Lee Kuan Yew donated $10 milion towards a bilingual fund

Do you know that Mr Lee Kuan Yew personally donated $10 million towards a bilingual fund called Lee Kuan Yew Fund for Bilingualism which he launched in 2011 to help kids learn more than one language early on? 

At that time, he also released his book called “My Lifelong Challenge: Singapre’s Bilingual Journey”, which tells of his lifelong goal to revamp Singaporeans’ spoken languages from a variety dialects to English and a mother tongue. 

200 copies of this title were also autographed by him and sold for $10,000 each, the proceeds from the sale of which went to this bilingualism fund. 

Photo: Mr Lee seen here taking a break from autographing 200 copies of his book, Lee Kuan Yew: The Man And His Ideas, which raised $2 million for charity.

Love does indeed spring eternal

By Dr Lee Wei Ling 

My friend Balaji Sadasivan passed away on Sept 27 last year. In the obituaries section of The Straits Times last Tuesday, exactly one year after his death, there was a sonnet by Balaji himself: ‘But even in gloom, one truth is fundamental, from time immemorial, love springs eternal.’
A week after Balaji died, on Oct 2, my mother passed away peacefully at home. ‘Love springs eternal’ – but what comfort is that to the one who has departed and can no longer reciprocate our love?

This thought slipped randomly in and out of my mind as I was exercising last week. Then my Blackberry buzzed. I read the incoming e-mail. It was from my father – brief, concise, a mere statement of fact, yet what was unsaid but obvious was his love and concern for us, his children.

I suddenly realised that love does spring eternal. Papa, my brothers Hsien Loong and Hsien Yang, and my sisters-in-law Ho Ching and Suet Fern, and I are still bound by our love for Mama and will continue to be for many more years.

For the first few weeks after her devastating stroke on May 12, 2008, my family and the doctors met often to discuss how best to minimise her suffering and perhaps enable her to recover to some extent.

The physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists all did their best, but Mama did not improve. The May 12 stroke was more extensive, and involved more brain regions controlling movement than her first stroke on Oct 25, 2003.

But Papa remembered how well she had recovered from that first stroke, which had occurred while my parents were visiting London. By the end of that year, we were celebrating Mama’s 83rd birthday on Dec 21 in a private room at Goodwood Hotel in Singapore.

Now, in October 2008, Papa knew that if Mama survived she would never be able to walk independently. But he felt that so long as she knew she was an important part of his life, she would still find life worth living.

He told her: ‘We have been together for most of our lives. You cannot leave me alone now. I will make your life worth living in spite of your physical handicap.’

She replied: ‘That is a big promise.’

Papa said: ‘Have I ever let you down?’

Mama tried her best to cooperate with the therapists. But it seemed a useless struggle. Even swallowing a teaspoon of semi-solid food was a huge effort. Then more bleeds occurred and her condition deteriorated. We, her family, decided that no further active treatment should be sought. We arranged to bring her home and nurse her there.

Before we brought her home for the final time, Papa arranged for her to stop at the Istana, to see her favourite spots in the grounds. We wheeled her to where she had planted sweet-smelling flowers such as the Sukudangan and the Chempaka. Then we wheeled her to the swimming pool, where she had swum daily.

We showed her the colourful little ‘windmills’ she had arranged around the pool. She also saw the colourful wetsuits that Papa had arranged to be made for her to keep her warm in the water.

He and I had been convinced that she had to exercise to remain fit. So come rain or shine, she would don a wetsuit and swim. Even when travelling, she would swim in the hotel pool.

On one trip, Mama said to Papa: ‘Today is a public holiday in Singapore. Can I take a break from swimming.’

Papa replied: ‘No, have a swim. You will feel better after that.’

As a neurologist, I knew that after the first bleed in 2003, a second was likely. But I did not want to burden Papa or Mama with this knowledge.

Still, unknown to me, Papa had sensed that she could easily rebleed. He told us later that they had both discussed death. They had concluded that the one who died first would be the lucky one. The one remaining would suffer loneliness and grief.

Mama deteriorated further after she returned home. Finally, she reached a stage when she could not even speak and seemed unaware of her surroundings. But she was always aware of Papa’s presence.

