I was a child of the 1960s, growing up in an age when Singapore herself was a newborn grappling with racialism, a political divide and nation building, and trying to find her feet in a rather hostile neighbourhood.
I remember the racial clashes and questioning the rationale for learning Malay as our national language.
I remember my carefree childhood, enjoying school without tuition or enrichment classes, running barefoot along Housing and Development Board corridors with my cousins, and experiencing the smells and sights of pigswill and farms.
I gawked at the first shots on colour television, caught fish in a canal and listened to Lei Tai Sor telling stories in Cantonese on Rediffusion.
Those were the halcyon days when Mr Lee Kuan Yew was the face and figure of Singapore and the driving force behind his party with the lightning rod symbol. His every word was the people’s command.
We obeyed without question, like children under an authoritarian parent. Upon reflection, I concede reluctantly that it had been good for us, a nation with teething problems.
Then came the turning point when the inconceivable happened: We got ourselves an Opposition, with more to follow later. Mr Lee was fiercely protective of the Singapore he had nursed from her birth.
Some opposing voices were bankrupted, imprisoned and discredited with deft strokes. We felt sorry for the underdogs. We wanted to believe they could offer an alternative platform. We got restless, like teenagers in transition, and started to question many things.
Mr Lee did not cling to the reins as commander-in-chief, but stepped aside graciously when he felt it was time. Over the next decades, we saw signs of mellowing and more of his human side as a husband and father.
I cannot forget the scene of his farewell to his soul-mate: A picture of a man suffering a deep loss and unimaginable grief.
As we turn 50, we have grown up somewhat. I have upgraded from a three-room flat. Prices of cars, real estate and consumables have risen a lot, but we also have more opportunities to travel, explore and discern for ourselves.
And we have bragging rights that this little red dot could and did become what it is today. My children do not have much of an impression of Mr Lee, but they are beneficiaries of his legacy.
Every child of Singapore owes a part of who they are and what they are to our founding father. So, I want to say thank you, Mr Lee, for giving your life for Singapore. It was truly well lived.
You have left such a footprint in the annals of history. Rest in peace and dance with your beloved. We will remember you always.
This was posted on TODAY’s Facebook page, http://ift.tt/1EKwL83
I remember the racial clashes and questioning the rationale for learning Malay as our national language.
I remember my carefree childhood, enjoying school without tuition or enrichment classes, running barefoot along Housing and Development Board corridors with my cousins, and experiencing the smells and sights of pigswill and farms.
I gawked at the first shots on colour television, caught fish in a canal and listened to Lei Tai Sor telling stories in Cantonese on Rediffusion.
Those were the halcyon days when Mr Lee Kuan Yew was the face and figure of Singapore and the driving force behind his party with the lightning rod symbol. His every word was the people’s command.
We obeyed without question, like children under an authoritarian parent. Upon reflection, I concede reluctantly that it had been good for us, a nation with teething problems.
Then came the turning point when the inconceivable happened: We got ourselves an Opposition, with more to follow later. Mr Lee was fiercely protective of the Singapore he had nursed from her birth.
Some opposing voices were bankrupted, imprisoned and discredited with deft strokes. We felt sorry for the underdogs. We wanted to believe they could offer an alternative platform. We got restless, like teenagers in transition, and started to question many things.
Mr Lee did not cling to the reins as commander-in-chief, but stepped aside graciously when he felt it was time. Over the next decades, we saw signs of mellowing and more of his human side as a husband and father.
I cannot forget the scene of his farewell to his soul-mate: A picture of a man suffering a deep loss and unimaginable grief.
As we turn 50, we have grown up somewhat. I have upgraded from a three-room flat. Prices of cars, real estate and consumables have risen a lot, but we also have more opportunities to travel, explore and discern for ourselves.
And we have bragging rights that this little red dot could and did become what it is today. My children do not have much of an impression of Mr Lee, but they are beneficiaries of his legacy.
Every child of Singapore owes a part of who they are and what they are to our founding father. So, I want to say thank you, Mr Lee, for giving your life for Singapore. It was truly well lived.
You have left such a footprint in the annals of history. Rest in peace and dance with your beloved. We will remember you always.
This was posted on TODAY’s Facebook page, http://ift.tt/1EKwL83
