Farewell to Ex-Prime minister Lee Kuan Yew

lky2    lky3Ex-Prime Minister LKY passed away early this morning.  He had contributed immensely to what Singapore is today; and is indeed the founding father of our island home.  Usually, SilverHairsClub forum does not dwell on political or government issues; but ex-PM Lee passing is a significant and important event in our lives.

Let’s open this post to members to offer their comments, opinion and wishes to the man who made Singapore and  gave us the life we have today.

Farewell ex-PM Lee.

Terence Seah

Author: Terence Seah

Founder

15 thoughts on “Farewell to Ex-Prime minister Lee Kuan Yew”

  1. Though we are expecting it with each day of news “of worsening condition”, it is still a sad day for me and nation. If there is any man close to me that epitome the my values of living life with Conviction, Confidence and Compassion “, he is the man though he show little compassion for dissent.

    While growing up, I am always impacted by his speech, the confidence in his thoughts at various local and international conference. This is spoken by him
    bear great relevance at this moment.

    ” I have no regrets. I have spent my life, so much of it building up this country. There is nothing more I need to do. At the end of the day, what have I got?

    A successful Singapore. What have I given up?

    MY LIFE.

    Singapore will not be what it is today without him minus the current policies by the current generation of government. I will not be what I am today without him for his compulsory education and school building after a few year of my birth.

    To show our gratitude, which are also value of my yearly resolution to be more graceful and grateful, I will partake in ssome of the condolence actvities for this mourning week.

    Rest In Peace, Our Lee Kwan Yew.

    Leon

  2. Lee Wei Ling Wrote:
    The health of men often deteriorates after they lose their wives. The security officers and I watched Papa getting more frail every day. His facial features were grim, perhaps to mask his sadness and grief. I took one day at a time and persuaded him not to undertake any arduous trips to America or Europe. China and Japan were near enough and manageable. I was pleased to get him out of the house.

    By July this year, Papa’s health had stabilised and even begun to improve gradually. I reminded myself of the analogy I used for him – titanium. Titanium is light but strong. It can bend a little, but it will not snap unless it is under overwhelming force.

    Physically, we all eventually succumb. Papa is also mortal. But he is psychologically stronger than most people. Life has to carry on, and he will keep going so long as he can contribute to Singapore.

    As I was halfway through writing this article, I went out of my room for a drink of water and saw a note from Papa addressed to all three of his children. It read:

    “For reasons of sentiment, I would like part of my ashes to be mixed up with Mama’s, and both her ashes and mine put side by side in the columbarium. We were joined in life and I would like our ashes to be joined after this life.”
    ????
    This is Love ??

  3. I feel like losing my own father even though i have never shook hands with mr Lee Kuan Yew nor talked to him personally. He is such a great man with great vision! Am so proud to be singaporean.

    About 5 years After becoming singapore citizen i wrote to him via PMO wanting to serve him workwise on volunteer basis but never got response. So my resolution for that year now remain resolution forever…Rest in peace Mr LKY

  4. Rest in peace, our great founding father……
    Deeply appreciate for what you have done for us….words are not enough to express the loss of a great leader….we love you!

    janie

  5. Tributes are pouring in, they’ve said all that I wanted to say. But let me say from my own perspective as a baby boomer. Here in SHC, the majority must be the baby-boomers, born during the period 1946-1964. As a baby-boomer, I feel privileged, blessed and proud to be born at the time under the leadership of LKY until 1990, having him for the most part of his leadership – a good 40 years of my life. We are the products of “rags-to-riches”, but of course, not to the extent of billionaires. I mean, everybody from the common citizen to Ministers, seemed to be very poor in those days, weren’t we?

    It was during the early 40 years that we felt our many missed heartbeats when LKY had to fight off many obstacles and threats to our lives. I hated it when even a young girl, Han Hui Hui who had acquired Singapore citizenship for 2 years only, took to Hong Lim Green and publicly called “LKY a traitor, dog and wishes him dead”.

    We’ve read them all – people who’ve experienced the hard life from their own hinterland, our own too as baby boomers during those hard times, can truly appreciate LKY. Heaven forbid, we don’t want to go through another difficult cycle where food was not enough and people had to turn to food rations from school. One foreigner said that she came down to Singapore because of discrimination against women in her own country. Nothing new that I am the product of LKY’s policies, but we must work hard to be rewarded. In my working place, even an ‘O’ level employee, proven to be capable and thus given higher responsibilities can been promoted to a graduate post – no discrimination if you are a woman. These are LKY’s firm principles in governing Singapore, work hard and be rewarded, passed down to the 2nd generation of leaders, hence we are what we are now because of him.

    Mr LKY, you have given us your legacy. Thank you very much. Though we are saddened and we mourn, we also celebrate your life, over and over for many many years, and we will regale to our children and grandchildren with many, many stories to tell about the man whom we were personally touched at our time. Perhaps this is just a fulfilment of your wish to leave us at this 50th year of Singapore’s independence, perhaps you kept on until now.

