17/08/2013

"One World's View Of The Man"


Update 20 Jul 2018: LKY's grandson Supports Pink Dot
And The Event Reached Max Capacity

Thousands of Singaporeans flocked to Hong Lim Park on Saturday (July 1), as the much-anticipated Pink Dot was held after overcoming many obstacles.

Among them: Foreign sponsorship was banned, which led to local companies filling in the gap; foreigners were banned entirely, leading to barricades being erected around the park; and people complained over even the event’s ad at Orchard Cineleisure.

In happier news, however, Paralympian Theresa Goh came out and became a Pink Dot ambassador. Here she is at the event,

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The World’s Eye on “One Man’s View…”

Indeed, quite a few international media outlets have focused their coverage of the book on Mr Lee’s defence of his own policies, especially with regard to Singapore’s population policies. Another element that has gained traction in the international media are his thoughts on life and death. He will be 90 next month.

Reporting that Mr Lee “feels weaker by the day and wants a quick death”, AFP also claims that he has “visibly weakened” since his wife died in 2010 and that the loss “shattered the normally stoic veteran politician”. The Gulf Times also reports on Mr Lee’s wishes to “make a quick exit” should he reach a stage of incapacitation from which recovery is deemed unlikely.

If the international media coverage on his book is any indication, whether you agree or disagree with the man, or love or hate him, when Mr Lee Kuan Yew speaks, the world takes notice.

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One Man’s View Of The World And A Thousand Faceless Men

The ‘modern father’ of Singapore Lew Kuan Yew, who is also the father of the current prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, launched his latest book “One Man’s View of the World” recently. In this forthright and frank book Lee gave his views on major powers and regions of the world, often with scathing remarks about Singapore’s neighbors and past Chinese leaders. What more, this book has been endorsed by former US Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Schultz.

The book is full of interviews made by Lee’s editorial team. They were defensive of his past actions and policies, yet very critical of others, not even sparing the daughter of former prime minister Goh Chok Tong who migrated to Bradford UK with her English husband. What was even more valuable for future historians was his candidness about the afterlife and total pragmatism behind what actions he took during his tenure of influence over the island nation.

However Lee’s book is totally silent on the mechanism that maintained his tenure and influence over Singapore, an issue that is much alive in the local blogs, the Peoples’ Action Party cadre system, something that political commentators domiciled within Singapore are very hesitant to discuss. Very much part of Lee Kuan Yew’s pragmatic approach to solving problems.

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Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew launches new book on world's major powers

Singapore's former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew has said that he does not see "very likely" or " unavoidable" military conflict between China and the United States.

In his new look One Man's View of the World, launched on Tuesday, Lee also said that he saw no bitter, irreconcilable ideological conflict between the Americans and a China that has enthusiastically embraced the free market.

"It is not in the interest of either power to face off on the battlefield," he wrote. "Both countries have nuclear arsenals, so they know there is a potential for extremely disastrous consequences." China need friendly relations with the United States to secure continued access to its markets, investments, technology and universities, while the U.S. simply has no need to make a long- term enemy out of China. Lee said that the biggest crisis that can arise is over the province of Taiwan.

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Dabu County: The Ancestral Place of Lee Kuan Yew and Overseas Hakka

A trip to Dabu County of Meizhou Municipality in Guangdong Province, exploring the Hakka history, houses and heritage. 

Why is the ancestral house of Lee Kuan Yew a Chaoshan-style house? Check out the video.


LKY already has a memorial to his name in Chinese region he has never visited

The Founders’ Memorial notwithstanding, there is already a memorial to the first Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kwan Yew. Mr Lee, on the other hand, had been known to say that he had no wish for a monument dedicated solely to himself. In Parliament on April 13, 2015, however, his son, now Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, called to honour his father but said that his father had been conscious that he had been part of a team that worked together to build the city-state. “One idea that has been suggested is to have a memorial for all of the founding fathers, perhaps coupled with an exhibition gallery to honour their legacy and educate future generations.

Indeed, Mr Lee himself had thought that there was value in such a memorial,” he said. The project broke ground last month and is set to open in 2028. The Business Standard reported two days after Mr Lee’s death on March 23, 2015, that many Chinese were coming to Mr Lee’s ancestral home in droves to pay homage to him. The report said that the village is located 500 kilometres away from Guangzhou “in search of a glimpse” into his life. It described the ancestral home as made of brick and wood, having been constructed in the traditional Chinese style in 1884 by Mr Lee’s great-grandfather, Li Muwen, with his earnings from Singapore. The home was called Zhonghandi. It also noted that the Lee family descended from the Hakka, a subgroup of China’s Han community, and came to Singapore in the middle of the 18th century. Local authorities refurbished the home and its surroundings between 2007 and 2008. Exhibitions of the Lee family tree, Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s family and political accomplishments, and an introduction to Mr Lee Kuan Yew were also set up within the structure.

In 2016, the year after Mr Lee passed away, authorities in Dabu County in Guangdong said that his ancestral home would be turned into a tourist attraction. Hong Kong’s Wen Wei Po daily reported at the time that the site would become an international rural tourist destination that incorporated Chinese Hakka cultural characteristics. A total of 40 million yuan, then equivalent to S$8.8 million, was allocated for the endeavor. Constructing the site had begun the previous year, and the first phase, Lee Kuan Yew Memorial Hall, was set for completion by the end of 2016.


Singapore founding father Lee Kuan Yew says Xi Jinping is in Mandela's class
lee_launch.jpg

Lee Kuan Yew has praised President Xi Jinping as a man of "great breadth", comparing him to Nelson Mandela. The high praise from Lee, Singapore's founding father who turns 90 next month, comes from his new book, One Man's View of the World, which was launched yesterday.

He appeared alert but frail at the launch and did not take questions.

Lee is widely credited with building Singapore into one of the world's wealthiest nations with a strong, pervasive role for the state and little patience for dissent. His influence extended beyond the tiny population of 5.3 million, as the city state's economic success served as a model for many developing countries, including China under Deng Xiaoping , and he still garners respect from global leaders.

