly.
Later, he decided he wouldput on weight by eatingdessert. He asked me toprepare tiramisu, caramelpudding and souffle for him.These were the sweet treats heused to have when he was inCambridge and London. But Ihad not made souffle for 35years!
I took care of my brother inhis old age because he tookcare of all of us when we wereyoung. He looked aftereverybody’s affairs, andwhenever he saw that I wassad or unwell, he would call meinto his office to find out why.
Even until recently he wouldask me how often I see myheart doctor... He wanted tomake sure that as long as hewas alive, we were alive too,
my youngestbrother Suan andI. We were allvery close,and he wasmore like amother tous thanour ownmother.
FAMILYMAN
March 23, 2015 The Straits Times 2322 The Straits Times March 23, 2015
1963: Despite hisbusy schedule,Mr Lee found timeto be with hischildren.He saw more ofthem during theirannual two-weekvacations atFraser’s Hill,Cameron Highlandsand later, ChangiCottage. But healso made it apoint to takebreaks in themiddle of his workday to interactwith his children.They are seen hereon a marine patrolboat namedTekong on aSunday familyouting. From left:Hsien Loong, 11,Wei Ling, eight,Mr Lee, HsienYang, six, andMrs Lee.
HIS SISTERMONICA LEE, 85
SEPTEMBER 1946:(Top) A familyphoto taken thenight beforeMr Lee left to readlaw in England.Front row: Mr Lee’sparents, Mr LeeChin Koon andMadam Chua JimNeo.Second row fromleft: Ms MonicaLee, Mr Dennis Lee,Mr Lee Kuan Yew,Mr Freddy Lee andDr Lee Suan Yew.
(Right) He alsotook a series ofphotographs withhis beloved KwaGeok Choo toremember her by.Although shepromised to waitthree years for hisreturn, they werereunited the nextyear in 1947 aftershe won a Queen’sScholarship, whichpaid for heruniversity educationin Britain.
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE LEE FAMILY, ST FILE
THE LEE KUAN YEW
I REMEMBER
1989: Mr and Mrs Lee had one granddaughter and six grandsons, who wereoccasionally seen running around the rolling greens of the Istana. From left: PM LeeHsien Loong’s youngest son Haoyi (on Mrs Lee’s lap), a few months old, Mr Lee HsienYang’s sons Shengwu, four, and Huanwu, three, and PM Lee’s second son Hongyi, two.
OCT 6, 2010: Mr Lee bade a final farewell to his wife of 63 years by kissing his fingersand placing them on her cheeks twice at the end of a private funeral held at MandaiCrematorium. She died on Oct 2, 2010, two years after she suffered two consecutivestrokes in 2008.
24 The Straits Times March 23, 2015
AUG 9, 2012: Mr Lee arriving for the National Day Parade at The Float@Marina Bayto a standing ovation, as Singaporeans cheered for the man who overcame the odds
to take Singapore from Third World to First.
PHOTO: ST FILE
LEE KUAN YEW:
A tribute
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