Musings on Mr Lee's legacy from ordinary people he touched
People in Singapore and overseas reflect on his contributions to nation
A group from social enterprise Positive Intentions (above), which helps disadvantaged groups get back on their feet, at Singapore General Hospital with placards covered with post-it notes. They spent two hours outside Ngee Ann City getting 200 people to write good wishes for Mr Lee. -- PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN -
LIKE many Singaporeans, Madam Ranjani Rangan has been closely following news of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew's health in recent days.
Yesterday, the 38-year-old banker felt so strongly about the negative comments from some netizens that she wrote a heartfelt Facebook note on Mr Lee's contributions to Singapore.
She expressed the hope that those who had criticised him for what they see as a "dictatorship" will hopefully appreciate what he and his team of leaders had done for the country.
"We may not be able to afford big homes or have large cars, our country is too small for long drives, there is less freedom of speech, the work culture may not be as flexible as in the West, and the weather is a bit too warm with a lack of the four seasons - however, where it truly matters, we have it all laid out for us," she wrote, citing Singapore's quality education, healthcare, infrastructure, transport and security.
"We don't understand how good we have it here," Madam Rangan said when contacted. The fourth-generation Singaporean lived and worked in Britain and the United States for 12 years before returning home in 2008.
Like her, others have written commentaries on Mr Lee's legacy. Several mentioned that some of Mr Lee's decisions and views remain controversial, but pointed out that on balance, his leadership was critical to Singapore's progress.
Miami-based Beverly Murray, who grew up in Singapore, wrote about Mr Lee on her blog earlier this month, and titled her post The Most Brilliant Politician You Never Knew.
In her post, which has been circulating on social media, she highlighted how former US president Richard Nixon once described Mr Lee as a man who "might have attained the world stature of a Churchill, a Disraeli, or a Gladstone" were he born in another country.
She also described how his push for what is the best - not just the individual's best - was an ethos instilled at school throughout her growing-up years in the 1980s, even as she and her classmates felt alienated by this focus on the practical over the poetic.
She also described how his push for what is the best - not just the individual's best - was an ethos instilled at school throughout her growing-up years in the 1980s, even as she and her classmates felt alienated by this focus on the practical over the poetic.
They have since relocated to Shanghai, Perth, New York and London, but she feels they too are likewise pensive about Mr Lee's impending departure.
"No display of gratitude seems excessive in (the) light of your tremendous legacy. But I'm happiest to report that your people - scattered and disparate as they may be - have indeed found poetry," she wrote. "In doing so, they may have uncovered the spirit of what it really means to be Singaporean at heart."
Mr Daniel Wagner, chief executive of Country Risk Solutions, who had lived in Singapore, wrote a piece on The Huffington Post about his time as an expatriate.
A big part of the reason for Singapore's efficiency, he said, was "the effective manner in which the Government operates, much of which is due to the legacy of modern Singapore's founder, Lee Kuan Yew".
"Say what you will about the type of democracy LKY created, and nurtured, after stepping down as prime minister in 1990, the net result is an economic miracle unrivalled in South-east Asia that has punched way above its weight for decades," he wrote.
Mr Wagner noted that many people have criticised Singapore's political system, but said Mr Lee and his People's Action Party "have consistently delivered the goods - in a big way".
"If you ask me what LKY's legacy is, I would say it is a textbook case about how to make something really meaningful out of very little - how to transform a tiny island nation into an economic goliath," he said.
"How to create a safe haven in a region filled with churning waters. And how to constantly evolve in order to survive and thrive."
The Straits Times / Top of The News Published on Saturday, 21 March, 2015
By Zakir Hussain Deputy Political Editor zakirh@sph.com.sg
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