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Mao Promoted Perpetual Struggle; Deng Saved China from Chaos

On October 1, 1949, at the Gate of Heavenly Peace in Beijing, Mao Zedong, leader of the Communist Revolution, declared the founding of the modern People’s Republic of China. Mao was an idealist who strove for constant class struggle as a way to keep the Chinese from becoming bourgeois.

At the height of the Cultural Revolution, in 1967-69, schools and universities were closed, and children were encouraged to hit and rebel against their parents. Mao was, of course, a famous leader and liberator, but he was less practical when it came to governing the country.

More practical was Deng Xiaoping, who quietly took control after Mao’s death, calmed the country and concentrated on its economic development. Were it not for him, China might well have broken apart.

In November 1978, Deng made his first and only visit to Singapore. What he saw on that visit changed the course of economic policy in the coastal provinces of China. At dinner he congratulated me on Singapore’s accomplishments. I told him that with its wealth of talent China could surpass Singapore.

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Lee Kuan Yew Compares Xi Jinping to Nelson Mandela in New Book

The founding father of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, compares Xi Jinping to Nelson Mandela in his new book. Lee, who will turn 90 years old next month, said of the Chinese president: “He struck me as a man of great breadth. I would put him in the Nelson Mandela class of persons.” The former prime minister’s book, released yesterday, is titled One Man’s View of the World. Many attribute Singapore’s economic success to Lee’s strict oversight.

Speaking of economics – Goldman Sachs estimates that emerging Southeast Asian countries will have to invest $300 billion toward improving transportation infrastructure through the year 2020. Traffic bottlenecks are hurting Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines, creating missed opportunities for increased financial growth. For example, Bloomberg reported that “the cost of transporting goods in Indonesia as a proportion of gross domestic product was 24.6 percent in 2011, more than double the 9.9 percent of GDP in the U.S.”

Indonesia is also reeling from the bombing of a Buddhist school on Sunday night. Witnesses claimed to hear two separate explosions at the Ekayana Buddhist Vihara in western Jakarta. Three people were injured. Buddhists account for less than one percent of Indonesia’s population – nearly 90 percent of which is Muslim.

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China’s Nelson Mandela

China’s Nelson Mandela. Does a name spring to mind when that phrase pops up? The exiled dissident Wei Jingsheng perhaps? Or possibly not a name but an image, that of an imprisoned dissident trudging through the snow in some remote “reform through labor” camp in the country’s far west. But according to Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew, China’s Nelson Mandela is none other than Xi Jinping, the man who was catapulted into prominence at the recently concluded 17th Communist Party Congress. Xi was effectively designated the likely successor to current president Hu Jintao when the latter steps down in five years time.

After a meeting that was either an hour long or 40 minutes long, depending on whether you believe the Straits Times or Chanel News Asia, Lee told Singapore journalists that Mr. Xi’s experiences during the Cultural Revolution, when he spent some seven years working on a farm after being sent down to the countryside like tens of millions of other young people, had made him a “thoughtful” man.
  • “I would put him in the Nelson Mandela’s class of persons. A person with enormous emotional stability who does not allow his personal misfortunes or sufferings affect his judgment. In other words, he is impressive,” he said.
Interesting that Xi made such a positive impression on Lee, who if nothing else is an exceptionally shrewd judge of character. Still, it seems a little far-fetched, to put it mildly, to compare the saintly Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison, with Xi, whatever his merits. Apart from anything else, like every other senior party cadre, Xi presided over the usual litany of human rights abuses when he was party chief in Fujian and Jiangsu Zhejiang (thanks) provinces.

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Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew Talks America's Strengths And Weaknesses

Both in the United States and abroad, many influential observers argue that the U.S. is in systemic decline.  Not so, says Lee Kuan Yew, the sage of Singapore.  Lee is not only a student of the rise and fall of nations.  He is also the founder of modern Singapore.  As prime minister from 1959 to 1990, he led its rise from a poor, small, corrupt port to a first-world city-state in just one generation.

Today, Singapore’s six million citizens have incomes higher than those of Americans.  He has served as a mentor to every leader of China since Deng Xiaoping initiated China’s march to the market, and every American president since Richard Nixon has sought his counsel about the U.S. role in Asia.  In the pages of Forbes and elsewhere, he has consistently emphasized America’s resilience.  Here is how he summarized that judgment to us when we interviewed him in May 2011:
  • America will not be reduced to second-rate status.  Historically, the U.S. has demonstrated a great capacity for renewal and revival.  America’s strengths include an ability to range widely, imaginatively, and pragmatically; a diversity of centers of excellence that compete in inventing and embracing new ideas and new technologies; a society that attracts talent from around the world and assimilates them comfortably as Americans; and a language that the lingua franca of those who rise to the top of their own societies around the world.
Lee cites America’s “can-do approach,” “entrepreneurial culture,” and “great urge to start new enterprises and create wealth.”  He notes the primacy that Americans accord to the “individual’s interest,” which makes them “more aggressively competitive.”  Uniquely among analysts of national competitive advantages, perhaps because he speaks both English and Mandarin, he gives great weight to the comparative ease of learning English rather than Chinese.  Indeed, he boldly suggested to one of China’s leaders that China adopt English, rather than Chinese, as its first language—as Singapore has done.

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Singapore founding father says Xi Jinping is in Mandela's class

The founding father of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, compares Xi Jinping to Nelson Mandela in his new book.

Lee, who will turn 90 years old next month, said of the Chinese president: “He struck me as a man of great breadth. I would put him in the Nelson Mandela class of persons.”

The former prime minister’s book, released yesterday, is titled One Man’s View of the World. Many attribute Singapore’s economic success to Lee’s strict oversight.

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Lee Kuan Yew: One Man’s View Of The World

Mr Lee wrote in the preface to his latest book: “My understanding is based on my observations and interactions with various people over the course of the last 50 years in government, during which I managed Singapore’s foreign policy and met many key figures who had first-hand experience dealing with the global issues of the day.”

