Lee Kuan Yew's ideas live on

Consummate learner. Visionary. Persistent. Highly original.

These words and more were used to portray Singapore’s Founding Prime Minister, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, at a forum titled “The Enduring Ideas of Lee Kuan Yew”, organised by the NUS Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY School). The event, held at Bukit Timah Campus on 23 March, commemorated the first anniversary of Mr Lee’s passing.

In his opening remarks, NUS Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost Professor Tan Eng Chye paid tribute to Mr Lee, describing him as “a leader like no other”. He said, “Grateful Singaporeans grieved the passing of an incorruptible leader whose passion, vision and tireless efforts have found and created a thriving and successful Singapore of today. One year on, Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s life and work continues to shape Singapore.”

The panel discussion, chaired by LKY School Vice Dean (Academic Affairs) Associate Professor Kenneth Paul Tan, dwelt on four aspects of Mr Lee’s legacy:

• Multiracialism - Dr Zainul Abidin, Singapore Ambassador to the State of Kuwait and the Special Envoy of the Minister for Foreign Affairs to the Middle East
• Renewal of leadership and internal reform within the People’s Action Party - Dr Shashi Jayakumar, Senior Fellow and Head of the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies’ Centre of Excellence for National Security
• A clean and green Singapore - Professor Chan Heng Chee, Chairman of the Singapore University of Technology and Design’s Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities
• Mr Lee’s influence on the world - Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary of India, Ministry of External Affairs

Two of Mr Lee’s ideas — to create an inclusive, multiracial society as well as a clean, green physical space — furthered his vision of a stable and peaceful nation with first-world standards of clean and green public spaces that everyone had equal access to. This would make Singapore a place where businesses and tourists would want to base themselves.

Dr Zainul began the discussion on Mr Lee’s aspiration of Singapore as a multiracial society, expressing hope that his ideals will last for the good of Singapore. He also recounted his harrowing first-hand experience of the 1964 racial riots.

Although Singapore has achieved peace between the different races, there is still some urgency in addressing multiracial issues, not only amongst the country’s minorities but also in response to its changing population profile due to immigration.

“Trust is still a work-in-progress. And in fact, even multiracialism is a work-in-progress. There’s a lot more that needs to be done,” said Dr Zainul.

From left: Assoc Prof Tan, Prof Chan, Dr Jaishankar, Dr Zainul and Dr Jayakumar

NUS Trustee Prof Chan said Mr Lee wanted to make Singapore an “oasis in Southeast Asia”. Mr Lee himself kick-started the national tree planting effort in 1963, with the planting of a Mempat Tree at Holland Circus. Known as “Singapore’s Chief Gardener”, Mr Lee also effected many lessons he had learnt from his trips abroad, said Prof Chan, who accompanied Mr Lee frequently on his trips in the US during her 16-year tenure as Singapore’s Ambassador to that country.

“How would they distinguish it, Singapore, from other cities in the region which had much more land, much more resources and many more people? How would they induce people to come to Singapore, to invest in Singapore?” said Prof Chan, who said these were the questions underlying Mr Lee and his colleagues’ ideals for Singapore when it became an independent state in 1965.

The panellists also recognised Mr Lee’s foresight in building up human capital; pre-empting environmental issues; and creating the “Singapore” brand, out of which arose a sense of national pride. He actually started practising these ideas way before they gained currency. 

To realise his vision, Mr Lee transformed Singapore through projects such as affordable public housing and cleaning up the Singapore River instead of using ideologies and appealing to emotion, remarked Dr Jaishankar, who had flown into Singapore to speak at the event.

“What Lee Kuan Yew meant for leaders outside was…he was a pioneer in that respect, even a model, who could change a society very dramatically within 20 years,” said the Indian Foreign Secretary, who was paraphrasing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s observations about Singapore’s rapid transformation. In Mr Modi’s eyes, Mr Lee embodied change in a lifetime and really stood out as a political leader.

Dr Jayakumar lauded Mr Lee’s political foresight in how he fielded and tested potential leaders, even during the country’s infancy, to ensure lines of succession that would secure Singapore’s survival. Mr Lee challenged leaders to rise to the occasion through by-elections and by enlisting Parliament backbenchers to play the role of a constructive opposition, because “what really matters to Lee is getting the best ideas out”, said Dr Jayakumar.

About 600 people gathered to hear the panellists’ observations of Mr Lee

During the question-and-answer session, members of the 600-strong audience asked the panellists a range of questions, from Mr Lee’s opinion about dissent, how he applied his knowledge for the betterment of Singapore to how his healthy habits influenced policies.

Mr Lee’s ideologies and achievements were also showcased at a photo gallery at the LKY School Lobby.

See media coverage.