with anna
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A.nna
anna // singaporean. my dream is to some day live in a countryside and have a lot of dogs. reach me on
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Monday, March 30, 2015
Remembering Mr Lee Kuan Yew During the mourning week of our Founding Father, MM Lee Kuan Yew, I was given the opportunity to once again, sit down with my grandma and listened to her stories about the 60s. My grandma was born in 1940. By the time Lee Kuan Yew stood in the rally, she was in her adolescence years - old enough to be aware of what was happening. According to her, a shophouse storey, lived 8 families. With broken roofs - be it rainfall or sunny day, the raindrops will drip through the roof and sun rays will beam through the broken roof. There was no toilet, only a shared toilet bowl under the block. Each family owns a potty, and when the day breaks, they will bring down the potty to clear the faeces and urine. Singapore dollar has no value, we had no natural resources and to topped that, our country was poor, weaponless and weak. On the topic of weaponless, Mr Lee Kuan Yew once said, "Nobody gave us any weapons. We bought them with our own money, and now has the world leading technology and weapons." When our late MM Lee had a vision, he stood before the Singaporeans then, including my grandma, to share his vision during PAP rally. And PAP was founded by our late MM Lee. He spoke with charisma and power. Never once did he needed a draft for his speeches. From that, citizens saw the leader they needed. A leader with a goal, a vision and capabilities aligned with their wish to have a better tomorrow. During the rally, it was chaotic. My granduncle did not allow me grandma to attend the rally. As an older brother, a sole breadwinner, the head of the family, he feared for the safety of my grandma. My grandma acknowledged and agreed she will not leave home to join the rally. When she told me what happened next, I knew my grandma was a badass like Mr Lee Kuan Yew. She was 19 years old then, she sneaked out from the back door and joined the rally. It was the night Mr Lee Kuan Yew was elected as our first Prime Minister. Holding on to supportive banners to After he won, she took out her shoes and jumped for joy. She ran around Tanjong Pagar in revelry. Mr Lee Kuan Yew was a visionary leader, incorruptible and non-ideological. He eschewed populist policies in favor of pragmatic long-term social and economic measures. All that was in Singapore and Singaporeans' interests, was all Mr Lee Kuan Yew had.
After Mr Lee Kuan Yew gave his speech, he will exclaimed MERDEKA. Merdeka is a word in the Indonesian and Malay language meaning independent or free. It is derived from the Sanskrit maharddhika meaning "rich, prosperous and powerful". In the Malay archipelago, this term had acquired the meaning of a freed slave. Of all parties, my grandma said Mr Lee Kuan Yew's Merdeka sounded like a mighty roar.
Major Work of Mr Lee Kuan Yew in Chronological Timeline In 1959, he leads PAP to victory in general election, becomes prime minister of self-governing state of Singapore at 35. Also, he rejected a bribe of US3.3 Million (worth US26 Million today). He was haggling when he could have simply accepted the bribe and been US$3.3 million richer. What he did instead was to use his advantageous position for the betterment of the nation. “The Americans should know the character of the men they are dealing with in Singapore and not get themselves further dragged into calumny. They are not dealing with Ngo Dinh Diem (first president of South Vietnam) or Syngman Rhee (first president of South Korea). You do not buy and sell this Government.” - Mr Lee Kuan Yew
In 1960, he enacted a law to wipe out corruption and establish a clean and effective government. Sets up Singapore’s Housing and Development Board to replace slums and squatter settlements with apartments. Today, more than 80 percent of the resident population live in government-subsidized housing.
In 1961, In 1961, the Economic Development Board was established. It succeeded in industrialising Singapore by drawing foreign investment through tax incentive, providing highly skilled and cheap manpower, and modern transport systems and communication network.
In 1965, Singapore separated from Malaysia on Aug 9. Mr Lee wept on national TV, saying he had believed his whole life in the unity of the two territories. He ensured that Singapore was accepted to the United Nations in 1965, and to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) two years later. He declared a policy of neutrality and non-alignment. In 1967, full-time national service introduced to build Singapore’s defence force ahead of British troops’ pullout in 1971. In 1978, Lee meets Deng Xiaoping in Singapore shortly before Deng becomes China’s top leader. In a 2011 speech, Lee said Singapore had been a “revelation” to Deng, who saw how an island without resources was able to grow by inviting multinational corporations to invest. After the visit, Deng opened up seaports as special economic zones and invited investments and trade, Lee said.
In 1979, English, Malay, Chinese, and Tamil were accorded official language statuses. ‘The Speak Mandarin Campaign’ was initiated in 1979, to promote Mandarin among Chinese-speaking people who spoke different Chinese dialects. To encourage the use of English language, he ordered the Chinese- language Nanyang University be united to the English-language University of Singapore to form the National University of Singapore.
Till 1985, Between 1965 and 1985, Singapore’s economy developed eightfold and its per capita income improved fourfold. The percentage of families living in poverty reduced to 0.3%. Homelessness and unemployment were completely stamped out.
In 1990, then PM Lee Kuan Yew stands down after 31 years, but continues to exert significant influence as senior minister. Goh Chok Tong becomes new prime minister.
