EULOGY BY MINISTER MENTOR AT THE FUNERAL SERVICE OF MRS LEE KUAN YEW, MANDAI CREMATORIUM, 6 OCTOBER 2010
The last farewell to my wife
Ancient peoples developed and ritualised mourning practices to express the shared grief of family and friends, and together show not fear or distaste for death, but respect for the dead one; and to give comfort to the living who will miss the deceased. I recall the ritual mourning when my maternal grandmother died some 75 years ago. For five nights the family would gather to sing her praises and wail and mourn at her departure, led by a practiced professional mourner. Such rituals are no longer observed. My family’s sorrow is to be expressed in personal tributes to the matriarch of our family.
In October 2003 when she had her first stroke, we had a strong intimation of our mortality.
My wife and I have been together since 1947 for more than three quarters of our lives.
My grief at her passing cannot be expressed in words. But today, when recounting our lives together, I would like to celebrate her life.
In our quiet moments, we would revisit our lives and times together. We had been most fortunate. At critical turning points in our lives, fortune favoured us.
As a young man with an interrupted education at Raffles College, and no steady job or profession, her parents did not look upon me as a desirable son-in-law. But she had faith in me. We had committed ourselves to each other. I decided to leave for England in September 1946 to read law, leaving her to return to Raffles College to try to win one of the two Queen’s Scholarships awarded yearly. We knew that only one Singaporean would be awarded. I had the resources, and sailed for England, and hoped that she would join me after winning the Queen’s Scholarship. If she did not win it, she would have to wait for me for three years.
In June the next year, 1947, she did win it. But the British colonial office could not get her a place in Cambridge.
Through Chief Clerk of Fitzwilliam, I discovered that my Censor at Fitzwilliam, W S Thatcher, was a good friend of the Mistress of Girton, Miss Butler. He gave me a letter of introduction to the Mistress. She received me and I assured her that Choo would most likely take a “First”, because she was the better student when we both were at Raffles College. I had come up late by one term to Cambridge, yet passed my first year qualifying examination with a class 1. She studied Choo’s academic record and decided to admit her in October that same year, 1947.
We have kept each other company ever since. We married privately in December 1947 at Stratford-upon-Avon. At Cambridge, we both put in our best efforts. She took a first in two years in Law Tripos II. I took a double first, and a starred first for the finals, but in three years. We did not disappoint our tutors. Our Cambridge Firsts gave us a good start in life. Returning to Singapore, we both were taken on as legal assistants in Laycock & Ong, a thriving law firm in Malacca Street. Then we married officially a second time that September 1950 to please our parents and friends. She practised conveyancing and draftsmanship, I did litigation.
In February 1952, our first son Hsien Loong was born. She took maternity leave for a year. That February, I was asked by John Laycock, the Senior Partner, to take up the case of the Postal and Telecommunications Uniformed Staff Union, the postmen’s union. They were negotiating with the government for better terms and conditions of service. Negotiations were deadlocked and they decided to go on strike. It was a battle for public support. I was able to put across the reasonableness of their case through the press and radio. After a fortnight, they won concessions from the government. Choo, who was at home on maternity leave, pencilled through my draft statements, making them simple and clear.
Over the years, she influenced my writing style. Now I write in short sentences, in the active voice. We gradually influenced each other’s ways and habits as we adjusted and accommodated each other. We knew that we could not stay starry-eyed lovers all our lives; that life was an on-going challenge with new problems to resolve and manage.
We had two more children, Wei Ling in 1955 and Hsien Yang in 1957. She brought them up to be well-behaved, polite, considerate and never to throw their weight as the prime minister’s children. As a lawyer, she earned enough, to free me from worries about the future of our children.
She saw the price I paid for not having mastered Mandarin when I was young. We decided to send all three children to Chinese kindergarten and schools. She made sure they learned English and Malay well at home. Her nurturing has equipped them for life in a multi-lingual region.
We never argued over the upbringing of our children, nor over financial matters. Our earnings and assets were jointly held. We were each other’s confidant.