On whether big power play will cause the United States and China to clash militarily, he wrote: “There is at present no bitter, irreconcilable ideological conflict between the Americans and a China that has enthusiastically embraced the free market. The Chinese need friendly relations with the US to secure continued access to its markets, investments, technology and universities. And the US simply has no need to make a long-term enemy out of China.”

He added that China would be active in pursuing its territorial claims knowing they are “the biggest boy in the neighbourhood”.

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Tun Mahathir: Former Singapore premier is old
Tun Mahathir: Former Singapore premier is old

He's a 90-year-old man. We (should) give allowance to him, (just) like people who give allowance to me.

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, 88, said this when asked to comment on former Singapore premier Lee Kuan Yew's latest book, One Mans View of The World, which was launched on Tuesday.

Among others, the book quoted Lee as saying: Malaysias race-based politics placed the country at a disadvantage and was voluntarily shrinking the talent pool.


Karpal to Lee: Put your own house in order first

DAP chairman Karpal Singh has lashed out against Lee Kuan Yew after the former Singaporean prime minister made some negative remarks about Pakatan Rakyat in his new book.

Karpal told Lee, who is Singapore’s founding father, to “put his own house in order first”.

Although he said Lee had every right comment that “Pakatan will not be able to effectively govern if it was successful (in winning the general election)”, such remarks were made without much basis, Karpal retorted.


Lee Kuan Yew "trapped in old mindset," says Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar being greeted by guests at one of the open houses which he attended in Penang.

Former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s views expressed in his new book, One Man’s View of the World, are "obsolete," said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. The views represented the Mahathir generation, he add“

We should not always look at the dichotomy between rights and race, black and white. "For example, he (Lee) talks about race-based policies, but there is very little understanding of the discourse in the last decade,” he said.

Anwar said Lee was still "trapped in the old mindset," when he used to be in the opposition during Malaya before Singapore was established.

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Lee Kuan Yew entitled to his opinion: Tun M


Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad brushed off comments by Lee Kuan Yew, saying that his former counterpart is "entitled to his own opinion".

"He is 90 years old, we give allowance to him, like people would give allowance to me.

"He is entitled to his opinion where there is free speech, especially in Singapore," said Mahathir at Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak's Hari Raya open house at Seri Perdana here today.

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It’s Malay rule, so no difference if BN or Pakatan in power, argues Lee Kuan Yew

Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew (pic) has a sober message for those counting on Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to usher in a new era of race relations in Malaysia: get real. And the chance of Malay special privileges dismantled by PR in the event that the pact captures Putrajaya? Next to nothing.

To begin with, he said, the chance of the opposition coming to power in the near future was a very long shot. And then there were also the structural problems with the coalition of PAS, DAP and PKR.

He labelled the Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim-led coalition as “an opportunistic ad-hoc group not held together by even a vaguely coherent set of ideas but by a common desire to unseat the government’’

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LKY's Malay supremacy comments: Mustapa & Liow agree, Soi Lek DENIES

Barisan Nasional leaders, responding to former Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s remarks in his new book that Malaysia’s acute loss of talent was due to Putrajaya’s race-based policies, said there were also “pull factors” to the country’s brain drain.

MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said Singapore’s higher wages and better infrastructure were pull factors.

Lee, in his book,"One Man's View Of The World", said "40% of our migrants are from Malaysia". “People look for better pay, better infrastructure. In Singapore, you can travel without a car,” Chua said at the Cabinet open house in Putrajaya today.

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Malaysia sacrifices talent to keep one race on top, says Lee Kuan Yew

"They are prepared to lose that talent in order to maintain the dominance of one race," he said in the 400-page book called "One Man's View of the World"

Lee said in his book the separation of Singapore and Malaysia in 1965 marked "the end of a different vision in Malaysia on the race issue".

He added, "Much of what has been achieved in Singapore could have been replicated throughout Malaysia. Both countries would have been better off."

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Time for Kuan Yew to ‘ride into the sunset' 
Time for Kuan Yew to ‘ride into the sunset’, says Karpal

Karpal Singh hit out at Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew today for doubting Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) ability to lead Malaysia, saying it was time for the elderly former prime minister to give up the reins of leadership and “quietly ride into the sunset”.

Commenting on Lee’s recently released book “One Man’s Viewof the World”, the DAP chairman and Bukit Gelugor MP said Lee had every right to give his views but the Singaporean politician should first look at his own party.

“His comment that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will not effectively govern the country had it been successful in winning over federal power is without any basis,” the DAP national chairman said in a press conference here.

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Kuan Yew: 1 Malaysia campaign may be unrealistic
Sceptical: In ‘One Man’s View of the World’, Lee notes that Malaysia’s race-based policies had caused it to lose ground in a globalised world.
Sceptical: In ‘One Man’s View of the World’, Lee notes that Malaysia’s race-based policies had caused it to lose ground in a globalised world

Malaysians hoping that Barisan Nasional’s 1Malaysia concept can usher in a new era for race relations may be unrealistic, but those counting on the Opposition to do the same are not very much less so, said Lee Kuan Yew.

The former Singapore Prime Minister said that Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s 1Malaysia campaign, launched in 2008 to win back support from Chinese and Indian voters, had not lived up to the excitement it created. “But has the ground moved with him? Has there been thunderous applause from the Malays at 1Malaysia? It may have been that he started with ambitious plans. But it appears that political realities may have conscribed his subsequent actions,” he said in an excerpt from his new book One Man’s View of the World which was launched in Singapore on Tuesday.

Lee, 89, said it was impossible that Najib could win their votes back without losing support from the Malays, his party’s core supporters.

related:
Dr Mahathir amused by Kuan Yew jibe, says will respond to Pak Lah's remark
Lee Kuan Yew on death: I want mine quickly, painlessly

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Lee Kuan Yew called 'father of narrow non-Malay politics

Former Singaporean premier Lee Kuan Yew’s stinging comments about Malaysia’s race-based policies has earned him the title of “father of narrow communal non-Malay politics” by one political scientist.

