Harry Lee Kuan Yew free essay sample

His Hakka great-grandfather, Lee Bok Boon who was born in 1846, emigrated from the Dapu county of Guangdong province in China to the Straits Settlements in 1862. Harry Lee Kuan Yew was born on 16 September 1923, at 92 Kampong Java Road in Singapore, a large and airy bungalow. Mr Lee was the eldest child of Lee Chin Koon and Chua Jim Neo. Mr Lee had three other brothers, Lee Suan Yew, Dennis Lee and Freddy Lee and a sister; Monica Lee Kim Mon. Mr Lee belonged to a Peranakan family but as they grew up in British Singapore, he was strongly influenced by British culture. His grandfather, Lee Hoon Leong, had given his sons an English education. His grandfather gave him the name Harry while the name Kuan Yew was given by his father. He was mostly known as Harry Lee for his first 30 or so years, and still is to many close friends and family. Since entering politics, he has mostly styled himself Lee Kuan Yew. Mr Lee married Kwa Geok Choo on 30 September 1950. His wife died on 2 October 2010 in her sleep. They have two sons and one daughter. Several members of Lees family hold prominent positions in Singaporean society. His youngest son, Lee Hsien Yang, was also a former Brigadier-General and former President and Chief Executive Officer of SingTel. He is currently the Non-Executive Director and Chairman of Fraser and Neave Ltd and chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS). His daughter, Lee Wei Ling, runs the National Neuroscience Institute. Lee Hsien Loongs wife, Ho Ching, is the Executive Director and CEO of Temasek Holdings. Mr Lee was educated at Telok Kurau Primary School, Raffles Institution, where he was a member of the 01 Raffles Scout Group, and Raffles College, now National University of Singapore. His university education was however delayed by World War II and the 1942–1945 Japanese occupation of Singapore. Mr Lee also learned Japanese as an adult and he worked as a Japanese translator during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. During the occupation, he operated a successful black market business selling tapioca-based glue called Stikfas. Having taken Chinese and Japanese lessons since 1942, he was able to find work transcribing Allied wire reports for the Japanese, as well as being the English-language editor on the Japanese Hodobu, an information or propaganda department, from 1943 to 1944. After the war, he briefly attended the London School of Economics before moving to Cambridge University, where he studied Law at Fitzwilliam College and graduated with Double Starred First Class Honours. He was subsequently made an honorary fellow of Fitzwilliam College. He returned to Singapore in 1949 to practise as a lawyer in Laycock and Ong, the legal practice of John Laycock, a pioneer of multiracialism who, together with A. P. Rajah and C. C. Tan, had founded Singapores first multiracial club open to Asians. I plan to base my research on how Mr Lee made positive impacts to Singapore by contributing to her political aspect. Mr Lee says a major reason for Singapores economic achievements is its political stability. He attributes much of this to the dominant role of the Peoples Action Party (PAP). Mr Lee had a role as an election agent for John Laycock under the banner of the pro-British Progressive Party in the 1951 legislative council elections. This was his first ever experience with politics. However, Mr Lee eventually realised the party was unlikely to win mass support, especially from the Chinese-speaking working class. This was especially important when the 1953 Rendel Constitution expanded the electoral rolls to include all local-born as voters, resulting in a significant increase in Chinese voters. His big break came when he was engaged as a legal advisor to the trade and students unions, which provided Mr Lee with a link to the Chinese-speaking, working-class world. On 12 November 1954, Mr Lee, together with a group of fellow English-educated middle-class men, formed the socialist People’s Action Party in an expedient alliance with the pro-communist trade unionists. Mr Lee described this alliance as a â€Å"marriage of convenience†, since the English-educated group needed the pro-communists mass support base while he communists needed a non-communist party leadership as a smoke screen because the Malayan Communist Party was illegal. Their common aims were to agitate for self-government and put an end to British colonial rule. An inaugural conference was held at the Victoria Memorial Hall, attended by over 1,500 supporters and trade unionists. Mr Lee became secretary-general, a post he held until 1992, save for a brief period in 1957. In the 1955 elections, Mr Lee won the Tanjong Pagar seat. He became the opposition leader against David Saul Marshalls Labour Front-led coalition government. He was also one of PAPs representatives to the two constitutional discussions held in London over the future status of Singapore, the first led by Marshall and the second by Lim Yew Hock, Marshalls hard-line successor. It was during this period that Mr Lee had to contend with rivals from both within and outside the PAP. In the national elections held on 1 June 1959, the PAP won 43 of the 51 seats in the legislative assembly. Singapore gained self-government with autonomy in all state matters except defence and foreign affairs, and Mr Lee became the first Prime Minister of Singapore on 5 June 1959. He would continue his role as Prime Minister until stepping down in 1990, but he continued to wield outsized influence on government as a cabinet member, first as Senior Minister and later as Minister Mentor. He was the worlds longest-serving Prime Minister when he stepped down. Mr Lee spent 52 years in cabinet when finally he resigned in 2011. After Malayan Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman proposed the formation of a federation that would include Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak in 1961, Mr Lee began to campaign for a merger with Malaysia to end British colonial rule. He used the results of a referendum held on 1 September 1962, in which 70% of the votes were cast in support of his proposal, to demonstrate that the people supported his plan. On 16 September 1963, Singapore became part