31 things to say for a month - Day 28: Our Founding Father

Day 28: Our founding father - Mr. Lee Kuan Yew 

This is one post which I have shortlisted in my 31 things to say for a month since two years ago but never got down to writing it. I wanted to write it after I am done with reading his memoirs. Today, I finally finished the first of his memoirs - the Singapore story. I have been reading his memoirs for the past 2 months every night before bedtime and not too long after, he was hospitalised on 5 Feb due to pneumonia. The last time I blog about one of our founding fathers, Dr. Goh Keng Swee, it was after I read the book, "Men in White" and come to realise his contributions to our economy. 5 years later, I am writing about another of our founding fathers in Singapore.

There are a few parts of his memoirs that left me a deep impression and I shall talk about them as a tribute to this man who deserves the respect of ALL Singaporeans, PAST and PRESENT!

First, it is about the one whereby he visited the constituencies after his team and him decided to have a clean break with the communists in the PAP. They knew that they had to build up their own strong electorate and fight the communists face to face in order to realise their aspirations to help Singapore break free from colonialism. The visits were not restricted to his own constituency of Tanjong Pagar but all over Singapore. He went around in a Land Rover and he mentioned how his hands were so sore and swollen by all the hand shaking and his back knocked against the steel body of his open-top Land Rover, resulting in multiple bruises at his back. However, he persevered and thought of ways to overcome such issues because he knew that if he wanted to build a nation, he has to know the needs of the people and help them fulfill them.

Second, it is about his wittiness. He experienced Japanese occupation first hand and during this period of time, he was also creative and bold to help his family tide over their multiple problems. If you had known him at that time, you will know that this boy was meant to be someone great in the future.

Third, it is about how we learnt the various languages just so he could not communicate and rally the people. He was educated in English and spoke Malay to his grandma who is of Java descent. However, he knew he had to picked up Chinese if he wanted to connect with the bulk of the Chinese immigrants then. I am a Hokkien and I know how difficult it is to learn Hokkien because you cannot translate the words from Chinese directly, unlike Cantonese. However, Mr. Lee did and eventually was able to conduct his rally in Hokkien in order to fight the communists. Hokkien is really a language that can sound so uncouth yet has this effect of rallying people together for a common cause. Whenever I hear people complaining about how LHL was groomed to become LKY's successor and Singapore belongs to the Lee Family, I would want to challenge the person. When you were ten, what were you doing? You were probably playing marbles or hopscotch with your friends or Candy Crush for the kids these days or some other IT gadget. You may complain about PSLE blah blah blah but do you have any idea that at the age of 10, LHL had already learnt Javanese and was busy translating Utusan Melayu newspapers for his father. He knew as a kid how Singapore was constantly under the threat of our neighbours and because of this, he is more determined than anyone else to help continue his father's legacy and also Singapore's prosperity and peace.

Fourth, it is about how he went about running the nation. Many people might say that he is too undemocratic, disguising his communist ideals with a democratic front. However, I love this quote that he said:

I am no longer in active politics. It is irrelevant 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 by 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. That's nothing more that I need to do. At the end of the day, what have I gotten? A successful Singapore. What have I given up? My life. 

Honestly, given the circumstances that Singapore faced, we could possibly end up as the next Cuba. Besides, I do not think that he had been autocratic in the wrong way. The things that he insisted on were for the good for Singapore such as using English as the medium of instruction in schools, bilingual policy, nationalising public transport, public utilities, imposing National Service, etc. No doubt he banned the use of dialects in public broadcasting and made some of us lose our roots but I strongly agree with his rationale. Our roots are no longer in China and where we come from, we should see ourselves as a country in Southeast Asia - calling ourselves Singaporeans. Our heritage will be that of Malay, Chinese, English, Tamil - a blend of races in the country!

Yes our investment in Suzhou Industrial Park did not reap the desired returns but sometimes we cannot be too short-sighted. Investment is not only about the dollars and cents but also the networks that we built in the process and making ourselves known to the world.