Malaysia Foundation chairman Chandra Muzaffar said that Lee’s views of Malaysia in his new book, “One Man's View of the World",  is a very lopsided notion that is based largely on only non-Malay grievances with no regard to the Malay position. “This kind of non-Malay mentality in Malaysia began with Lee Kuan Yew when he tried to develop a Malaysian Malaysia in 1954,” said Chandra.

“Lee’s politics at the time triggered a very negative reaction from Malays across the board because his idea does not take into the account of the background of the country. I regard Lee Kuan Yew as a father of narrow communal non-Malay politics in this country, " he said

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Lee Kuan Yew’s view of Malaysia: An overly-pessimistic assessment

A news article published on August 7 titled “It’s Malay rule, so no difference if BN or Pakatan in power, argues Lee Kuan Yew” caught my attention.

Indeed, some of the former prime minister of Singapore’s comments were spot on – the Pakatan Rakyat coalition does have many unresolved issues with regards to each component party’s stand and how they would deal with the internal bickering when the coalition comes to power. However, there is one more pressing question at hand: Is Lee’s remark about there being no difference between Pakatan and the Barisan Nasional really justifiable?

From a perspective that views politics as an entity played by powerful individuals who influence the entire game, he’s right – we’re doomed. For power is perpetually cycled, and re-cycled among the political movers (most of them Malays). And these political movers will resort to almost anything if they observe any hint of “threat” to their own stakes,  For these people, Malay supremacy would have to be defended at all costs, because this is by far, the easiest idea to exploit.

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Malaysia losing talent to keep one race dominant: LKY
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Malaysia was prepared to lose talent “in order to maintain the dominance of one race”, said Singapore’s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew in his latest book.

In the 400-page book titled “One Man’s View of the World”, which was launched on Tuesday, the former minister mentor shares his views on international politics, the global economy, climate change and more.

He noted that Malaysia’s “race-based politics place the country at a disadvantage” and was “voluntarily shrinking the talent pool”.

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Lee Kuan Yew on Malaysia in a new book

Malaysia is prepared to lose its talent through its race-based policies in order to maintain the dominance of one race, said Lee Kuan Yew in his new book which was launched tonight in Singapore.

And although Malaysia has acknowledged the fact that they are losing these talents and is making an attempt to lure Malaysians back from overseas, such efforts may be too little too late, he said.

“This is putting the country at a disadvantage. It is voluntarily shrinking the talent pool needed to build the kind of society that makes use of talent from all races.They are prepared to lose that talent in order to maintain the dominance of one race,” he said in the 400-page book called “One Man’s View of the World"

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Does Kuan Yew fear a Pakatan rule?

It is in Lee Kuan Yew's interest for BN to hold on to power forever as he has seen what Pakatan can do in Penang and Selangor, and this would challenge his Singapore

Lee Kuan Yew in his new book ‘One Man’s View of the World’ has described Pakatan Rakyat (PR) as “an opportunistic and ad hoc group not held together by even a vaguely coherent set of ideas but by a common desire to unseat the government” (as reported in an English daily on Aug 8).

He is absolutely wrong as all of Pakatan’s three component parties are championing the cause of good governance and that is the main ideology that holds the opposition coalition together. Lee of course would love Barisan Nasional to go on controlling Malaysia so that Singapore can surge ahead in terms of economic prosperity. As long as BN is in power, Malaysia cannot hope to catch up with Singapore. Therefore Lee is certainly a great fan of BN.

This columnist’s Singaporean cousin who was in Malaysia for an aunt’s 80th birthday dinner last September had made this insulting remark about Malaysia: “As long as BN continues winning general elections, I am very happy. With BN at the helm, you guys can only chase after the dust we left behind.”

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'Kuan Yew's Iskandar comments inaccurate'

Property developers continue to expect Iskandar Malaysia to attract real estate companies from around the world and are unfazed by negative comments from former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.

Johor Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) chairman Koh Moo Hing said Lee's comments on Iskandar Malaysia were inaccurate and did not reflect the real situation at the economic corridor in southern Johor. "Lee's remarks on Iskandar Malaysia are irrelevant to the situation. His comments will not have any impact on Iskandar Malaysia.

"Lee is from a different era. Malaysia is now under the administration of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is pursuing the Economic Transformation Programme. Najib's vision and mission for the nation are totally different."

Iskandar will continue wooing investmennt

Since Iskandar Malaysia, which is twice the size of Singapore, was launched in 2006, it has attracted RM118bil in investments, with 34% of them coming from foreign investors. Singaporeana are among the largest investors in Iskandar Malaysia.

Government-linked companies from Singapore are also coming in droves to invest in Iskandar Malaysia in addition to the influx of Singaporean investors.

Lee Hsien Loong has a different view on Iskandar Malaysia from his father,” Koh said. In February, Singapore GLCs, Temasek Holdings and CapitaLand, signed agreements with Iskandar Waterfront Sdn Bhd to buy a piece of land costing RM800mil in Danga Bay.

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World leaders praise Kuan Yew's new book but from Malaysia, only STONY SILENCE

Former US Secretary of State George Shultz wrote: "Lee Kuan Yew once again gives us clarity of thought, eloquence of expression, the depth of important ideas, and common sense. A must-read book!" Dr Henry A. Kissinger, US Secretary of State (1973-1977), wrote: "Lee Kuan Yew's unique talents built a nation and helped secure an era of peace and prosperity in Asia. For decades it has been my good fortune to know him as a strategic thinker, a partner in international security, and a friend.

Now, on the occasion of his 90th birthday, he has distilled his thinking on international affairs for a broader audience. With fresh and candid analyses of subjects ranging across the globe, One Man's View of the World demonstrates the acute insights that fellow leaders have sought from Lee Kuan Yew for half a century."

