In honour of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew
Dear Mr Lee Kuan Yew,
As a young person, I grew up in a HDB flat studying in the primary and secondary school and then decided to enter the Polytechnic instead of the JC (which would have taken me to university). I was a rebel and every rule was a challenge in my face to break. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I was “anti-government”. Authority was merely for me to overcome and acquire yet another badge in my own cupboard of medals. In growing up, my temperament mellowed, but I still am very much of a rebel, but now with some slight wisdom that comes with age (indeed!!).
Looking back on this past week, I realised that I know very little of the history of Singapore and what we went through as a people to reach what we are today. I also realised that I knew very little of you and the perspective you took on this nation in the early beginnings. All the time I was growing up, I knew about the public housing system, appreciating the availability of clean water and electricity, and all the various utilities that is there for me to make use of and yet not fully understanding the progress that we had undergone in reaching such a state. It is not that I don’t appreciate what I have in Singapore but perhaps I never fully fathomed the painstaking journey that others before me have taken in order to fashion what I see now in the present. This past week have shown me that there is more I do not know and understand.
In watching the many documentaries and videos, there are some things I have learnt about you. It seems that the falling apart of the merger back then, dealt you a great blow. What I noticed was that the blow of not being able to answer to those whom had pledged their support was greater than the actual fallout. You held such a strong personal conviction in your own promises that the fact that you weren’t able to deliver them was a huge disappointment to yourself; that you felt you were letting them down. It was as if people believed you simply because you believed so strongly in your own words. Maybe that’s why people rallied toward you because you made it a point to not let down and to deliver as you said you would.
There are different models of government and each has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. You possessed the unique set of talents, traits and abilities that was able to meet the unique circumstances and situation that presented itself to you in the early days of this nation. Your ability to engage almost all people, from the uneducated person who sought a future in Singapore to the PhD holders of overseas confederations, struck me as a critical part of you that contributed to forging the many relationships that was needed within and abroad. The approach you decided to take in meeting your intent was probably what was needed in that period, and your intent was indeed noble - to make a better life for everyone. Your relentless drive to do all that was needed, even if it meant unpopular policies, was all for one purpose - to better the people’s lives, our lives, my life. Another thing I noted about you was that you kept yourself free from corruption and maintained this throughout the government. There is always that easy way out for yourself with such access but somehow the drive within you to better our lives drowned out everything else. No one will ever know for sure what might or could have become of this nation if you or anyone else had done it any differently, but I do think that we have emerged a lot better and have come a long way from the start in a short span of time.
Having grown up and becoming less rash in my thinking, I wondered about my thinking as a youth. Charged and raring for lofty ideals geared towards the ambitious dreams of a young person, I thought that I had the right to freedom of speech and interpreted that as being able to say whatever I want, at anytime, and in any way that I want to be heard. Today I know and understand that much comes at a cost. There is a balance to hold between freedom and order. Freedom and creativity is necessary but when people abuse freedom, it results in chaos and less better lives. I am not your biggest advocate or supporter but I do believe that you made the best choices in your capacity given the amount of information you had access to, amidst the challenges and circumstances that surrounded you. You made the choices with one clear objective, that is to better this nation. You were obviously forward-thinking and ready to change in order to keep us relevant, which probably explains why you were able to bring us forward and up to speed so quickly. I believe that you were called for such a time as this, no earlier no later.
Your life, your sacrifices and your relentless pursuit to make this country better and to stay relevant in the global scale, has ignited a deep respect and admiration from me. It is true that I do not have to agree with everything you have done or say or think in order for me to respect you, because there are indeed some things that I do not fully agree with. But nevertheless, I admire your spirit and the way you upheld your values and beliefs in order to achieve your one desire. You should be proud that you have shaped this one mind to understand your heartbeat for this country and your passion to carve a nation where the people will be able to live good lives and be proud to call themselves a Singaporean. I am this one Singaporean and I thank you for all that you have done and contributed to this country. There are no words that can express my gratitude, especially when I look around me and I see that I have a lot more than many others. I queued 6 hours to tell you “thank you”. Although it was back breaking, I got the opportunity to observe that there are many others like me who respect you immensely and are deeply grateful and appreciative for what you have done and given up to build this nation. May you rest in assurance that you have given your best and your all for us and that we are truly thankful for your life and your sacrifice that has been an absolute blessing to us all and for many generations to come. While we may forget this day, but may we never take for granted all that is so readily available at our disposition because it had cost someone a great price, a life which he gave, which you gave.
This is my expression of gratitude in tribute to you, Mr Lee and I am happy that you can finally be reunited with your beloved wife and can enjoy the peace and rest that you rightfully deserve after all your hard labour. I bid you farewell Sir, and godspeed.