She had simple pleasures. We would walk around the Istana gardens in the evening, and I hit golf balls to relax. Later, when we had grandchildren, she would take them to feed the fish and the swans in the Istana ponds. Then we would swim. She was interested in her surroundings, for instance, that many bird varieties were pushed out by mynahs and crows eating up the insects and vegetation. She discovered the curator of the gardens had cleared wild grasses and swing fogged for mosquitoes, killing off insects they fed on. She stopped this and the bird varieties returned. She surrounded the swimming pool with free flowering scented flowers and derived great pleasure smelling them as she swam. She knew each flower by its popular and botanical names. She had an enormous capacity for words.
She had majored in English literature at Raffles College and was a voracious reader, from Jane Austen to JRR Tolkien, from Thucydides’ The Peloponnesian Wars to Virgil’s Aeneid, to The Oxford Companion to Food, and Seafood of Southeast Asia, to Roadside Trees of Malaya, and Birds of Singapore.
She helped me draft the Constitution of the PAP. For the inaugural meeting at Victoria Memorial Hall on 4 November 1954, she gathered the wives of the founder members to sew rosettes for those who were going on stage. In my first election for Tanjong Pagar, our home in Oxley Road, became the HQ to assign cars provided by my supporters to ferry voters to the polling booth. She warned me that I could not trust my new found associates, the leftwing trade unionists led by Lim Chin Siong. She was furious that he never sent their high school student helpers to canvass for me in Tanjong Pagar, yet demanded the use of cars provided by my supporters to ferry my Tanjong Pagar voters.
She had an uncanny ability to read the character of a person. She would sometimes warn me to be careful of certain persons; often, she turned out to be right. When we were about to join Malaysia, she told me that we would not succeed because the UMNO Malay leaders had such different lifestyles and because their politics were communally-based, on race and religion. I replied that we had to make it work as there was no better choice. But she was right.
We were asked to leave Malaysia before two years.
When separation was imminent, Eddie Barker, as Law Minister, drew up the draft legislation for the separation. But he did not include an undertaking by the Federation Government to guarantee the observance of the two water agreements between the PUB and the Johor state government. I asked Choo to include this. She drafted the undertaking as part of the constitutional amendment of the Federation of Malaysia Constitution itself. She was precise and meticulous in her choice of words. The amendment statute was annexed to the Separation Agreement, which we then registered with the United Nations. The then Commonwealth Secretary Arthur Bottomley said that if other federations were to separate, he hoped they would do it as professionally as Singapore and Malaysia. It was a compliment to Eddie’s and Choo’s professional skills. Each time Malaysian Malay leaders threatened to cut off our water supply, I was reassured that this clear and solemn international undertaking by the Malaysian government in its Constitution will get us a ruling by the UNSC (United Nations Security Council).
After her first stroke, she lost her left field of vision. This slowed down her reading. She learned to cope, reading with the help of a ruler. She swam every evening and kept fit. She continued to travel with me, and stayed active despite the stroke. She stayed in touch with her family and old friends.
She listened to her collection of CDs, mostly classical, plus some golden oldies. She jocularly divided her life into “before stroke” and “after stroke”, like BC and AD.
She was friendly and considerate to all associated with her. She would banter with her WSOs (woman security officers) and correct their English grammar and pronunciation in a friendly and cheerful way. Her former WSOs visited her when she was at NNI. I thank them all. (Listed in Appendix A)
Her second stroke on 12 May 2008 was more disabling. I encouraged and cheered her on, helped by a magnificent team of doctors, surgeons, therapists and nurses. (Listed in Appendix B.)
Her nurses, WSOs and maids all grew fond of her because she was warm and considerate. When she coughed, she would take her small pillow to cover her mouth because she worried for them and did not want to infect them.
Her mind remained clear but her voice became weaker. When I kissed her on her cheek, she told me not to come too close to her in case I caught her pneumonia. I assured her that the doctors did not think that was likely because I was active. When given some peaches in hospital, she asked the maid to take one home for my lunch. I was at the centre of her life.