In 1981, Changi Airport opens its Terminal 1. Today, it has three terminals with plans for two more and is one of the world’s busiest international airports. Singapore sets up sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte. to invest Singapore’s growing reserves. It is the world’s sixth biggest today, with an estimated $315 billion under management, according to the London-based Sovereign Wealth Center. Lee was chairman of GIC’s first board of directors.
Some of The Best Quotes from Mr Lee Kuan Yew
"My definition of an educated man is a man who never stops learning and wants to learn. I am not interested in whether a man has a Ph.D or an M.A. for that matter, or a diploma. Mao never had one, neither had Khrushchev, nor Stalin." "Way back in 1965 we found ourselves suddenly independent. If you lose that Chinese education and you go completely English-educated, you will lose that drive, that self-confidence. That is what is wrong. The danger is, if you are Chinese-educated and only Chinese-educated, you are monolingual, then your source of literature will be communist. That is big trouble. But if you are bilingual, you have binocular vision, then you see the world in 3-D."
This post isn't just dedicated to Mr Lee Kuan Yew, but I'm penning down my thoughts and insights to share with fellow Singaporeans. We are uncertain of a future without MM Lee Kuan Yew. I had a long conversation with my cousins, and he brought up that what we used to NOT have but has right now is the value of money, housing, tangible and intangible assets. But what we used to have, but do not have now is the will to work hard and unity. This may be a tough period for Singaporeans, but let's stay united like we were this week.
Let's never forget what MM Lee has done for us. Let's strive to keep his legacy. Without him, Singapore would have never grown this quick yet stable. I love the saying I stumbled upon a few days ago, "别人有毛哲东, 我们有李光耀". It meant, others have Mao Zhe Dong, we have Lee Kuan Yew. And when I shared the saying with my family and friends, everyone had the same reply - Mao Zhe Dong can never be compared to Lee Kuan Yew.
My point isn't to compare who did better, who was inferior to whom. But that he, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, held the highest honour in our hearts, made the biggest impact in our history, our lives.
Here's a link to all international eulogy and tributes by other presidents, governor and ministers. Mr Lee Kuan Yew is indeed a great man. His passing is an end of an era, but his deeds will remain etched in our hearts forever.
My Words to Unkind Naysayers..
To those naysayers who have unkind words to say about our Founding Father, please keep them to yourself. It is not because we are an undemocratic society, but only because we are humane.
My family and I were one of the hundred thousands standing under the heavy rain, bidding farewell to our Founding Father. He is not some Kim Jong Un we blindly bow or hail to. No amount of thank you(s) can ever justify our gratitude towards this man. I was brought up to have dignity and morals before wealth and education. We lost the man that gave 3 generations a future, a hope, and a roof over our heads. We slept with no fear, we stayed out late with no worries, we are well protected under his governance. So well protected that minority are taking advantage, and grumbling for more.
It's one thing to be uneducated, it's another to be ungrateful and oblivious.
Labels: eulogy, lee kuan yew, leekuanyew, rememberingLKY, RIPLKY, singapore, tribute Saturday, March 28, 2015
Tribute to Mr Lee Kuan Yew
Our Founding Father, also our Minister Mentor, Mr Lee Kuan Yew has passed on Monday 23 March at 3:18am. For the past few days, lots of tributes, newspaper articles on his past achievements has been circulating on the social media. Each time I read, each time I can't help but to weep for the man that dedicated his life to Singapore.
This man, has transformed Singapore from a third world country, literally a slum to a first world metropolitan city. He ruled Singapore with his iron fist which some deemed ruthless, yet necessary.
(Photo Credit: Google)
Dear MM Lee,
WE can never thank you enough for what you have did for Singapore. Because of you, your vision, we have a future. We were born with the silver spoon - our parents had stable jobs to feed the family, we received education and each individual Singaporean is able to find a stable job after graduation. Even myself, who did not graduate from Secondary School, was given a career, a second chance to study and contribute to the society.
Unlike most countries in the world who suffers from poverty and unemployment, you gave my grandparents and parents' generation hope and a future. You made sure your citizens did not suffer, you made sure they have a cement roof over their heads and the basic necessities made affordable and available even when we do not have natural resources.
Today, I've seen people from all races and nations come together to visit you at The Parliament House. It all boils down to your goal in creating a multi-racial harmony Singapore, and you did it. For once, no Singaporeans were complaining and every day we see more and more Singaporeans coming together to volunteer to help fellow Singaporeans by giving out water and food for those in line to pay their last respect. Regardless of race, everyone was helping each other to get through this gloomy period.
How can Thank You ever justify my gratitude? It can never. Instead, I'd like to ask for you to rest in peace while you can count on me and our generation to strive to keep your goals and visions for Singapore. There will not be another you. Your legacy will remain etched in our hearts forever.
May you Rest in Peace, Sir.
Labels: leekuanyew, rememberingLKY, RIPLKY, SG50, singapore, Singaporean, thankyouLKY, tributetoLKY |
xx
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