Sincerely yours.
#RememberingLKY
As a young person, I grew up in a HDB flat studying in the primary and secondary school and then decided to enter the Polytechnic instead of the JC (which would have taken me to university). I was a rebel and every rule was a challenge in my face to break. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I was “anti-government”. Authority was merely for me to overcome and acquire yet another badge in my own cupboard of medals. In growing up, my temperament mellowed, but I still am very much of a rebel, but now with some slight wisdom that comes with age (indeed!!).
Looking back on this past week, I realised that I know very little of the history of Singapore and what we went through as a people to reach what we are today. I also realised that I knew very little of you and the perspective you took on this nation in the early beginnings. All the time I was growing up, I knew about the public housing system, appreciating the availability of clean water and electricity, and all the various utilities that is there for me to make use of and yet not fully understanding the progress that we had undergone in reaching such a state. It is not that I don’t appreciate what I have in Singapore but perhaps I never fully fathomed the painstaking journey that others before me have taken in order to fashion what I see now in the present. This past week have shown me that there is more I do not know and understand.
In watching the many documentaries and videos, there are some things I have learnt about you. It seems that the falling apart of the merger back then, dealt you a great blow. What I noticed was that the blow of not being able to answer to those whom had pledged their support was greater than the actual fallout. You held such a strong personal conviction in your own promises that the fact that you weren’t able to deliver them was a huge disappointment to yourself; that you felt you were letting them down. It was as if people believed you simply because you believed so strongly in your own words. Maybe that’s why people rallied toward you because you made it a point to not let down and to deliver as you said you would.
There are different models of government and each has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. You possessed the unique set of talents, traits and abilities that was able to meet the unique circumstances and situation that presented itself to you in the early days of this nation. Your ability to engage almost all people, from the uneducated person who sought a future in Singapore to the PhD holders of overseas confederations, struck me as a critical part of you that contributed to forging the many relationships that was needed within and abroad. The approach you decided to take in meeting your intent was probably what was needed in that period, and your intent was indeed noble - to make a better life for everyone. Your relentless drive to do all that was needed, even if it meant unpopular policies, was all for one purpose - to better the people’s lives, our lives, my life. Another thing I noted about you was that you kept yourself free from corruption and maintained this throughout the government. There is always that easy way out for yourself with such access but somehow the drive within you to better our lives drowned out everything else. No one will ever know for sure what might or could have become of this nation if you or anyone else had done it any differently, but I do think that we have emerged a lot better and have come a long way from the start in a short span of time.
Having grown up and becoming less rash in my thinking, I wondered about my thinking as a youth. Charged and raring for lofty ideals geared towards the ambitious dreams of a young person, I thought that I had the right to freedom of speech and interpreted that as being able to say whatever I want, at anytime, and in any way that I want to be heard. Today I know and understand that much comes at a cost. There is a balance to hold between freedom and order. Freedom and creativity is necessary but when people abuse freedom, it results in chaos and less better lives. I am not your biggest advocate or supporter but I do believe that you made the best choices in your capacity given the amount of information you had access to, amidst the challenges and circumstances that surrounded you. You made the choices with one clear objective, that is to better this nation. You were obviously forward-thinking and ready to change in order to keep us relevant, which probably explains why you were able to bring us forward and up to speed so quickly. I believe that you were called for such a time as this, no earlier no later.
Your life, your sacrifices and your relentless pursuit to make this country better and to stay relevant in the global scale, has ignited a deep respect and admiration from me. It is true that I do not have to agree with everything you have done or say or think in order for me to respect you, because there are indeed some things that I do not fully agree with. But nevertheless, I admire your spirit and the way you upheld your values and beliefs in order to achieve your one desire. You should be proud that you have shaped this one mind to understand your heartbeat for this country and your passion to carve a nation where the people will be able to live good lives and be proud to call themselves a Singaporean. I am this one Singaporean and I thank you for all that you have done and contributed to this country. There are no words that can express my gratitude, especially when I look around me and I see that I have a lot more than many others. I queued 6 hours to tell you “thank you”. Although it was back breaking, I got the opportunity to observe that there are many others like me who respect you immensely and are deeply grateful and appreciative for what you have done and given up to build this nation. May you rest in assurance that you have given your best and your all for us and that we are truly thankful for your life and your sacrifice that has been an absolute blessing to us all and for many generations to come. While we may forget this day, but may we never take for granted all that is so readily available at our disposition because it had cost someone a great price, a life which he gave, which you gave.
This is my expression of gratitude in tribute to you, Mr Lee and I am happy that you can finally be reunited with your beloved wife and can enjoy the peace and rest that you rightfully deserve after all your hard labour. I bid you farewell Sir, and godspeed.
Sincerely yours.
#RememberingLKY