You might hate CPF because you cannot spend your hard-earned money when you retire. However, I am all in for CPF. Imagine what would happen if the elderly did not have retirement savings. You have to pay higher taxes to support them, would you want to do that? CPF is just about not being able to use your hard-earned money when you are old but when you die, at least your children can benefit from your bequest. It is just insurance of another form. Imagine if there is no CPF, you cannot even spend your money when you are young because the government will have to tax your income even more.

You might say National Education is propaganda but what it promotes is the love for a country. It just so happens that our country is built by the PAP. Winners always have the right to write history. If Hitler had successfully dominated Europe through nuclear weapons, do you think you will have the chance to criticise him today?

I have seen so many Facebook posts paying tribute to Mr. LKY but this sums up my emotions in the most Singaporean way possible:

Ok... i read that former prime minister lee kuan yew... is critically ill... and we all know whats gonna come after that....
I am honestly gonna be very sad when he is no longer ard. He had a full life and at 91.... thats consoling to the mind....
I see alot of ppl saying... if the old man dies... i will be damn happy.... But i jus want to ask.... what r we angry at?? Coz he took a small shitty island and turned it into what it is today??
Coz today... our currency is almost on par with USA... 1.36 exchange rate... BY THE WAY... and that country is a giant... the world's superpower la.... and we are almost on par... our neighbour's exchange with us is at 2.4 smthg.... dun know... dun care
Today... companies all over the world come here to start their regional hq... coz of the stable platform created....
Today... india.... a country with the world's second largest population... has HIRED SINGAPORE'S EXPERTISE TO BUILD A NEW CAPITAL CITY FOR ITSELF!!!
sure... cars are expensive....here la... do u know in thailand... or jakarta... a small distance like yishun to ang mo kio... will take 2 hours... to drive... because everyone has a car and its congested very badly....this was said to me by a thai tourist and a indonesian tourist.....
Sure... houses are expensive... do u know that in hongkong... ppl dun own their flats??? Its so expensive... everyone rents!!! And the houses are smaller than our flats....
Everyday since i was born... till today.... i cannot remember a day when electricity or water went out.... i can drink the water out of the tap and toilet bowl... its that clean.... and i can switch on my fan anytime i want... it will work.... i went to india and i witnessed it first hand.... bloody every three hours... there was a power cut.... even in hotels... then the generators will kick in...
New delhi... a girl was raped and violently abused.... brought to SINGAPORE for treatment... we all remember that... dun we...
Superstar rajnikanth.... calls Lee Kuan Yew a hero... CAME TO SINGAPORE FOR TREATMENT....
sure we buy water from our neighbour... but how many of us know that we treat the same water and sell it back to our neighbour???
I had a tourist from paris... she told me that she lost her husband to a heart attack... they live in the outskirts of paris... she called for an ambulance... it took the damn ambulance 2 hours to get to them.... PARIS OK!!!! city of love... world reknowned tourist spot... 2 hours for ambulance response....
You dial 995 and call for ambulance now la.. you see how long the response time is...
God damn they even opened up independent ambulance companies so that the real emergencies can be attended to by SCDF laaa
Sure.. there was a riot in little india... but it was contained wasnt it??? Ya our police and civil defence got a beating... but still... did any civilian get injured??? Ppl living in the flats beside... got injured??? The ambulance that got burnt.... what does it show... singapore's patience or that particular nationality's uncivilised behaviour....
The very next day.... that road was cleaned and relaid....
Even in war laa.... its protocol to nvr hit safety vehicles.... what the hell....
I met a tourist from sweden... and she said... she got raped whilst going for a jog from her house to her neighbour's house which was 2 miles away.... there was nobody to help her.... and thats y she moved to singapore...
My current job allows me to meet different nationalities everyday... straight from the airport.... and we always get to talking... abt their country versus mine... and almost EVERY SINGLE person.... tells me
"You guys dun know how good u have it here"
Every government has its flaws and shortcomings..... every government.... they r humans laaa.... not machines.....
Our laws are amongst the strictest.... and i have personally felt the brunt of some of the laws... but u know what??? I aint complaining.... my mum.. sister... girlfren... can go out and come back whatever time... they r fine...
I can sleep in my van and wake up... with my doors unlocked... i will not be mugged and robbed
Ppl from certain countries come here... to study... they have to take cross over exams... to match our system
I go somewhere.... my education is recognised la god damn it
Foreigner influx was probably the blooper singapore did.... but hey.... i have got a job... i earn very well... i am happy...
I have got close friends that live in condos.. drive nice cars... live in landed houses... have lots of money.....
So its definitely possible for everyone to "live the life" here... sure it may be difficult to rise up to the top... but hey.... other countries easy ahhhh????? You know ahhh????
A flat in singapore is 300,000.... a landed house in the states is also 300,000.... u get alot of space... but u still NEED TO HAVE MONEY.....
Soooo.... if u r not successful.. blame urself.... not the country.. the system... the lamp post... or the dog....
U never study... ur fault... u nvr work hard... ur fault...
Other countries... got natural resources... to build on... what does singapore have??? NOTHING!!! the people are the resource... and that why we have to work and contribute to build the country...
America... canada... all 40% tax sia... and here we complain for paying CPF and tax....
U try la... go and say smthg bad abt our neighbour to their citizens... or better still say smthg bad abt india to an indian citizen who lives in singapore.... you see what happens....
Their country is full of injustice and problems.... but they will NEVER SPEAK DOWN ON THEIR COUNTRY...
Look at what we r doing.....
This social portal page... newnation or smthg... teases that singapore will be renamed Lee Kuan Yew... eh why laaa i ask u. Then name as what??
mohd goahead bin gostan???
Or
Angamuthu s/o singamuthu
Is it???
That man.... whether u like it or not... was a key installation to the life we have today..... not sang nila utama... or that tengku.... or stamford raffles.....
The name is LEE KUAN YEW...
and if he is no longer ard.... i WILL feel sad.... coz god damn it i am SINGAPOREAN... and even though my country has its fair share of bullshit.... i LOVE this damn place.... the life and opportunity it has given me.... the level playing field it has given me....
And it was because Lee Kuan Yew had a vision and he went abt executing it....
Lets show a little bit of gratfulness laaa... a little bit....
Whether he did right or wrong.....the man who gave us this quality of life has reached the end of the tunnel.... let him go in peace and respect.....