On 24 June 2008, a CT scan revealed another bleed again on the right side of her brain. There was not much more that medicine or surgery could do except to keep her comfortable.
I brought her home on 3 July 2008. The doctors expected her to last a few weeks. She lived till 2nd October, 2 years and 3 months. She remained lucid. They gave time for me and my children to come to terms with the inevitable. In the final few months, her faculties declined. She could not speak but her cognition remained. She looked forward to have me talk to her every evening.
Her last wish she shared with me was to enjoin our children to have our ashes placed together, as we were in life.
The last two years of her life were the most difficult. She was bedridden after small successive strokes; she could not speak but she was still cognisant. Every night she would wait for me to sit by her to tell her of my day’s activities and to read her favourite poems. Then she would sleep. I have precious memories of our 63 years together.
Without her, I would be a different man, with a different life. She devoted herself to me and our children. She was always there when I needed her. She has lived a life full of warmth and meaning.
I should find solace at her 89 years of her life well lived. But at this moment of the final parting, my heart is heavy with sadness.
______________________________
Pictures from the Straits Times
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This is so beauitful the love they shared thru the years,I can feel MM”s pain and his love for the woman who stood by him.Not all can have this type of relationship and …this all grace of the divine…
Stay strong and calm MM …we all have you in our thoughts…Bless you
Mythili
S L Perumal Family
I’m without words.
I have seen leaders tear up large and potentially resource-rich countries. Singapore, the resourceless, tiny red dot, is indeed a man-made miracle.
God bless Mrs Lee’s soul.
Most importantly, God bless MM.
As a boss . . .
http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main
Unfortunately sir, we all gotta go sometime.
Make sure the day you go you’re happy and not hated.
You would rather be feared than loved but you realised too late that fear only brings with it hatred, anger, frustration and disgust.
I harbour you no ill will, as an ordinary Singaporean, I wish you a long life. I know you tried your best and were only human, but on the day you go, I doubt there will be many real tears of sadness shed. It’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.
as a husband, i can understand MM’s grief and wish him well.
as a citizen, i look forward to MM’s retirement from politics
as an activist, i rejoice in the loss of his pillar of support for it will weaken him.
let history judge the deeds of MM – will his good intentions alone exonerate him from the evils committed while in office?
I like Mr Lee in this capacity as a faithful, loving husband and a devoted father.
Mr & Mrs Lee is a match made in heaven. Saying that, if not for his determination in pursuing her, and her faithfulness for him, this fairytale story won’t have happened.
The courtship at the tender age, true love, & union till death do them part is exemplarary. It also shows that romance at an early age is not a bad thing.
Theirs is the greatest love story of SG. It is one of my favourite as I like happy endings.
NOTE: I posted the 2nd last paragraph along with my condolences in ST forum when the news of Mrs Lee’s passing first appeared but was censored. Other stupendously childish posts giving away their sincerity were allowed instead.
oh man, this is absolutely touching, RIP Mrs Lee and take care, Mr Lee!
In his capacity as a man and a husband, he is without equal
totally spoil market!!!
MM Lee, now I’ll really never get a husband :(
Pray that he will be comforted during this difficult times.
45 ears ago..you did the same tears in the rain..you said..abang malaysia abandoned us..we will start with zero
we will worked shoulder2shoulder
mederka! you shouted
not onced
not twiced
butt 3 times…
today you called those who stood by you/your words/your actions..
a nation of whiners/complainers/complacents as well
beside ungracious/ungratefuls…
ere you are…
sheddin tears for the love you lost…
what bout other loves which you broken for them? did you even shed 1 sympathy @ 1 moment?
you tell us as a ^FRIEND^…
Thank you MM
The world indeed has eyes.
It marvels at your creation – Singapore.
Take care.
i really respect lky
@Hades…”but on the day you go, I doubt there will be many real tears of sadness shed. It’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.”