When Papa travelled, she would stay awake at night waiting for his phone call. When I began travelling with him, he usually would tell her on the phone: ‘Bye dear, I am passing the phone to Ling.’ Those were the times when I could hear her actively trying to vocalise.

When Mama passed away, I was at her bedside, watching her fade as her respiration became more shallow and feeble until it finally stopped. I did not try cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It would have been futile to have done so and cruel.

I called to ask my family physician to sign the death certificate, then returned to my room in a daze. Papa waited until the people from the Singapore Casket Company arrived. He showed them the jacket he wished Mama to wear and asked them to do their best to make her look attractive.

The wake lasted for three days. Hsien Loong and Hsien Yang, together with their wives, took turns to stand by the coffin and greet well-wishers.

I was tired and rested at home, only attending the wake on the first evening to greet my friends and colleagues. I hoped that by resting I would recover by the day of the funeral.

Most of the time, my mind was blank. I thought I had my emotions under control. It was only at the funeral, when it was my turn to deliver the eulogy, that the finality of Mama’s passing hit me. I managed to control my tears but my voice was strained with emotion.

Three days after the cremation, the urn containing my mother’s ashes was delivered to our home. We all stood and bowed as the urn was brought into the dining room.

A few days later, I noticed that Papa had moved from his usual place at the dining table so as to face a wall, on which were placed photographs of Mama and himself in their old age. He tried various arrangements of the photos for a week before he was satisfied.

He also moved back to the bedroom he had shared with Mama for decades before her final illness. At the foot of his bed were another three photographs of Mama and himself.

The health of men often deteriorates after they lose their wives. The security officers and I watched Papa getting more frail every day. His facial features were grim, perhaps to mask his sadness and grief. I took one day at a time and persuaded him not to undertake any arduous trips to America or Europe. China and Japan were near enough and manageable. I was pleased to get him out of the house.

By July this year, Papa’s health had stabilised and even begun to improve gradually. I reminded myself of the analogy I used for him – titanium. Titanium is light but strong. It can bend a little, but it will not snap unless it is under overwhelming force.

Physically, we all eventually succumb. Papa is also mortal. But he is psychologically stronger than most people. Life has to carry on, and he will keep going so long as he can contribute to Singapore.

As I was halfway through writing this article, I went out of my room for a drink of water and saw a note from Papa addressed to all three of his children. It read:

‘For reasons of sentiment, I would like part of my ashes to be mixed up with Mama’s, and both her ashes and mine put side by side in the columbarium. We were joined in life and I would like our ashes to be joined after this life.’

http://newshub.nus.edu.sg/news/1110/PDF/LOVE-st-2oct-p29.pdf

Funding Mosque Building in Singapore: A Legacy of Mr Lee Kuan Yew

By Mohammad Alami Musa

SYNOPSIS

Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s simple but profound idea to set up a Mosque Building Fund not only enabled the Muslim community to build modern mosques in all housing estates but created a deep impact on their lives domestically and reputation abroad.

COMMENTARY

THERE WAS a very important conference held last week to discuss “The Big Ideas of Mr Lee Kuan Yew”. Among the topics were his views on good governance and the role of the state; the rule of law and the importance of bilingualism; as well as his geopolitical thinking and approach to foreign policy.

One contribution which has not been mentioned may not be a big idea but created a deep impact on the lives of the Singapore Muslim community and also made a mark globally, especially in the Islamic world.

NEW MOSQUES FOR OLD

I am referring to the ingenious idea of Mr Lee Kuan Yew in 1974 to institute a Mosque Building Fund (MBF) – the first of its kind at the time and probably the only one in the world. The MBF idea may appear to be a matter of simple administrative policy but it had great significance and strategic implications.

Singapore underwent an extensive urbanisation programme in the late Sixties and Seventies. Slums and squatter settlements had to be cleared to make way for public housing and industrial estates. Inadvertently 18 mosques or suraus (prayer houses) had to be phased out, which continued until 1985. The Muslim community was unhappy. There was therefore a need to build new mosques to make up for the lost places of worship.