    RIP, Sir.

    Your very grateful citizen.

  6. “Profoundly intelligent
    Compellingly articulate
    Obsessively passionate”

    What better words to describe Mr Lee Kuan Yew, our AWESOME leader for the last 50 years!

    There may not be another leader like him. He is one of the world’s best! I am very thankful for all that he had done for Singapore…. otherwise, women like me may have to work as maids in other developed countries. There is no doubt that Mr Lee Kuan Yew worked tirelessly with his first cabinet team to give us Singaporeans a better life. He built this nation from scratch ~ viz from a fledgling to one that stands tall among the ‘giants’. He transformed Singapore from a third-world island to a first-world nation in just one generation! Awesome …

    The skyline of the Financial District of Singapore reminds me of the skyline of the Financial District of Manhattan! (my first impression when I was in Manhattan recently).

    Let us be grateful for what he had done. He’s indeed a world-class Statesman. A great loss to us Singaporeans and many throughout the world.

    ________________________________

    One of his last quotes:
    “I’m no longer in active politics. It’s irrelevant to me what young Singaporeans think of me. What they think of me after I’m dead and gone in one generation will be determined by researchers who do PhDs on me.

    I did what I thought was right, given the circumstances, given my knowledge at the time, given the pressures on me at the time. That’s finished, done. I move forward. You keep on harking back, it’s just wasting time.

    I have no regrets. I have spent my life, so much of it, building up this country. There’s nothing more that I need to do. At the end of the day, what have I got? A successful Singapore. What have I given up? My life.”
    (Mr Lee Kuan Yew
    Hard Truth)
    ________________________________

    Goodbye Mr Lee Kuan Yew… RIP

  7. Its indeed a sad day for all true Singaporeans as we mourn the loss of a great & well respected World Leader, Mr Lee Kuan Yew. His impeccable vision, perseverance and ultimate leadership had positively helped in reshaping our Nation into a cleaner & greener one, and no amount of words can express the gratitude we have for him.

    R.I.P. our dearest founding father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

  8. A bright, shining light slowly dimmed …and now it is no more. An era in the history of Singapore has come to an end with the passing of Singapore’s extraordinary, founding father who made the impossible possible.

    During his watch, fresh graduates (‘O’/’A’/ tertiary) from poor families easily found jobs on the basis of meritocracy and lifted their families out of poverty. How can we, beneficiaries of his good policies, not be eternally grateful to such a far-sighted visionary?

    There will not be another man like him. But life must go on, and in our Prime Minister I see a chip of the old block and feel comforted. Under his premiership, and with our unflinching support, Singapore will thrive for another fifty years!

    “Anticipating with fear the bad news, yet,
    When it came, sorrow turned many eyes wet.
    He faced mean elements with courageous stances,
    Manoeuvring , over three decades, with skillful dances –
    Mean elements that wanted to erase the little red dot;
    He made sure they could not!
    To him we owe our good life but alas, gone is he,
    Now immortalized in his awesome legacy.”

    [image=farewell2.jpg]

  9. A great leader, a determined fighter, a strong father, to the nation of Singapore, our late Mr Lee Kuan Yew

    Has alas for him to go to Heaven on 23/3/2015 at 3.18am at a ripe old age of 91 He was born in 16.8.1923

    As many as 442,297 (4+4+2=10=1, 2+9+7=9.. 91) queved for up to 10 hours over 4 days to pass through The Parliament House where he was placed in state of mourning

    Many countries’ leaders, like Bill Clinton and business leaders, Alibaba Ma, flew in to pay him the last respect.

    Even Heaven is weeping now to welcome you home

    Mr Lee, have a good trip home, Singapore will be in good hands to continue on your legacy. May God bless you and your loved ones

  10. It was cathartic grieving openly together. His old speeches are still so inspiring. I didn’t know he was such a fierce fighter till I saw the old tv footages. And he also said passionately in one of his fights for Singapore’s survival: “These are my people!” That’s us he was referring to!

    His legacy is in the history books. *His monument? “look around”.

    *Adapted from “si monumentum requiris circumspice” (C Wren’s epitaph)

    [image=orchid.jpg]

  11. Amendment
    The picture of the orchid plant posted is the Vanda Kwa Geok Choo. This is how the Aranda Lee Kwan Yew looks like. Apologies for the mistake.

    [image=Aranda-Lee-Kuan-Yew-228×300.jpg]

  12. In one of my post titled “Purpose in life add years to life” His children mentioned how his health went downhill when his wife died in 2010. Just wondering. Would he live beyond 91 if his wife is still around ?
    We are beneficiaries of his legacy. Let SHC members Honour LKY in our own capacity to ensure the success of this nation for this generation and next.

Leave a Reply