For all the selfless things LKY had done for Singapore, I think there are many many grateful souls than ungrateful ones…
What about yourself, do you think there will be any real tears of sadness shed for you on the day you go? I doubt either…
Thank you MM, for sharing your beautiful life story. Take care and wish you well, be strong. May the Lord be with you and your family.
Normally woman would live longer than man. Think it is the sins that you had committed to your fellow men taht god want you to suffer the pain of loss of a loved one. We do not doubt your love for them. BUt Everybody also have loved ones. Before you berated and det rid of your opponents think also they have loved lones as well.
“But at this moment of the final parting, my heart is heavy with sadness.”
you really meant your pacemaker didn’t you? i wish you still have your heart with you too, a heart that beats for S’poreans, not against us.
like you said “let’s move on”, precious words of wisdom. can’t be that tough for a guy who expects others to do that, right? right?
:D
Mr Lee, I wish you all the best and hopefully you can get over your pain. I know that the separation is hard to bear, and you have my sympathy for losing someone so dear to you.
Express love and not hatred
Let bygones be bygones
Do not take it out on another’s grief and lamented it as his “retribution”.
His contributions are afterall,magnificent.
LKY – I wonder where was your heart when you detained your political opponents for decades, you sued / bankrupted your political opponents and you made them fled the country.
It is good to see your love for your wife which is natural but to not show any mercy or love towards your political opponent shows how cruel you are.
The fact that your wife did not stop you from doing so also somehow tells that she also did not care much about sufferings of other fellow human beings.
RIP Mrs. Lee and hopefully LKY will be a better person before he dies.
It is human to grieve and experience sorrow. Having said that, love that exludes others is not love but a mutual benefit scheme; acknowledged or not it is expectations masquerading as love lor – when others are excluded it is actually one already disconnected from oneself. How can one who is disconnected emphatize with the sufferings of others?
One who really loves is kind and compassionate to oneself first and it ripples off to others around him/her. It is INCLUSIVE! To know whether it is really love or not – look and see how others are treated, strangers, old people, young people animals etc.
Sadly, the mutual benefit scheme is interpreted as love. So much for love lor!
In all honesty, the deceased had a ”good” life in so many ways and it would have been wise to be thankful and grateful, these maudlin tears or is it crocodile tears. Perhaps all this time the heart was a mere pump lah. You see the ugliness is that one only seems to have a head when one has a headache.
So it must be the same lah – the pain the suffering – now the heart seems to feel.
Sad indeed and sad that a man of this stature caught up in such a predicament
PS – She has been hoisted on the pedestal by the mainstream media (reality is lame media cos it is a mere mouthpiece, utterly useless and unreliable) but behind the scenes(especially in the past) she was nurturing and fanning the flames of megalomania, greed and political power last but not least hell bent on perpetuating a dynasty. She was no saviour.
Ver curious to know why Mdm Kwa Geok Choo said in an angry tone :”Burn it in the furnace!” when LKY showed her a photo of her younger days at a dancehall during an exhibition (as reported in the Straits Times some years ago).
Perhaps the “reason” will never be made known to us forever unless God decides to.
one can only admit that MM LEE is indeed a loving husband and he showed it publicly without reservation.
i am sure MM Lee loves his children immensely too.
if,as one of the FOUNDING FATHERS,he shows similar care and concern for us,ordinay singaporeans and our families,as MENTOR to his son,PM Lee,and the cabinet,it would be a blessing for Singapore and for all of us.
it is sad that this has not been the case.
i hope MM LEE can have a sincere change of heart and consider earnestly to do reparations for the wrongs common citizens have sufferred recently as a result of the ill-conceived policies and their implementation.
like some said: WE PASS BY THIS WAY BUT ONCE AND IF THERE IS ANY GOOD WE CAN DO TO ANYONE,LET US DO IT.
MAY GOD BLESS THE SOUL OF MDM KWA GEOK CHOO.
MAY SHE REST IN PEACE.
jenn 7 October 2010
Express love and not hatred
Let bygones be bygones
Do not take it out on another’s grief and lamented it as his “retribution”.
