I am not a fan of his politics, but no one can deny Singapore with Lee Kuan Yew would not have advanced so fast.
A year after his passing, the National Museum of Singapore1 took some previously unseen before artefacts and documents that showcased some of the important moments of Singapore’s road to independence, including the Declaration of Independence.
The Istana, Malay for “palace”, stands on what was once part of a massive nutmeg estate belonging to a British merchant named Charles Robert Prinsep. In 1867, Governor Harry Ord, who was in charge of Singapore from 1867 to 1873, acquired the land and built Government House on it.2 This was a recreation of his original office at the Istana, everything was original pieces that he used, including his ministerial briefcase.
LKY is famous for his speeches, they were full of convictions and facts. You can still see many of his best snippets on YouTube, but again context is everything. Watch the whole speech to understand why he said certain things, and the way he delivered it.
One of the fundamental principles of his government is integrity, his zero-tolerance of corruption. He picked the colour white for his cadres and party members, and made them all wore white shirt and pants for the NDP, was to remind everyone of this unwavering rule that all office holders have to be whiter than white. I remember when I was little, my Member of Parliament committed suicide because he took bribes from contractors when he was Minister of National Development, a stark reminder of his toughness, even to his compatriots.
One thing I admire LKY is that he never stopped learning new things. Of course, he had all the resources at his disposal; of course, he did not have to worry about his next pay check; but you have to give it a 70 yo man to pick up Microsoft Office, to learn emailing and later in life, about YouTube and social media. He never stopped, and why should we.
Lee Kuan Yew passed away on 23 Mar 2015 and never got to see SG50 NDP, and they left an empty seat for him. These days they don’t wear white anymore. Next to “him” was Othman Wok (2024-2017) who served as his Minister of Social Affairs between 1963 and 1977, a compatriot in the labour moment in LKY’s early career as a lawyer.
If you want more information of LKY, go read his autobiography in three thick volumes. As the saying goes, “胜者为王” “The winner takes it all”, so just read with a pinch of salt.
Visited Apr 2016
- https://www.remembering.gov.sg/national-mourning-week-2015/visit-the-exhibitions/ ↩︎
- https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/remembering-lee-kuan-yew-i-did-my-best ↩︎
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