Related:
ABSOLUTELY TRUE? M'sia willing to lose talent so that Malays can be dominant
Lee Kuan Yew's world views in new book
We don't need your money: Lee Kuan Yew tells tycoons
M'sia willing to lose talent so that Malays can be dominant
Of fake meritocracy & endless quotas
S'pore can "dissolve into nothingness" - Kuan Yew warns



Zaid Ibrahim On Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew

I have read many books and articles on Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew including his memoirs and his latest, One Man’s View of the World. He is no doubt a brilliant man and a formidable force in our part of the world. His take on politics, economics,. international affairs, and history is read, debated and respected by all who are in interested in public policy and management, and statecraft . Like him or not, let us give him due credit for his stellar achievements.

We in Malaysia–not all of course–cannot accept that Mr. Lee has been able to transform a colonial backwater into a modern and dynamic Singapore.  More so, because he is seen as a living remainder that we have failed in nation building. For Mr. Lee, nation building was a challenge thrown at when we decided that Singapore should leave Malaysia in 1965. He took that challenge and made Singapore a model of good governance. That is an achievement not to be scoffed off.

I admire Mr. Lee for his vision, integrity, capacity to choose his leadership team, and  tenacity in overcoming adversity. He was tough on his political adversaries. But then so was Mahathir. But unlike our former Prime Minister, Mr. Lee was able to resist the temptation to lecture and badger his successors. In stead, he became a statesmen for his country. I am of course glad that Zaid Ibrahim has written this article and I congratulate him for it


Malaysia has to chart its own path

Lee Kuan Yew's new book has attracted both support and protests

IT is a testament to the enduring timeless quality of his often trenchant opinions that former Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew's views are still sought after the world over despite age catching up on him and being retired politically.

Typically, his latest published remarks about contemporary Malaysia gratify and grate upon different sections of Malaysians by almost equal measure, with almost everybody taking away bits of what Lee said in defence of one's own views and other bits to throw at those with opposing views.


'S'pore Is Prosperous Because Of M'sia' - Ridhuan Tee Tells Kuan Yew

The racial problems Singapore founding father Lee Kuan Yew sees in Malaysia are just as prevalent in the republic, according to a columnist writing for Utusan Malaysia today

Saying that Singapore prospers because of Malaysia, Ridhuan Tee Abdullah (pic) wrote in his editorial that Lee should not be so eager to find fault with Malaysia’s race-based affirmative action policies that the latter said was bleeding the country of talent

“Kuan Yew has never changed; he always harps on Malay special rights and Malay supremacy to slam Malaysia,” the University of Defence lecturer wrote in his column


Lee Kuan Yew strikes again: Malaysia on the Defensive Mode

It is interesting to note that Singapore continues to haunt Malaysia despite that the two countries have lived separately for nearly half a century.

In particular, every word uttered by Lee Kuan Yew, the so-called ‘founding father’, is taken as gospel truth by those who worship him – such as the Chinese Malaysians – and as nothing but another attempt to drive a wedge between the various communities in Malaysia by others who detest him.

This week, Lee has again ruffled the feathers of some across the causeway with his 
latest book One Man’s View of the World, in which he shares his long-held views that Malaysia would prepare to lose talent in order to maintain the dominance of one race, and that “race-based politics place the country at a disadvantage”.


‘Mahinda Rajapaksa Is A Sinhalese Extremist’ – Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew, the Father of Singapore and father of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore has described Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa as a Sinhalese Extremist and what happened in Sri Lanka in 2009 as ethnic cleansing. This statement of Lee is a matter with great import. All these years criticism from outside was dismissed by the Sri Lankan government as by colonialists.

But this is by a respected Asian leader. After Singapore’s Senior Minister has spoken thus, will Singapore feel free to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November? He also described what happened in Sri Lanka in 2009, during the end of the civil war, as ethnic cleansing. The father of modern day Singapore made this statement during a conversation with author Thomas Plate, who wrote the book ‘Citizen Singapore: How to Build a Nation – Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew.

Lee described Sri Lanka as an “unhappy country” as it was disunited between the Sinhalese and Jaffna Tamils for decades.

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Lee Kuan Yew on America

In his latest book, One Man’s View of the World, he rightly praises America for its resilience and dynamism.  He says:

America is not on the decline. Its reputation has suffered a setback as a result of the long and messy military occupations  in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as a severe financial crisis. But perceptive historians will point out that a seemingly weakened and weary America has bounced back from far worse situations. It has faced great trials and challenges within living memory: the Great Depression, the Vietnam War, the rapid post-war rise of industrial powerhouses Japan and Germany. Each time, it found the will and energy to recover its position at the front of the pack. America has prevailed. It will do so again.

The success of America lies in its dynamic economy, sustained by its uncanny ability not just to produce the same with less, but to constantly innovate – that is , to invent completely new goods and services that the rest of the world soon finds to be useful and desirable. The iPhone, iPad, Microsoft, the Internet – these were created in America, not elsewhere. The Chinese have many talented individuals compared to the Americans, but why have they not been able to come up with similar inventions? Clearly, they lack a spark that America possesses.  And that spark means that the Americans can be expected to throw up game-changing innovations from time to time that will again put them in the forefront.

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Lee Kuan Yew on Japan's insular attitude and population woes

Former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew's new book launched last Tuesday, One Man's View Of The World, presents what he thinks about the future of major powers and regions. In these extracts, he speaks about death and dying, a younger generation of Singaporeans who have known only a thriving Singapore, as well as Japan's ageing society and Europe's currency woes
Mr Lee: "The most serious challenge facing Japan is demographic. Its population is rapidly ageing and not replacing itself. All its other problems - a stagnating economy and weak political leadership - pale in comparison.
If Japan does not solve its demographic problem, its future will be very grim.
Lee Kuan Yew on Europe's currency problems

Former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew's new book launched last Tuesday, One Man's View Of The World, presents what he thinks about the future of major powers and regions. In these extracts, he speaks about death and dying, a younger generation of Singaporeans who have known only a thriving Singapore, as well as Japan's ageing society and Europe's currency woes.
Mr Lee: "The fundamental problem with the euro is that you cannot have monetary integration without fiscal integration - especially in a region with spending and thrift habits as diverse as those of Germany and Greece.
The incongruity would break the system down eventually. For this reason, the euro was destined to flounder, with its demise written into its DNA.