His contributions are afterall,magnificent.
…..
indeed magnificent..that he controlled all the judges/polis/army as a bully…
ere you are a mere lacky just mentioned
lets bygones be bygones?
you meant jeyaratnam honour can be restored? tanglianhong/family/tanwahpiow/francisseow all can come home and shaked leekingyou and said…
be amigious and gracious…
lets the past go and start afresh as friends?
who ere don’t know ow to sink karaoki?
can YOU raised the titanic? if not why not?
MM Lee can never show the same kind of love to every and anyone, we should not not forget that there are still so many people who are out to prove him wrong and wants to bring him down. But I do believe that he had however, show enough love for the majority (Singaporeans) by toiling selflessly even at such an age.
It is of course easy for some to say that he is still power crazy, but be honest with yourself, did he not bring forth great results all this while? Can we neglect his achievement which had already made him one of the most respected statesman in the world (and mind you, all USA Presidents had read his books and had consulted him for engagement policiies and affairs in Asia, even Barrack Obama).
We can criticized…that’s our basic rights, but let’s do it objectively and not with vengence nor with personal vendetta!
MM Lee, take heart and be strong, for that’s what Choo wants you to be, with or without her presence!
I am reminded of the poem, Satirical Elegy on the Death of a Late Famous General by Jonathan Swift.
the love shared between them is really touching. i cant help but tear as i read the eulogy.. May Mrs Lee rest in peace..
Without Mr Lee, SIngapore would not be where we are today. Some love him and some hate him. but whatever the case, i guess this is not the time and place to post those negative comments..
Mrs Lee has done her part for the nation and now that she is gone, shouldnt we be showing some respect for the dead?
to botak:
you’re incredibly insensitive to post such comments here. MM Lee has just lost the love of his life and you have to swop in here with all your negative comments. His sorrows and griefs is something that you’ll never be able to understand.
how would you feel if others criticise about your character when you’ve just lost someone dearly?
no matter what, we can’t deny the fact that MM Lee is a great man and has made several significant contributions in the nation building of spore. without him, we wouldnt be living in a first world country now.
so get over yourself and the little complaints you’ve. learn to see others from a positive light instead of just focusing on their flaws.
Yaksha: Who is a god-sent friend?
Yudhishtira:Wife, is the god sent friend.
(The Mahabharata)
Both you and your god-sent friend’s life, reflects that of an epic too, surrounded with much intrigues and complexities.
When you share your intimate details of your life with your alter-ego,my reason is giving way to emotions.
My condolences.
Good ones all leave early and be with god. So lees are all good ones.
I read the eulogies with much sadness and tears, sharing the loss of a remarkable lady – the Mother of Modern Singapore. Thank you for your exceptional yet quiet contribution to nation building, you showed us one true love, more than six decades long, ’til death do us part’. May the family of late continue to find peace in a life filled with warmth and love during this time of bereavement.
For those who are lamenting that people are posting insensitive remarks well i guess you did not read JBJ condolence letter sent by PAP.
What goes around comes around
@Ihafnotearsforyou
I feel sad there are so many people like you who take it out on others’ grievances.
By complaining or criticising, does it make you a great leader? Magnificient contributions indeed, otherwise how Singapore would have been. Are you living in poverty? Call it a blessing, at the very least. No man makes no mistakes, unless you are God. Are you? I am sure you made
mistakes too. Well, but it wouldn’t be known
to the public right? Your mistakes may not be as
severe. Given power and authority, this is reality.
He won the love of some, lost some. Survivor of
the fittest. You deem it.
Who says his policies are perfectly flawless?
If you realize, in your puny little heart, no policies can EVER satisfy everyone. Not one policy, you COULD even THINK of.
You speak as if you know what GREAT LOVE is.
In that case, are you doing charity work on a
weekly basis, caring for beggers on the street,
caring for everybody at large and sarcrificing
YOUR TiMe, effort and money? You aren’t, am I
right. Cos you aren’t God. You can only do your best.
