My Ministry has lost its greatest mentor, inspiration: Khaw
With the passing of Singapores founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, the Ministry of National Development (MND) has lost its greatest mentor and inspiration, wrote National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan in a blog post.
He noted that it was Mr Lee who established the HDB with the ambitious goal of housing Singapore's population in the early 1960s, when the island was dotted with slums and squatters, and homelessness was high.
Through the Home Ownership for the People Scheme, he encouraged families to own their HDB flats, to have a stake in Singapore and its future, he said. Today, the city-state has achieved one of the highest home ownership rates in the world.
In addition, Mr Lee inspired many of MNDs policies such as proper urban planning, conserving Singapores heritage, and other notable projects such as Marina Bay and the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
The pervasive greenery around us which transforms Singapore into a City in a Garden is another lasting legacy of Mr Lee. In 1963, he planted the first Mempat Tree at Farrer Circus, kickstarting the annual nation-wide tree planting campaign which continues till this day.
Even after he retired from the Cabinet, Mr Lee asked to be updated on the work done by the Garden City Action Committee, added Mr Khaw.
A statement posted on the website of the Prime Ministers office this morning said the 91-year-old Mr Lee died peacefully at Singapore General Hospital at 3:18am. He had been hospitalised since 5 February due to severe pneumonia.
Image source: MND blog
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
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