A call for change

Mr. Lee Kuan Yew’s successor wants his governance tenet replaced as outdated even while the architect is still alive

As weakening Lee Kuan Yew prepares to celebrate his 90th birthday, a question being asked is: “How much of his legacy will remain Singapore’s guiding force?”)

THE call by a former prime minister for ending one of Lee Kuan Yew’s cornerstone tenets for governing Singapore when he is still alive has got some questions flying


Stop-at-two successful but not responsible?

Mr Lee claimed that he would introduce a baby bonus equal to two years of the average Singaporean’s salary to prove that super-sized monetary incentives only have a marginal effect on fertility rates.

Our average monthly earnings per employee were $4,433 per month in 2012 (Singstats) or $106,392 over two years. According to another Straits Times report [2], the cost of raising a child in a two-children-family is $500,000 per child. The supposedly ‘super-sized’ monetary incentive Mr Lee proposed is only about a fifth of what it takes to raise a child, is it any wonder only a marginal effect should be expected? Such an experiment would prove nothing other than the wide disconnect between what the elites consider to be super-sized generous and what the ground experiences to be the cost of raising a child.

Mr Lee claimed that low birth rates are due to transformed lifestyles and mindsets that the government is powerless against. But the governments of France and Scandinavia have successfully overcome low birth rates [3] despite transformed lifestyles and mindsets. So at best, Mr Lee can only say that some governments are powerless against low birth rates. He cannot deny that other governments have been more powerful against low birth rates.

Lee Kuan Yew on fate of Singapore in 100 years' time
Singapore's former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew waves during Singapore's National Day parade celebrations on Aug 9, 2013 - FILE PHOTO: REUTERS

On Aug 22, 2012, I received a thank-you card from a Singaporean by the name of James Ow-Yeong Keen Hoy.

From his elegant, cursive handwriting, I guess he must at least be in his 50s. Young people these days prefer to type, and when they do write, they simply do not write as beautifully.

He wrote: "My family is deeply grateful and has benefited from your magnificent leadership and solid contributions that have enabled our nation to achieve peace, happiness, progress, prosperity, solidarity and security all these good years. A big thank you!


I have a bone to pick with LKY

As a child of the sixties, I grew up in an era when Mr Lee Kuan Yew was larger than life. He was revered, he was feared.

Today's generation knows Mr Lee as a paternal figure venerated for his wisdom and remarkable contributions to Singapore. His latest book, One Man's View Of The World, once again assures us of his undoubted and undiminished intellect.

Reading the book, however, gives me discomfort. I have long crave for for inkling of his sentiments and frailties because he is, after all, just a man.


Rebutting Lee Kuan Yew

Former PM LKY recently said something that irked me slightly. (Straits Times)

So before I carry on with this post , let me say a few things. I respect good leaders, and by that virtue I have the highest respect for what LKY has done for Singapore. I am not partisan, I am merely opinionated.

And I feel like I must say this. As tactfully, and yet as sincerely as possible. The tone of what LKY said scares me slightly, because not only is he dismissive of youths, but unaware of the stories present in today’s society. He takes on some major points:
  1. Youths don’t write as beautifully, if they write at all.
  2. Youths don’t appreciate the miracles of struggles past
  3. Singapore is not certain in the next century, and by extension, he’s warning Singapore of our future
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Beloved Mr Lee?

It does not take long for a blog writer to know what people online absolutely detest.  A simple praise of Singapore's government will usually attract a lot of negative comments, some of which are downright abusive.  The same goes with praising meritocracy and all the great values that Singapore is well known for.  Lee Kuan Yew is another target for some netizens and any post defending him or praising him or attacking his detractors is bound to unleash the indignation of online viewers

But this is my blog and I will say what I like.  The truth is there are the irritating sycophants who praise everything connected to the ruling party.  I remember once a PAP MP posted on her Facebook page a link to a video that immediately garnered scores of "likes".  Subsequently, the MP re-posted the link to the video and apologised because the earlier link was an error.   Obviously, the "likes" came from her supporters who would blindly like anything she wrote.  But not everyone who praises the Singapore government or Lee Kuan Yew himself does so for such ignoble reasons.   If we are to be perfectly honest and objective, there is a lot to be praised in Singapore.  But all you have to do is to look around you on the internet and particularly in the various blogs and you are sure to see Lee Kuan Yew's detractors hard at work.

If you sit down and analyse carefully what each of them has to say, and you ask yourself what it is specifically that he is complaining about Mr Lee, you will find it hard to crystalize the vague negative comments into something concrete.

LKY Writes Another Book

Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew has at the ripe old age of 89 (90 next month) written a book entitled 'One Man's View of the World'. Of course he didn't actually write the book himself, in the same way you'd expect an author to compose his piece and send it to a publisher for printing. Rather this book was written courtesy of 'that venerable national mouthpiece, err.. I mean newspaper', the Straits Times. The paper's Editor, Mr Han Fook Kwang led a team comprising journalists, Elgin Toh, Zuraidah Ibrahim and Chua Mui Hoong as well as a public servant, Shashi Jayakumar, an Administrative Officer.

The team conducted a series of interviews with Mr Lee and obtained editorial and research material from the newspaper. The 400 page book has 11 chapters and its first 7 chapters are about regions/countries like China, Europe, the USA, Asian powers (Japan, India and Korea) and South East Asia. Mr Lee also touches on the global economy, climate change and energy. The final chapter is on a series of conversations he had with former West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, when the latter visited Singapore in May 2012.

In the preface, Mr Lee explains that the book is based on his observations and interaction with various people especially global leaders and key figures over the last 50 years when he was in government and managed Singapore's foreign policy. As with all his previous works, this book will draw various reviews and the general tone from foreign leaders and decision makers was a positive one. While not being dismissive, you'll almost always find foreign leaders especially the retired ones treating or regarding the works of a fellow leader with very positive vibes.