And you should open your heart and forget the
hatred, the wrongs, it will make you feel better.
If you would like to express hatred you should make yourself known. Otherwise, it just shows how much you love hiding behind a fascade which shows how timid you are. No offence.
But if you are a great person of big heart, no use bearing grudges till you die. It won’t make a
difference I guarantee you.
:)
Aiyoh! Is this publicity for political correctness? Of course he is a public figure of formiable strenght then, not only he has to project a very or simply an extremly positive figure in terms of political strenght but also family cohesiveness so as to maintain his strong grip of political power on Singapore because Singapore is by large ultimately an Asian Society with profound teaching of confucius.
He is simply no different from any husband in this world except that he rather spend most of his time in persuing his political career even to the age of 86 years old than spending his remaining golden years “FULLY” with his be-loved wife. ##I will never respect an ingrate as liken to him!!!!!!!!!!##
Shame on him and nothing else except a shameful nerd!
petrus
We can criticized…that’s our basic rights, but let’s do it objectively and not with vengence nor with personal vendetta!
wat r u trying to say?
who goes to jail?
who get mugged by ISD?
And,by te way,maybe not you nor your relatives,but countless of singaporeans or their relatives have been made jobless.
are you saying that that has nothing to do with MM one way or another?
you are a mere bootlicker and just liek you mentioned,we can criticise objectively …but let’s not do it with vengencenor with personal vendetta…
you are obviously biased in your opinions and criticisms of other singaporeans who may have been hurt one way or another by the govt policy actions,of which MM LEE certainly plays a part.
so,you are not objective as you claim you are.
As the end draws near, what I see before me is not a superior leader.
A superior leader would have known coercion and intimidation will not win hearts and minds…and his country and people come before his familee.
I am amazed to know that a man of MM Lee’s status would be such a loving man to his wife and family. I am really touched.
I hope MM Lee and his family will stay strong during this tough period and take care of own’s health first.
It is always amusing to me to revisit TOC. I could not help but felt the urge to pen a line or two. After reading through all the 30 some comments posted here on this sad occasion.
Please leave the deceased and the living in peace and have the common decency as a human being to stop posting derogating comments. It just showed your immaturity and reflects on your family upbringing. I felt sad for you and your family as a fellow citizen.
Well, it is true that no one is denying that nobody knows what will become of Singapore with a different stewardship in her early history. The fact is that it is today as is, it meant something albeit along the way some misjudgments were made but it is all for the good of the country. I think only older Singaporeans and those that had lived and worked abroad for a period of time can see that even though we may not completely agree. You ought to ask yourself this question, can you do any better if given you the stewardship?
This world is created with inequalities all over, nobody owes anyone a living, the difference is that this elderly statesman who is respected by other world leaders and still is today had fostered an environment where we are given a chance to try our best to achieve what one can within his/her potentials. Some made it and many did not. I am one of the latter albeit I had lived and worked in different countries for decades. But I genuinely felt that Singapore is one of the lesser success stories that any country’s residence in this world will deny MM’s stewardship.
You cannot discount MM Lee’s compassion towards his beloved wife as a husband. To have to face the trauma of a bed-ridden patient and continue to exercise his duties as a statesman is just laudable. Given any person, the stress would have collapsed a person’s will to continue doing what he has done. He may be viewed as an autocratic and ruthless leader by many who opposes to his handling of political affairs, but you cannot deny the fact that underneath all these, he is still a caring and loving family man.
At age of 87, it is hard to fathom how he can cope with this lost given the revealing stories that he had spent endless nights in the past two years attending to his beloved wife and partner. As a fellow human being, I think we should reflect on this and can only wish him well. So please, for once, hold on to your evil tongue and let the deceased and living in peace.
@Vendetta?
You seems to add a lot of your personal assumptions and perceptions into my earlier post, as those allegations you’ve made did not even appear or was related to what I’ve expressed in my post – like where did I criticize Singaporeans who are hurt one way or another? I urged you not to put words into my mouth to justify your own self-righteous fallacy, PLEASE!
