We had been observing the news since February this year when we received news of our Founding Father Lee Kuan Yew had been hospitalized. Although it was common these years, as his health had been failing him after his wife had pass in 2010.
3 days ago, after a long week of grueling waiting, the news finally came that he had passed on peacefully in the wee hours of the morning. Many had cried, many are lost like myself, and many young ones are ignorant of what was going on.
I am second generation of Singapore Citizen. My parents are at those times, when Mr Lee Kuan Yew yells "Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!" though the loud hailers of black and white televisions. They were given a choice to live in Singapore or live in Malaysia, and they choose Singapore. As second generation of Singaporean, we did not do know what our parents experience in the past, the riots, the war, the political conflicts. We only hear stories from my parents that are mentioned very lightly in our textbooks, the Lee family, they always fondly referred him and his family including Mr Lee Kuan Yew's father.
In my youth i despises long essays due to my weak languages, so, i took up geography instead of history after the basic two years in secondary schools. I lack knowledge of what actually happened between the 2 great lands, Singapore and Malaysia.
We have no idea how much our founding father had planned and led his people to build this place, how the stability comes about, how the safety comes about, and even how do we ended with a green city with the best airport, best port to boost about. And like many others, we took all these for granted.
So, with all these tributes to his wife, Mdm Kwa Geok Choo in 2010, together with Mr Lee Kuan Yew's recently, we pieced everything together and now know the masterminds and who had been driving us to work hard, and harder, to maintain the continuity of our society nowadays.
Finally, I would like to say in very simple words.
Thank you!
For everything you thought of and did for us.
I pray we will, no, we must continue your works, to make you proud. And make us continue to stand tall in the world.
I hereby, attached few videos in memory of him.
First, on a interview of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's eldest son, who is our current prime minister Mr Lee Hsien Yang. In Chinese.
Mediacorp TV8 PM Lee Hsien Loong interview on... by singaporegeek
and i will use my weak bilingual skills to translate whatever spoken in English. If there is any discrepancy in the transcript, please inform me, so i will improve on it. Thank you.
Founding father of Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's eldest son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, had earlier received an interview from a Chinese media spoken of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's career of building the country, how he treat people and his leadership traits.He also discussed of his father's image and the relationship between him and his father.Mr Lee Hsien Loong said, the whole life of his father and Singapore is inseparable.His father's destiny gives him motivation"He is my father and prime minister at the same time.So, from our view as family members, we do not have a normal family's way of life. He is always working at every moment. I believed that if my father had not been himself, i most probably will not become what i am today. However, i feel that the way he treat people around him, his mission, is that if you have the chance to do the same, you should try your very best to do it.He feels that Singapore is his responsibility, is something that he created, therefore he feels he is responsible for all Singaporeans, that he must take care of them, create a better future for them, at the same time encourage them, or even excite them to do better. To do things that Singaporeans had never expected they could complete such a feat."Prime minister mentioned about the times he was young, and yet not completely fulfilling his father's wishes."After i knew about things around me, Singapore had just started for a few years. Those are the years of many turmoils and changes. In view of these, i followed the newspapers reports very closely. In schools and among friends, we discussed of these social issues. Even in primary schools, these are being discussed. I think today, our primary school children do not discuss such country affairs at all anymore. That's why, unconsciously, we (LHL and his friends) too, absorbed the trend, politics of our times, how our times had been directed, and also motivated."At those times of Independence, the government movements had left a deep impression, when discussing on what his father had gone through during these times, and how he spend his trying years of building the country. Our prime minister was speechless."we can dare say he is a hero of his times. because he experienced world war, experienced..."*emotional pauses*"Experienced the Japanese occupation, fighting the Colonial powers, chaotic times among the people, everything was a big global change. He had become a hero wrought from worst situations, because he survived from the worst. It is this knowledge, that he can guide Singapore to have stable lives, to grow, and to prosper. Those were the times. Now we are having a brand new generation. I feel that the new requirements for leaders are different from the past. That's why people must be led differently from the past. I know Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew understand this point. He knows that when he was a prime minister, he already did the best what he could."However, under the new leadership, basic philosophy still have be be observed. Including Lee Kuan Yew's policy on clean government." I feel that to have a clean government is a very important factor. This is a very difficult thing to maintain. We have to make tough decisions in many times as it may affect certain civil servant or certain minister. If he had done something wrong, your responsibility is to investigate and prosecute by legal means. You cannot say, that this is my comrade or my subordinate, i have to side him, to protect him, which i have to continue to tolerate his ways. These, my father had done many times too. That's why all these years, he insisted going to work. he will carry his own briefcase, never let others carry for him. Because these were his responsibility. Like once he mentioned, he is not the king of one country, but he is actually the first servant of his citizens."In prime minister Lee Hsien Loong memories, Mr Lee Kuan Yew put Singapore as first place in his mind. Even after stepping down, he was still worrying about the country and her citizens."For example, we were discussing whether to let overseas investors to open casinos in Singapore. He have his views. At those times, views among younger ministers are not the same: Some feel can do, some have preservative views, that we should not go for such trades. He (LKY) feels we should go for it, should try, because it is a new era, this is a new type of tourism, if we do not do it, we will in a disadvantage. Actually, in many things, He (LKY) is very open minded. I know when he (LKY) spotted some comments on newspaper, he feels that what is discussed is not important and relevant to the problem, sometimes he even wants to draft a speech just to persuade Singaporeans not to be too complacent and too contented with what we have now, and to think we are already the best. But we told him, you have done enough, now it is our turn as new generation of leaders to do it, as this is our responsibility."Prime minister Lee Hsien Loong mentioned, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and his comrades built Singapore, also built a body that maintain continuity. This is the best legacy he had left for Singapore."Without him, we will not have Singapore today. This is widely recognized. But created a country, the most important is it whether it can be survived and continued moving forward. To be able to continue to have successors to continue as the generations followed. To be able to continue the prosperity and to be surpass the previous generation, to create a system that systematically and specifically to continue to be a stable, and independent country.
This, Not many countries can do this.
My favorite tribute video so far:
The full video of the 'please don't waste time' for the NUH Phd girl.
His last Goodbye to his wife always make me teared, even after all these years.