Source: Ganesh Sundram 

For me, I have only RESPECT for Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and nothing else. No hatred or displeasure of any sorts. He implemented the institutions that ensured that people are given equal opportunities to succeed in life, not just equal outcomes. Although I voice out my displeasure with the education system from time to time about how it takes away the love for learning, I guess this is the best solution Mr. Lee and his team had at that point in time when the nation was being built. I myself have tremendously benefitted from meritocracy. If you work hard in Singapore, you will not be left behind. 

Meritocracy breeds elitism, no doubt. Those who are well endowed (rich) will be better off because they have more resources to begin but would the outcomes be different without meritocracy? I doubt so. The rich will always get richer even in a communist regime and China and Russia speak of that. 

It is easy for us to voice our displeasure with the many things in Singapore but at the end of the day, if you do not have a better solution to the problems, then you just have to accept things as they are. I am pretty sure that although a lot of Singaporeans complain about our government, at the end of the day, we just want an avenue to rant. We still love Singapore and Mr. Lee who gave us this place to call home. 

Many years ago, I contemplated emigrating. However, as I age, my love for the nation grows. I still want to be a global citizen that travels around the world to experiment with and experience life. However, when I eventually age, I will bring with me my wealth of experience and contribute to my country in my own little way. 

There is still so much more for me to write about but this is getting way too long. I shall sign off. 

有国才有家, 谢谢您，李先生，给了我们一个家。