Thank you, Sir
Whenever Singapore is mentioned in my classes, I would always feel a great sense of pride within me.
It doesn’t have to be only praises. For instance, a few weeks back, my Economics lecturer talked about composition of imports and exports as a proportion of a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He commented that the sum of Singapore’s imports and exports is more than 300% of its GDP.
It might simply be an interesting fact for most students in the lecture hall; but to me as a Singaporean, I felt a huge sense of pride because I know that where we are today did not come easy.
Where Singapore is today would not have been possible without a legendary man, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of Singapore.
As our first Prime Minister, Mr Lee transformed Singapore from a Third World nation to a First in a short span of 30 years.
Sadly, he left us yesterday.
Until now, I’m still lost for words.
I spent some time today reading about him and am immensely grateful for what he has done for us.
I would just like to leave you with some of his quotes from the 24 page tribute to him:
“I’m very determined. If I decide that something is worth doing, then I’ll put my heart and soul to it. The whole ground can be against me, but if I know it is right, I’ll do it. That’s the business of a leader.”
“If you are concerned with whether your rating will go up or down, then you are not a leader. You are just catching the wind… you will go where the wind is blowing. And that’s not what I am in this for.”
“We had been entrusted with the people’s fate. The first duty of the leader is to fulfil this trust whatever the danger to himself personally, or he should not have sought this position.”
“Leadership is more than just ability. It is a combination of courage, determination, commitment, character and ability that makes people willing to follow a leader.”
“All I can say is, I did my best. This was the job I undertook, I did my best, and I could not have done more in the circumstances. What people think of it, I have to leave to them. It is of no great consequence. What is of consequence is I did my best.”
“If there was one formula for our success, it was that we were constantly studying how to make things work, or how to make them work better.”
“Let me give you a Chinese proverb: ‘Do not judge a man until you’ve closed his coffin.’ Do not judge a man. Close the coffin, then decide. Then you assess him.”
“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.”
I am proud to be a Singaporean.
Thank you, Mr Lee.