Also, please spare me your narrow-mindedness and shallowness once and for all…just because I ask for decency in comments here does not make me a PAP bootlicker! And just because you choose to kick PAP asses around in TOC does not make you a self-proclaimed opposition “hero” either! The statement “only empty vessels make the most noise” has its meanings, don’t you think so?
Let’s maintain our decency towards a dead woman and an old man.
Peace be with you!
@vendetta
looks like you’re e one with a problem..
when people are jobless, you point your finger at MM Lee. when e country is making money, u kept ur mouth shut..e government has done a lot for us already..when cant u just open ur narrow mind and see this..
please quote me an example of a country where there are no jobless people. spore already has a pretty low unemployment rate.
@petrus
i totally agree with you. let’s give our respect to a dead woman and old man..stop having this kinda political fights online
Omg, what IS wrong with some people here? The man is grieving, he’s human. Those were difficult times, and he made many difficult decisions, but it does not make him evil/heartless/bad person. Ask yourself, will we be what we are today without him? Maybe, maybe not, but the fact is, without him there be no Singapore today. By saying all those unkind/heartless words are you like the person you said MM Lee to be? What right have you to say that? Goodness!
vendetta?
Petrus 7 October 2010
@Vendetta?
rachel 7 October 2010
@vendetta
hi all.
to be fair,vendetta? has not accused Peturs of anything here,where did she /he does so in what he has written/
and,bootlickers is not an uncommon term apllied here to ppl who like to suck up and conceal the truths.
what vendeeta has pointed out are all facts.
ask those oppo who have been treated thus.
i dun think anyone here should pass irresponsible remarks just to try sorely to put truths down.
“A superior leader would have known coercion and intimidation will not win hearts and minds…and his country and people come before his familee.”
@train of thought:
I wouldn’t say that you are wrong, but I wouldn’t say that you are right either.
It is always a great debate in whether a fierce, ruthless leader or a kind, gentle leader is better. There are many arguments to argue for and against each side. While intimidation may not necessarily win hearts and minds, having a firm fist would allow order to rule in the country.
Furthermore, it is also a fallacy to insist that a leader must put his country and the people before his family. I believe that it must be a delicate balance instead.
The problem is that for politicians, a public-private dichotomy is never achieved. The people would always look at how the leader manages his own family. If a leader is able to manage his family well, you’ll notice that the people’s confidence in the leader managing the country increases.
i am wondering about the political possibilities about this whole hoohaa played up by MSM on Mdm Kwa’s death.
could it be a litmus test to guage ground sentiments? see if the public is swayed by the death of a powerful figure (or by association). would PAP garner sympathy votes? the PAP knows that by going head-on with alternative parties on meritocracy it may well lose this time.
could the ol’ man himself engineer a freak accident to cause him to kick his bucket? like falling down a flight of stairs, anyone can die from injuries sustained, young or old. get the timing right & wah-laa, surge in sympathy votes? LKY knows how to sway emotions, NDP is a good example. meritocracy be damned, winning is all that counts in elections.
if that happens MSM may just play up those sentiments during cooling off day. alternative parties can do nothing if MSM does things “out of respect” (citing the programmes as apolitical, its history?) for LKY. maybe even 24 hrs of TV programmes on major channel except CNA (as its broadcasted regionally?).
this may sound political insensitive, but didn’t LKY himself say he might do something foolish? correct me on this if i am wrong…
Dear MM Lee. it is ok for you to have a heavy heart. You are just like all of us people with feelings as we are human even though you are a man of status. You must take care of yourself too so that your children and grandchildren will have many more years to spend with you.
Your life with Mrs Lee has inspired many people. It should be shared to those already married or planning to get married. Then there will be less divorce cases.
Dear PM Lee
You had a loving and great mother. You and your siblings are very blessed to have a mum who kept the family united.
