Singapore son Lee Kuan Yew passes on

Singapore’s first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, passed on today. Born on 16 September 1923, the pioneer and politician was 91.

His was a storied political career – stellar at times, and controversial at others. Lee was the longest-serving prime minister in global political history, serving Singapore from 1959 to 1990. For a man who was considered one of the nation’s founding fathers, the legacy he leaves behind has earned him a loyal band of followers. However, as with any high-profile politico in the public eye, he also had his fair share of critics.

What is without question though, is that Lee was a politician’s politician, and firmly-entrenched in an echelon that remains untouched and undisputed by most. With his full assemblage of verbal arsenal, he was also a man whose reputation as a strategist and orator preceded him. He studied law at Fitzwilliam College at the University of Cambridge, in England, and was called to the English bar in 1950. However, instead of practicing as a barrister there, he chose to return to Singapore. Appointed as legal adviser to the Postal Union, he was integral in negotiations to garner higher wages for postal workers. This led to subsequent work for other trade unions in time as well, and earmarked the beginning of Lee’s work for the man on the ground.

In the 1785 poem ‘To a Mouse’ by Scottish poet Robert Burns, the phrase gang aft agley signifies that the best-laid plans ‘of mice and men’ often go awry, as destiny and serendipity step in to realign the fates. So too, in the case of Lee when he came back to Singapore. Ahead of him, and just beyond the horizon, was a career in politics that would span decades and etch him firmly in the pages of history as a change-leader whose legacy through his work – though not unfettered – is undoubted, even by his harshest critics.

At the time, Singapore was part of the British crown colony, and positioned as Britain’s main naval base in the Far East. The country was ruled by a governor, who was in turn assisted by a legislative council. The latter mainly comprised wealthy Chinese businessmen, who were primarily appointed rather than elected to their positions. In the early 1950s, there was talk of constitutional reform, and a new way of thinking started to resonate in the air. Ideals that are first seeded in the air must be rooted in the ground, for any real change to have lasting effects. And where time meets circumstance, this was when Lee came together with like-minded individuals such as lawyer David Saul Marshall and trade unionist Lim Yew Hock, in order to lead the bid for independence from Singapore’s colonial predecessors. Together, they challenged the council, in order to break its seemingly ironclad hold on setting forth Singapore’s agenda and direction in the political and socio-economic arenas. However, in 1954, Lee then segued from his alliance with Marshall and Lim, becoming the Secretary-General of his own party, the People’s Action Party (PAP).

In 1963, Lee helped amalgamate Singapore into the newly-created Federation of Malaysia. In subsequent elections held soon after, the PAP gained control of Singapore’s Parliament; Lee then continued on as Prime Minister. In August of 1965, after escalating racial tensions, Lee was informed by Malaysian colleagues that Singapore must subsequently leave the alliance. This led to the nation seceding and becoming a sovereign state, with Lee in the titular role as its first Prime Minister. In the time of his premiership, the PAP won the General Elections eight times, from 1959 to 1988.

This was the start of a more radical time, as Lee then stepped more fully into his role as the man with the agenda for change. From thereon, it was a series of strategic moves that brought Singapore’s ties with other nations to an end, culminating in her claim to independence. Lee resigned as Prime Minister in 1990 and remained the leader of the PAP until 1992. Thereafter, he was appointed Senior Minister by then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. And in 2004, he was subsequently appointed as Minister Mentor, under the purview of his son, incumbent Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The senior Lee officially announced his retirement from the Cabinet on the 21st of May, 2011, but retained an advisory role till his passing.

Known for his no-holds-barred and incisive conversational style, this was buoyed by an intelligence that reiterated his reputation as an astute political figure. However, Lee was also known for his almost derisive approach towards opponents, and for an unwillingness to tolerate oppression or dissension beyond the pale. In some cases, he took an intractable and unapologetic stand against critics who believed some of his mandates, enacted in his time as Prime Minister, to be controversial on certain fronts. The politician was also known not to tolerate fools lightly, and piteous was the bearer of mediocrity who incurred his attention on these terms. Ultimately, and perhaps as a result of his no-nonsense and categorical approach, policies Lee put in place brought about an efficient administration and resultant economic growth in the nation – albeit, from the perspective of critics, in part due to a more authoritarian approach in governance. The dialectic that posits Lee’s political career and success was simultaneously formidable and controversial is one that will likely continue on in his wake. However, detractors and supporters alike have come together in alliance when crediting Lee as being in the vanguard of a political zeitgeist that put Singapore on the map, resulting in the nation’s development.

Many will remember a man without artifice, whose commitment to the nation’s betterment was unquestioned. He was integral in taking the island from strength to strength, leading to the city-state to become the affluent South Asian financial centre that it is today. This was achieved with an almost hermetic-like focus that ultimately and undoubtedly will be his lasting legacy. Lee Kuan Yew and Singapore, in the annals of history, are synonymous, for all intents and purposes. One of history’s most strategic and strong-willed politicians cut his teeth in politics on Singapore’s bid for independence and sovereignty. This was as the inception of both the nation and the change-leader began almost in tandem, decades ago. The nation’s freedom, independence and success were ultimately hard-won, and at the behest of one of its most unfailing champions, by the end of his tenure. From the man to the legend – and even beyond, the mystery – today marks the passing of a founding forefather and political pioneer in the history of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew.

For further information, please visit: www.pmo.gov.sg.