Perhaps after all, his choice of title was apt - it really is only One Man's View of the World. He's entitled to his views and the rest of the world is entitled to theirs and be able to carry regardless of what he thinks.


Lee Kuan Yew and Paul Graham quotes

Just putting this out there, without commentary for now:

“You know, the cure for all this talk is really a good dose of incompetent government. You get that alternative and you’ll never put Singapore together again: Humpty Dumpty cannot be put together again… my asset values will disappear, my apartments will be worth a fraction of what they were, my ministers’ jobs will be in peril, their security will be at risk and their women will become maids in other people’s countries, foreign workers. I cannot have that!” ― Lee Kuan Yew, justifying million-dollar pay hike for Singapore ministers

“Ok, so we get slower growth. Is that so bad? Well, one reason it’s bad in practice is that other countries might not agree to slow down with us. If you’re content to develop new technologies at a slower rate than the rest of the world, what happens is that you don’t invent anything at all. Anything you might discover has already been invented elsewhere. And the only thing you can offer in return is raw materials and cheap labor. Once you sink that low, other countries can do whatever they like with you: install puppet governments, siphon off your best workers, use your women as prostitutes, dump their toxic waste on your territory– all the things we do to poor countries now. The only defense is to isolate yourself, as communist countries did in the twentieth century. But the problem then is, you have to become a police state to enforce it.” – Paul Graham, on inequality and risk

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10 quotable quotes that only Lee Kuan Yew is capable of

Once you’ve read the following quotes, you wouldn’t need to read the rest of the book.

1) On Workers’ Party’s Chen Show Mao
2) On Education Minister Heng Swee Keat
3) On being PM today again, hypothetically speaking…
4) On Youths
5) On US Presidents (George W. Bush, George Bush Snr, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon)
6) On the Brits
7) On why Heaven does not need a Population White Paper
8) On not reading a certain local newspaper
9) On his regular routine
10) On why fiction sucks

Singapore's cadre system

The 'modern father' of Singapore Lew Kuan Yew, who is also the father of the current prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, launched his latest book "One Man's View of the World" recently. In this forthright and frank book Lee gave his views on major powers and regions of the world, often with scathing remarks about Singapore's neighbors and past Chinese leaders. What more, this book has been endorsed by former US Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Schultz.

The book is full of interviews made by Lee's editorial team. They were defensive of his past actions and policies, yet very critical of others, not even sparing the daughter of former prime minister Goh Chok Tong who migrated to Bradford UK with her English husband. What was even more valuable for future historians was his candidness about the afterlife and total pragmatism behind what actions he took during his tenure of influence over the island nation.

However Lee's book is totally silent on the mechanism that maintained his tenure and influence over Singapore, an issue that is much alive in the local blogs, the Peoples' Action Party cadre system, something that political commentators domiciled within Singapore are very hesitant to discuss. Very much part of Lee Kuan Yew's pragmatic approach to solving problems.

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LKY tries to do a 'Franklin Roosevelt' at NDP 2013, but fails badly

A very much subdued Lee at the age of 90 at this year's NDP. Totally in contrast to his younger gung-ho days.

Lee Kuan Yew recently appeared on national TV at the National Day Parade 2013. All his glorious 90 years of age was shown for the world to see. Well almost. Problem is that Lee didn't want the world to see everything. Only snippets were allowed to be shown.

At 90 years of age, he couldn't walk like what he did before. He could not speak like what he did before. He also could not stand or sit the way he did before. So TV cameras were trained away from him to remove the impact of his ageing as much as possible. Well, that's what the report at TR Emeritus says.

But then again, having viewed the National Day Parade at the point when LKY arrived, I believe that report.

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Netizen asks is LKY protecting his son by naming TCH as submitor of 6.9m whitepaper?

The latest twist to this is LKY. On page 223 of his latest book, ‘One Man’s View Of The World‘, LKY said “DPM Teo Chee Hean has put up a White Paper. Let’s wait a few years for it to be implemented, to see if the measures work”.

Ehhh… how come DPM TCH? I thought the White Paper is the Govt’s and it comes with strong leadership from the top? You mean, on such an important issue as diluting the Singapore core to below 50% by 2030, this wasn’t something driven by the top leader? Is this another example of PM Lee’s “missing in action” leadership?

Or, is LKY throwing TCH under the bus, having realised the White Paper was a mistake? Protecting his son?

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More Room For The Masses

The higher density fits nicely into the White Paper target, oops, planning parameter, of 6.9 million population.

It wasn't referred to in the National Day Rally speech, probably because the old geezer said in his latest book, "One Man's View", it was Teo Chee Hean who's responsible for the reviled number.

If there's another last minute election apology in 2016, it might go like this: "We are sorry for the oversight. Our ministers were using a template policy, and we have since tried to correct it."



Istana used for LKY’s book launch?
lkybook
“The Istana is the official residence of the President of the Republic of Singapore

On 7 August, the news reported Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s launch of his latest book. It was also reported that the launch was held at the official presidential residence and office – the Istana. (Istana website)

Mr Lee no longer holds any official government position. His last was as Minister Mentor. He is also no longer in Cabinet. So, the obvious question is: Why was his launch of a supposedly private and personal book held at the Istana? 

Or is his book an official government or state publication?

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Photo & video only when LKY is seated for book launch
Singapore's former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (C) looks at his son Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (L) as he arrives for his book launch at the Istana in Singapore August 6, 2013. The new book by Lee entitled One Man's View of the World was launched on Tuesday. The 400-page book touched on developments around the world and contained harsh words about neighbouring Malaysia, which Lee had terse relations with when he was prime minister. REUTERS/Edgar Su (SINGAPORE - Tags: POLITICS MEDIA)

Jeremy Grant, a journalist from the Financial Times, was invited to the Istana for the press conference of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s latest book launch on 6 August last week.

A team from The Straits Times provided research and editorial material, and conducted a series of interviews with Mr Lee. Excerpts of these interviews are included in each chapter. The team included Han Fook Kwang, Zuraidah Ibrahim, Chua Mui Hoong and Elgin Toh.

