Harry Lee Kuan Yew (LKY), Legendary Founding Father of Singapore [16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015]

Good Day, Beautiful People!

My heart is heavy and deeply saddened upon receiving early morning text messages streaming in from Singapore. Today is a very sad day for the Nation of Singapore! Many Singaporeans are mourning for the passing of Founding Father of Singapore, the first Prime Minister, (Minister Mentor) MM Lee Kuan Yew (LKY).

People may have to agree to disagree with something you said, the hard decisions you contrived at the given circumstances and some policies you made. Amazingly, your shoulders were broad enough to take the public criticism. Like your lifelong friend, Henry Kissinger said ” He was not at all a charmer. He was not a flatterer. He had developed his point of view. He would present it with great intelligence and eloquence – not in order to get you to do something specific, but to understand the nature of the world in which you were living.”

No matter what is your view about this man, it is undeniable fact that MM LKY was a Visionary, Hero, rare influential Statesman, Strategist, Economic Pragmatist, Entrepreneur and Legendary Giant in the Political World and Architect of modern Singapore. Without MM LKY, the tiny red dot in the world map, a little sleepy Island Temasek, will not be the Modern Singapore that the world has known. He has sacrificed his life to build Singapore from a third world to a first world country surrounded by the third world countries. His profound wisdom and leadership has made Singapore a stable, peaceful, progressive and prosperous country. May Singapore continue to be the country of a meritocratic government and a fair education system with equal opportunities for all, affordable housing, high productivity, high efficiency, low crimes, low corruptions, a great business hub and financial powerhouse.

MM Lee Kuan Yew Famous Quotes:

If you want to reach your goals and dreams, you cannot do it without discipline.

I am nobody’s stooge. I am not here to play somebody else’s game. I have a few million people’s lives to account for.

You lose nothing by being polite. The answer is ‘No’, but please say it politely and give the reasons… Explain to me why ‘No’. Don’t change ‘No’ to ‘Yes’. Don’t be a fool. If there was a good reason why it is ‘No’, it must remain ‘No’, but the man must be told politely.”

At the end of the day, decisions have got to be made by adults, not teenagers, but it has got to be made in such a way that when the teenagers become adults, and they look back on these decisions, they will be proud of the generation that went before them.

I have believed in Malaysian merger and the unity of these two territories. You know they are people connected by geography, economics, and ties of kinship — would you mind that we stop for a while…

Every person, genius or moron, has a right to reproduce himself.

I wish I can meet my wife in the hereafter, but I don’t think I will. I just cease to exist just as she has ceased to exist.

I don’t believe in love at first sight. I think it’s a grave mistake. You’re attracted by physical characteristics and you will regret it.

You either have the Western view – you marry the woman you love, or the Eastern view – you love the woman you marry. Well, I tried to match both, and I think it wasn’t a bad choice.

Whoever governs Singapore must have that iron in him. Or give it up. This is not a game of cards.

I do not yet know of a man who became a leader as a result of having undergone a leadership course.

I always tried to be correct, not politically correct.

To be successful in a profession or in business, to become wealthy cannot be compared to making the lives of your fellow men better. This can bring immerse satisfaction.

What I fear is complacency. When things always become better, people tend to want more for less work.

If Singapore is a nanny state, then I am proud to have fostered one.

I have been accused of many things in my life, but not even my worst enemy has ever accused me of being afraid to speak my mind.

I make no apologies that the PAP is the Government and the Government is the PAP.

One man one vote is a most difficult form of government… Results can be erratic.

I was a product of the times, the war, the occupation, the reoccupation, my 4 years in Britain, admiring but at the same time questioning whether they are able to do a better job than we can.

Even from my sick bed, even if you are going to lower me into the grave and I feel something is going wrong, I will get up.

Singaporeans, if I can chose an analogy, we are the hard disk of a computer, the foreign talent are the megabytes you add to your storage capacity. So your computer never hangs because you got enormous storage capacity.

Political reform need not go hand in hand with economic liberalisation. I do not believe that if you are libertarian, full of diverse opinions, full of competing ideas in the market place, full of sound and fury, therefore you will succeed.

I ignore polling as a method of government. I think that shows a certain weakness of mind – an inability to chart a course whichever way the wind blows, whichever way the media encourages the people to go, you follow.

With few exceptions, democracy has not brought good government to new developing countries…What Asians value may not necessarily be what Americans or Europeans value. Westerners value the freedoms and liberties of the individual.
Freedom of the press, freedom of the news media, must be subordinated to the overriding needs of the integrity of Singapore, and to the primacy of purpose of an elected government.

I started off believing all men were equal. I now know that’s the most unlikely thing ever to have been…

Repression can only go up to a point. When it becomes too acute, the instruments of repression, namely the army and the police, have been proved time and time again in history to have turned their guns on their masters.

I have no regrets. I have spent my life, so much of it building up this country. There’s nothing more that I need to do. At the end of the day, what have I got? A SUCCESSFUL SINGAPORE. What have I given up? MY LIFE.

“When you were born you were crying and everyone else was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone else is crying.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson. My thoughts and prayers for PM Lee Hsien Loong and his family find peace, comfort and strength during this difficult time. Praying for peace and blessings over the nation of Singapore. Good night, Sir or to the locals known as “Ah Gong”! Rest in peace with Mrs Lee. The world will never have another Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Singapore is forever indebted to you.

My most fondest and treasured memories, were listening to my late Dad and late maternal Grandpa telling me your stories and past Singapore stories. What touches me the most is that Mr Lee was your faithfulness, your incredible love for your beloved wife, a good father and a loving family man who took care of your loved ones.

In honesty and truthfulness, Sir, you had lived the great American’s ethos, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country” -Kahlil Gibran. These words were made famous by United States President John F. Kennedy in his 1961 inauguration speech. Because of you, Sir, I am proud of my heritage even though I don’t live in Singapore now, it is still my second home. Singaporeans who travel and live in overseas will tend to agree that the locals are really spoilt by the fruits of your labour. Thank you for teaching us to dream big even everything around you look bleak. With vision afloat, an intelligent and loyal team of people, determination, focus, diligence, sweat and tears, success is attainable. Your legacy will live on.

MM Lee Kuan Yew’s Biographies and Books of Singapore Journey for avid readers and those who are interested in politics, economy, his intellectual wisdom and philosophy:

◾From Third World to First: The Singapore Story

◾From Third World to First: The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew, Vol. 2

◾The Wit and Wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew

◾The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew

◾Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going

◾My Lifelong Challenge Singapore’s Bilingual Journey

Everyone know you’re either really great or really bad to appear in the front page of most of the key international newspapers and TV news worldwide. Reading amazing tributes across the globe, tears are unavoidable.

Online Tributes by world leaders:

http://www.todayonline.com/rememberinglky/international-tributes-pour-mr-lee-kuan-yew
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/lee-kuan-yew-the-economic/1734418.html
http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2015/03/lee-kuan-yews-singapore?fscr=scn/fb/wl/dc/anastonishingrecord
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/us-lawmakers-pay-respects/1743752.html?cx_tag=recommend4u#cxrecs_s