The legacy of Lee Kuan Yew is not about one man’s quest to change the world. The story of Lee Kuan Yew is filled with people who shared, rallied along and often time helped shaped his vision for a better Singapore. It is a story of camaraderie of the old guard leaders who emerged from the crucible of battles against the communists and communalists who threatened the survival of the newly independent country. Lee Kuan Yew counted on capable men, men with gumption and integrity to build the nation, the likes of Toh Chin Chye, Goh Keng Swee, Hon Sui Sen, S Rajaratnam and EW Barker, whom he trusted and allowed to stamp their own mark on the nation.
It continued with a younger generation of leaders that he eventually passed the reins of government to. It is this quality of a pragmatic sense of self and mortality that made him recognise that the work of nation building would go beyond him. The quest for renewal and succession allows new leaders to be raised and tested. It is perhaps this one legacy that will stand the future of Singapore in good stead, a quality that good leaders would do well to emulate.
The legacy of Lee Kuan Yew is one of a man who was willing to push and even change himself to change his nation. He lived his life as an example for others to follow and that could well be the most compelling and long lasting principle that he leaves. It was perhaps his conviction that a leader should set the example that he imposed such high personal standards for himself and others, especially those in his party and in government. He demanded absolute honesty and incorruptibility from all around him. While his achievements were marked by excellence, for instance his double-starred first class in law from Cambridge, he never stopped to push himself to learn and change even as he advanced in age. He picked up Mandarin in order to better engage the leaders of China, as they emerged from decades of isolation from the world.
What is most remarkable about Lee Kuan Yew, the giant amongst world leaders whom heads of some of the powerful countries sought for counsel and advice, is that he kept his personal and family life relatively well-guarded and away from the accoutrement of power. Moving in the corridors of power has not altered his lifestyle. Photographs and anecdotes of his family life show the deep bond that he shared with his wife and the relatively simple lives they and their family lived away from the public limelight.
At the end of his life, what mattered most was family and country. This is a man who devoted all his life to ensure the success and prosperity of the country he played such a large role in founding and at the same time maintained such a disciplined personal regime in order to entrench the values that will ensure its continued survival far less success. While critics and detractors may have questioned his methods and even motives, when his body is laid in state before the public over the next few days, as his entire adult life has been so openly scrutinised, the simple truth is all he did was driven by what he felt was right for Singapore.
*All of us at The Asian Banker are deeply saddened by the passing of Singapore’s first prime minister and founding father, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. He stood as a giant among world leaders despite the size of the nation that he led. Not one who yearned the world’s approval or acclaim, he lived by only one belief; “what is right for Singapore”. He will be remembered best for transforming Singapore into one of the most progressive as well as pragmatic countries in the world. His legacy in building a meritocratic, multi-cultural and inclusive nation as well as his personal ethos of discipline, self-sacrifice and unstinting commitment to his people and country will live on. We send our deepest condolence to his family, all Singaporeans and friends of Singapore who mourn his passing.
Published by The Asian Banker, 24 March 2015
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