Today, I received a text from Bingwei telling me about the passing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first prime minister. My reaction when I saw the text was like my reaction on 9/11/01 when my mom called to tell me about the World Trade Center. I didn’t believe it. It’s gotta be a joke, it’s gotta be a hoax. It was not. In all my life, growing up, Mr LKY had always been larger than life, an immortal. I knew rationally that this day would come. Now that it has, I cannot grasp it.
Some of us Singaporeans criticized him, some of us revered him. Hate him or love him, we are entitled to our opinions and feelings towards this man whose life’s work has undeniably shaped Singapore the way she is today.
My growing up days were in stark contrast to my mom’s. I grew up in a clean apartment with clean water coming out of faucets. She grew up in a kampung “ah-tap” house. She told me tales of how the streets would be flooded after heavy rain and she would float on a ‘boat’ with her siblings down the street (yep, that sounded like a lot of fun for a kid), I only knew well-drained streets. My nightly routine consisted of doing homework or studying for a test after dinner. My mom never had to study after sundown as they had no electricity in the house. Getting a university degree was a big deal in my mom’s generation. Not getting at least a university degree was the anomaly in mine. In just one generation, Mr LKY has transformed our little island from a kampung village to a modern, highly educated society. An amazing feat. I recognize that he had good and competent people working for him. No matter how good he is, he cannot do everything by himself. However, I recognize that it takes a special kind of person to be able to lead a team of smart, competent people to achieve what our nation has accomplished.
I just want to say thanks to this man. I wouldn’t be where I am or have the opportunities that I had without Mr LKY. The efforts of his team and his leadership organized the country and made the economy strong (even though we had no natural resources). As a result, my mom was able to have the opportunity to start her own company and partake in the fruits of the strong economy. As a result, me and most of my fellow Singaporeans were able to receive high level of education from young and grew up to compete with the other international candidates for spots in the top universities of the world. As a result, Singapore went from being non-existent in the world’s eyes to not only being well-known, but well-known for being among the top in many things, like our Singapore airlines, our strong economy, our high tech and modern society, our cleanliness, the quality of Singaporeans. I have observed that today, Singapore has become a highly desirable destination for people from other countries. To visit, to live, to prosper. 2015 marks the 50th year since the day Mr LKY announced to the nation with a teary eye that Singapore has become an independent and free country.
“We, the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion, to build a democratic society based on justice and equality so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.”
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