by Zafar Anjum

On the 29th of March, the day Singapore’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew was to be cremated after lying in state for a few days at Singapore’s Parliament House, I was on a flight crossing the Pacific. The flight attendant had given me a fat issue of The Straits Times (ST), Singapore’s newspaper of record, that presented memories of many Singaporeans whose lives had changed—immensely for the better—due to what Lee Kuan Yew had done for them. One of the writers of those memories was Patrick Daniel, the editor-in-chief of ST.

In his tribute, Patrick said that he had been a beneficiary of the Singapore system of meritocracy and multiculturalism. In one generation, Singapore had covered the long distance from poor mudflats to a first world nation status—a transition that many countries take centuries to achieve, and a mere pipe dream for a majority of nations. Patrick had, for example, moved from a humble wooden house to owning a piece of landed property in a coveted area in Singapore, worth several million dollars, in his own lifetime. He had risen through the ranks and had become a top editor in a short span of time in the world of Singaporean journalism. Continue reading →

Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who was Singapore’s first Prime Minister when the country gained Independence in 1965, has died on Monday (Mar 23) at the age of 91.

He was not just an ordinary politician but a superior orator and a very lucid writer–perhaps the writer of Singapore’s perennial bestsellers, his autobiography and numerous other books comprising his interviews and thoughts.

In 1999, Lee Kuan Yew published a two-volume set of memoirs: The Singapore Story, which covers his view of Singapore’s history until its separation from Malaysia in 1965, and From Third World to First: The Singapore Story, which gives his account of Singapore’s subsequent transformation into a developed nation. In 2005, Lee published Keeping My Mandarin Alive: Lee Kuan Yew Language Learning Experience, which documents his challenge learning Mandarin in his thirties and why it is important for overseas Chinese to learn and/or speak Chinese.

In 2011, Lee published My Lifelong Challenge Singapore’s Bilingual Journey which chronicles his struggle adopting Singapore bilingual policy in a multiracial society. Also in 2011, Lee published Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going which is a 458-page questions-and-answers book, in which he is interviewed by journalist from Singapore Press Holdings on issues which include the challenges he faced when Singapore first gained independence, the future political landscape, opportunities for youth in Singapore and also his personal views on homosexuality and family issues.

In 2013, Lee published two new books, The Wit and Wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew and One Man’s View of the World. The Wit and Wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew contains almost 600 quotations which provides a summary of his views on a wide range of topics on Singapore and the world. In One Man’s View of the World, Lee draws on his experience and insight to offer his views on today’s world and what it might look like in 20 years (source: Wikipedia).

Lee Kuan Yew Archives on his books and interviews

Mr Lee, who was born in 1923, formed the People’s Action Party in 1954, then became Prime Minister in 1959. He led the nation through a merger with the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, as well as into Independence in 1965.

He leaves behind two sons – Lee Hsien Loong and Lee Hsien Yang – and a daughter, Lee Wei Ling.

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