The mosque issue was the first confronting the government and was politically sensitive. The second issue was equally complex from a policy implementation perspective. The government faced difficulties to get Muslims affected by urbanisation to resettle in the new HDB estates that were being built. They saw these estates, especially the early ones like Toa Payoh, Queenstown and Jurong, as largely Chinese areas. This reluctance to resettle in such HDB estates needed to be overcome. It was then thought that the solution was to build a big and modern mosque in each of the HDB estates as a way to attract Muslims.

However, as Singapore is a secular state, the government could not as a matter of policy build places of worship or fund them. The community had to build these mosques using its own funds. But funding was a big problem and the community’s initial efforts to raise its own finances were not successful. Funding was therefore the third practical problem to be resolved.

A SIMPLE YET PROFOUND IDEA

These three issues presented a dilemma for community leaders. Mr Lee Kuan Yew offered a way out with a simple yet profound idea that solved these three issues in one stroke. In a meeting at the Istana in 1974, attended by the then Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs, Othman Wok, Malay MPs and officials of the Islamic Religious Council (MUIS), Mr Lee suggested setting up the Mosque Building Fund (MBF).

Every Muslim worker in Singapore would make a small monthly contribution of 50 cents to a central fund. The worker could opt out if he chose to. The CPF Board was appointed to be the collection agency, charging an administration fee for the service. This arrangement was legislated through an amendment of the Administration of Muslim Law Act (AMLA) in 1975.

Although this move drew initial scepticism from several quarters, the overall response was very encouraging. Only 40 individuals opted out when MBF was launched in 1975. The results were impressive. The first mosque funded by MBF (in Toa Payoh) was completed soon after in 1977, followed a few months later by another new mosque in Queenstown. The community immediately saw the benefits of having this funding arrangement. The rest, as they say, is history.

CATALYST FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

As it turned out, the MBF over time presented more opportunities to the community and enabled the mosque building programme to be implemented in more strategic ways.

The size of the MBF grew significantly from a mere $0.6 million in 1975 to $19 million in 2012. A total of $166 million had been collected since MBF started, allowing 23 modern mosques to be built in all the major housing estates.

The MBF idea, the brain-child of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, was indeed a huge success. It is an iconic achievement of the Singapore Muslim community that has caught the attention of foreign Muslim leaders, visitors, and scholars studying Muslim communities worldwide. It is iconic for three reasons – it shows the benefit of a Muslim community working hand in hand with the government (even though it is secular); it shows that with unity, a small community like the Singapore Muslims can achieve a lot; and it shows that community self-reliance leads to a strong sense of ownership of its institutions.

Observers and visitors were impressed with the MBF idea. During meetings with them, I would always mention, half in jest, that Mr Lee Kuan Yew should go down in Singapore’s history books as the non-Muslim leader who had in spirit “built” the most number of mosques!

Over time, the MBF catalysed the Muslim community’s development. Firstly, such a centralised fund raising mechanism presented new opportunities to the community. The MBF was expanded in scope in 1981 when it was used to partly fund self-help efforts by Mendaki (the Education Self-help Foundation) to give a leg up to poor students and disadvantaged families. Mendaki has today made a huge difference to the lives of the community – thanks to the expanded Mosque Building & Mendaki Fund (MBMF).

Secondly, the existence of a centralised Fund provided MUIS, as the Islamic authority, the impetus to think long-term in mosque building. There is therefore much thought put into it, even carefully developing various design types to meet the changing needs of the local community. From the early days, when mosques were simple buildings for worship, their designs have evolved to reflect the desire to incorporate the ethnic identity of the community, the contemporary urban façade of Singapore and, now, to meet the high expectations as well as multi-facetted needs of an increasingly successful Muslim community.

The MBF may not qualify as one of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s big ideas that warrant the attention of thinkers, scholars and leaders. Nevertheless, it has made a profound difference to the Muslim community in Singapore’s nationhood.

About the Author

Mohd Alami Musa is Head, Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University & Non-Executive President of MUIS Council.

http://www.rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publication/rsis/2064-funding-mosque-building-in-sin/#.VQweRtKUe3K