Your loving father needs the love and care from all of you now. Be strong, stay united as a family.
God Bless you and your family
retribution: what makes you think that the lee family actually issued a press release to the media on the passing of mrs lee? c’mon, this is local headline news, which singaporeans, understandably want to read about. it is the media who is using this to increase much needed circulation/viewership. it’s profit generating for the media companies.
btw, it’s easy being an internet troll, hiding behind the safety net of your computer. i’d love to see you come forward and say it in public or on facebook, where your name will be revealed. no balls to do that, i guess?
and no, in case you were wondering, i am not supportive of PAP. but, feeling one’s pain has nothing to do with political affiliations. please keep the distasteful comments to yourself. attacking someone when they are down is really low.
@ Tjin,
to you a firm fist is necessary…like keeping perceived political opponents in detention for years without evidence, or sueing them in a subservient court until they are bankrupt. ever thought about the family of those victims or put yourself in their shoes ? will Spore be a better place if political leaders continue in this manner ? ever consider the possibility of another leader who might up the ante, raise the stakes higher ? where does all this end ?
better for Spore and its’ people ?
a leader putting country and people before his family does not imply lowering standards in managing his family. it is a no brainer, a leader who has family problems will be distracted.
it is about working smarter to continue managing one’s family well.
obviously you see but cannot register.
for starters, who is the current PM of Spore and who is the CEO of Temasek ?
do you see a family member who can lead and the other with financial intelligence to manage $Billions ?
do you see the conflict of interest ? is it acceptable to you in the long term interest of Spore to have future leaders continue with this precedent ?
it’s occasions like these which separate the sycophants from the real people
suddenly everyone is shouting praises of a person we hardly know about, just to join the orgy of well-wishers and by some distant association they feel important.
it’s sad.
and sick.
I don’t know if anyone has seen this yet: http://tnp.sg/printfriendly/0,4139,257655,00.html But the disappearance of this old man seems to be a little too coincidental. Yes, while I do truly feel that the passing of Mrs Lee is a tragic loss for this nation, we should put ourselves into the shoes of elderly folk who have also lost loved ones and are still struggle to cope. Sensationalisation of such news can possibly drive them off the brink. Not everyone lives the same cushioned lives as our first family!
I actually know this old man, he lives a few units down the road and voluntarily helps to sweep leaves and clean drains in the neighbourhood. Although he isn’t a miracle maker or someone who would build nations in his lifetime, he has had a lasting impression on me. It strikes fear to know that there are so many more like him that will take the anguish from the death of Mrs. Lee in a different way.
This is blood on the hands of the media
Many utter that he made what Singapore today is – however, one has to remember that there were so many others who along the collaborated (not forgetting citizens) and to assume that he was above others and capable is utter bullshit and nonsense. Singaporeans are too stupid to understand that when govt controls and influence media – all one gets to here is one side of the ”story”.
Circumstances dont make a man/woman – it is a myth; circumstances REVEALS what is behind the facade of roles/projections. His remarks about a particular man ( Lim Chin …) does not speak of that man but is REVEALING of what the ”utterer” is all about.
And as for some idiots who think along religious lines – understanding would have one in good stead (and knowing) that the two (religion n politics) never can co-exist. Religiousness is inclusive whereas politics is divisive. Relgion abides ethics and politics creates rules to dictate, to circumbscribe ….
Old fart’s wife behind the facade of roles and … fanned the flames of greed, power and megalomania. Away from the public’s eye, to perpetuate and maintain a dysnasty was the role she played excellently . Is there anything tangible and endearing that she done thru her ”roles”? Calling a spade a spade is far for better than to simply bleat away like sheep and prop oneself with fairy tales and worse assume the sanctimonious stance.
LIONS ROAR
“it is sad that this has not been the case.
i hope MM LEE can have a sincere change of heart and consider earnestly to do reparations for the wrongs common citizens have sufferred recently as a result of the ill-conceived policies and their implementation”.
agreed,lions roar.
the miws must return decent jobs they took away from singaporeans.