During the whole event, Jeremy Grant twittered (https://twitter.com/TradingJeremy) the following tweets, giving a good insight into the happenings during Mr Lee’s book launch:

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Workers’ Party’s Chen Show Mao not so brilliant: Lee Kuan Yew
Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew says MP for Aljunied GRC Chen Show Mao “has not turned out to be so brilliant.” (Yahoo! file photo)

“In Parliament, he [Chen] makes good prepared speeches, with a written script, but in the follow-up, he is all over the place. It simply does not gel for him,” said Lee.

He added, “The weight of public expectation of the man, given his rather impressive résumé, has probably added to the disappointment.”

The former prime minister also attributed the 2011 election results – one that the People’s Action Party (PAP) polled an average of 60.1 per cent nationwide and lost six seats, the worst results since Independence in 1965 – to WP chief Low Thia Khiang’s ability to produce Chen as a “solid-looking candidate” to stand in Aljunied GRC, along with party chairman Sylvia Lim and himself.

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Gospel of Harry
– DUM FATA SINUNT, VIVITE LAETI: Beloved Mr Lee?
– Anyhow Hantam: LKY Writes Another Book
– visakan veerasamy.: Lee Kuan Yew and Paul Graham quotes
– Mothership: 10 quotable quotes that only Lee Kuan Yew is capable of

– The Void Decker: On Lee Kuan Yew and what he said
– Everything Also Complain: LKY antagonising an entire generation of Chinese
– THE DIARY OF A REBELLIOUS BUDDHIST: One Man’s View of the Afterworld
– Where Bears Roam Free: LKY bronze bust indicates Lee is a dictator
– Din Merican: Lee Kuan Yew strikes again: Malaysia on the Defensive Mode


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related:
The Star Online: Dr M on Lee Kuan Yew: He's old, give him some allowance
The Sun Daily: Lee Kuan Yew entitled to his opinion: Tun M
Astro Awani: Tun Mahathir: Former Singapore premier is old
Global Post: S'pore's Lee Kuan Yew airs concern about Malaysian economic zone
Sin Chew Jit Poh: Race-based policies put Malaysia at disadvantage: LKY
Business Times: Latest Lee Kuan Yew book launched at Istana
Bernama: Former Singapore PM Kuan Yew Launches New Book
Nzweek: Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew launches new book on world's major powers
Malaysia Chronicle: World leaders praise Kuan Yew's new book but from Malaysia
Asia One: Good credentials, but disappointing in Parliament
CloudTweaks News: Obtain The Benefits Of Outsourcing Without The Risks

Lee Kuan Yew: The Funniest Asian Man To Ever Have Lived On Planet Earth
Lee in his birthday suit out for a swim
Some criticize him as being a dictator, who trampled human rights and smashed his competition to get his way.  Some people think he is the savior of Singapore and kept Singapore from remaining a third-world city-state riddled with poverty.  I think he is the funniest Asian man to ever have lived on planet earth.
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90 reasons why you secretly fancy Lee Kuan Yew
He is telegenic

He was not a hit with his girlfriend/ wife’s parents who did not approve of him at first

Helped to develop a glue based on tapioca, which he sold under the name Stikfas in Japanese-occupied Singapore during World War II. The logo was on his wedding cake

You would give up an arm and a leg to wear that hat

He can still pull chicks one-fifth his age

He could turn into a zombie or vampire, if future leaders mess Singapore up

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Lee Kuan Yew through the years

An emotional Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew during the press conference in 1965 to announce Singapore's separation from Malaysia.

A look back at the life and times of Singapore's founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

related:
Wise sayings of Lee Kuan Yew
Constituents hope to see Lee Kuan Yew again at events
More stories on Lee Kuan Yew


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Lee Kuan Yew on death: I want mine quickly, painlessly

Quote: Originally Posted by coldwarmhot View Post
Yes! That is the look that I was talking about. It is sad to witness the deterioration of a once powerful man.

You mean from this:

to this:

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The Singapore Story

My earliest and most vivid recollection is of being held by my ears over a well in the compound of a house where my family was then living, at what is now Tembeling Road in Singapore. I was about four years old.

I had been mischievous and had messed up an expensive jar of my father's 4711 pale-green scented brilliantine. My father had a violent temper, but that evening his rage went through the roof. He took me by the scruff of the neck from the house to this well and held me over it. How could my ears have been so tough that they were not ripped off, dropping me into that well? Fifty years later, in the 1970s, I read in Scientific American an article explaining how pain and shock release neuropeptides in the brain, stamping the new experience into the brain cells and thus ensuring that the experience would be remembered for a long time afterwards.

I was born in Singapore on 16 September 1923 in a large two-story bungalow at 92 Kampong Java Road. My mother, Chua Jim Neo, was then 16 years old. My father, Lee Chin Koon, was 20. Their parents had arranged the marriage a year previously. Both families must have thought it an excellent match, for they later married my father's younger sister to my mother's younger brother.


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The famiLEE tree
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The famiLEE feud: AGC to start legal action on Li Shengwu for contempt
The famiLEE feud: AGC looking into FB post by Lee Hsien Yang's son
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The famiLEE feud: Govt 'Poking Nose' into Oxley's fate
The famiLEE feud: Will House Debate clear the air?
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PM Lee’s Nephew Supports Pink Dot
Remembering Lee Kuan Yew 2016
LKY Passing: Good Intentions Gone Wrong
PM broke down in Parliament talking about his Dad
A State Funeral Service held for Mr Lee Kuan Yew
Former PM Lee Kuan Yew in the limelight
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Lee Kuan Yew – The Man and his Legacy
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Happy 91st Birthday Lee Kuan Yew from Singapore!
Singapore's Founding Father Hospitalised
Lee Kuan Yew turns 90
Lee Kuan Yew hospitalised: Suspected Transient Ischaemic Attack
Lee & Lee - The job has changed
"One World's View Of The Man"
Lee Kuan Yew on death: I want mine quickly, painlessly
A Post-LKY Singapore?

The politics of power dressing: Ho Ching