Tag Archives: LKY

Freedom is being able to walk on the streets unmolested in the wee hours in the morning, to be able to leave one's door open and not fear that one would be burgled. Freedom is the woman who can ride buses and trains alone; freedom is not having to avoid certain subway stations after night falls.

When I had a heart attack in 1989 and required open heart surgery, he cared enough to ring up my wife to ask her to delay the operation as he had arranged for the best heart surgeon, a Singaporean living in Australia, to do the operation. But by then, I had been given pre-med and was asleep prior to the operation the next day.

The Western press has relentlessly trotted out the opinion that Lee Kuan Yew built Singapore’s undeniable economic success at the cost of fundamental civil liberties. Much as I understand that it is in the West’s fundamental DNA to assert certain inalienable freedoms, as a Singaporean, I strenuously object that there has been any such trade-off.

Many Singaporeans have recently received an anonymous message calling on them to wear "black tops" when the state funeral of the late Lee Kuan Yew takes place on Sunday. Yet one day after the message was sent, a 2nd competing message was sent out discouraging Singaporeans from wearing black.

The success arose not just from Mr Lee's extraordinary fighting spirit and tenacity, but also from his sincerity. However, I don’t think that the PAP one party rule is the key to Singapore's fast economic development, strong social cohesion and unitedness. This is because many Singaporeans were sacrificed during the process of nation building and policy making and our society has paid a price for it.

Mr Lee had indeed become frail as he approached his 90th birthday in 2013. He had problems in swallowing and food would go down the wrong way into his windpipe, infecting his lungs repeatedly. As eating could cause aspiration pneumonia, he needed intravenous nutrition as supplement but became progressively thinner. Parliament was sitting that year on Sept 16th, his birthday and we wanted to acknowledge his 90th birthday, an auspicious birthday. I called on Mr Lee at the Istana and told him about our plans. He said he would be in Parliament that day on Sept 16th. Unfortunately, when that day came, a dehydrated and weakened Mr Lee had to go to hospital and be put on a drip. His doctors advised him not to attend Parliament. We were informed so we called off our plans. But just before Parliament adjourned, we were surprised when Mr Lee entered this Chamber.

Throughout his 6 decades of public service, the late Mr Lee had only one mission – and that was to create a better life for all Singaporeans. In one generation, Singapore was transformed. The results of Mr Lee’s lifelong dedication are all over Singapore. No words can truly describe or reflect his contributions and the great impact he made on the lives of millions of Singaporeans, including mine. His policies enabled me, son of hawker parents, to become a deputy prime minister. Many poor families’ children have done well too. ... Social mobility is not an abstract theory in Singapore.

I deliver this speech with great sorrow. When I was born in 1978 Mr Lee was the Prime Minister. In fact Mr Lee was the Prime Minister from the time that we got independence. His achievements are immeasurable. Even though the Indians only form about 10 percent of the population, the Tamil language remains as one of the official languages. Mr Lee, under his multi racial and multi lingual policy, made a provision in the Constitution to include it as one of the official languages.

I hope that in the days, weeks, months and years to come, we can all remember these feelings and to always be grateful for what we have, and instead of asking what more society can give us, to instead look for ways we can give back to the society and nation that has given us so much. Thank you Mr Lee. ‪#‎RememberingLeeKuanYew‬

50 grassroots leaders and residents from East Coast GRC are asking for all Singaporeans to fly the national flag at their homes this Sunday, 29th March, to pay their respects for the late Lee Kuan Yew. Minister in the Prime Minister's office Lim Swee Say, who is the MP for East Coast GRC and the advisor for the GRC's grassroots organization, says: "We want to tell Mr. Lee. Don't worry about us, rest in peace."