of Malaysia. However, it was short-lived. Mr Lee openly opposed the bumiputra policy and used the Malaysian Solidarity Conventions famous cry of Malaysian Malaysia! † a nation serving the Malaysian nationality, as opposed to the Malay race. The 1964 race riots in Singapore followed, such as that on Muhammads birthday 21 July 1964, near Kallang Gasworks, in which 23 people were killed and, hundreds injured as Chinese and Malays attacked each other. More riots broke out in September 1964, as rioters looted cars and shops, forcing both Tunku Abdul Rahman and Mr Lee to make public appearances in order to calm the situation. Unable to resolve the crisis, the Tunku decided to expel Singapore from Malaysia, choosing to sever all ties with a State Government that showed no measure of loyalty to its Central Government. Mr Lee was adamant and tried to work out a compromise, but without success. Mr Lee signed a separation agreement on 7 August 1965, which discussed Singapores post-separation relations with Malaysia in order to continue co-operation in areas such as trade and mutual defence. The failure of the merger was a heavy blow to Mr Lee, who believed that it was crucial for Singapore’s survival. In a televised press conference on television that day, he broke down emotionally as he formally announced the separation and the full independence of Singapore. The Malaysian Parliament passed the required resolution that would sever Singapores ties to Malaysia as a state, and thus the Republic of Singapore was created. Singapores lack of natural resources, a water supply that was beholden primarily to Malaysia and a very limited defensive capability were the major challenges that Mr Lee and the Singaporean Government faced. However, Mr Lee would eventually pull Singapore through and help Singapore prosper and enjoy success. Mr Lee began to seek international recognition of Singapores independence. Singapore joined the United Nations on 21 September 1965, and founded the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on 8 August 1967 with four other Southeast Asian countries. Mr Lee made his first official visit to Indonesia on 25 May 1973, just a few years after the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation under Sukarnos regime. Relations between Singapore and Indonesia substantially improved as subsequent visits were made between Singapore and Indonesia. Singapore has never had a dominant culture to which immigrants could assimilate even though Malay was the dominant language at that time. Together with efforts from the government and ruling party, Mr Lee tried to create a unique Singaporean identity in the 1970s and 1980s—one which heavily recognised racial consciousness within the umbrella of multiculturalism. Mr Lee and his government stressed the importance of maintaining religious tolerance and racial harmony, and they were ready to use the law to counter any threat that might incite ethnic and religious violence. Lee Kuan Yew had three main concerns – national security, the economy, and social issues – during his post-independence administration. As Singapore gained admission to the UN, Mr Lee quickly sought international recognition of Singapores independence. He declared a policy of neutrality and non-alignment. At the same time, he asked Goh Keng Swee to build up the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and requested help from other countries for advice, training and facilities. Mr Lee always placed great importance on developing the economy, and his attention to detail on this aspect went even to the extent of connecting it with other facets of Singapore, including the countrys extensive and meticulous tending of its international image of being a Garden City, something that has been sustained to this day. Like many countries, Singapore had problems with political corruption. Mr Lee introduced legislation giving the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) greater power to conduct arrests, search, call up witnesses, and investigate bank accounts and income-tax returns of suspected persons and their families. In the late 1960s, fearing that Singapores growing population might overburden the developing economy, Mr Lee started a vigorous â€Å"Stop at Two† family planning campaign. In 1983, Mr Lee sparked the Great Marriage Debate when he encouraged Singapore men to choose highly educated women as wives. He was concerned that a large number of graduate women were unmarried. Some sections of the population, including graduate women, were upset by his views. Nevertheless, a matchmaking agency Social Development Unit (SDU) was set up to promote socialising among men and women graduates. To help Singapore further, Mr Lee looked forward to improving relationships with Mahathir bin Mohamad upon the latters promotion to Deputy Prime Minister. Knowing that Mahathir was in line to become the next Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mr Lee invited Mahathir to visit Singapore in 1978. The first and subsequent visits improved both personal and diplomatic relationships between them. Mahathir asked Mr Lee to cut off links with the Chinese leaders of the Democratic Action Party; in exchange, Mahathir undertook not to interfere in the affairs of Malay Singaporeans. In June 1988, Mr Lee and Mahathir reached an agreement in Kuala Lumpur to build the Linggui dam on the Johor River. After Mr Lee stepped down in 1990, he held only non-executive advisory positions. Mr Lee is still believed to hold sway over many executive decisions. With over half a century of service in government, Mr Lee leaves behind a legacy so long and casts a shadow so large that his actions and accomplishments in office have yet to be fully evaluated by many Singaporeans themselves. As Prime Minister, Mr Lee presided over an exponential increase in Singapores Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from US$704 million in 1960 to US$38 billion in 1990. This figure currently stands at US$222 billion, or over 300 times its level in 1960. Adjusting for cost of living differences, Singapores GDP per capita was ranked 3rd globally by the International Monetary Fund in 2010. This is a remarkable achievement and one that we owe to Mr Lee. Few countries have grown so rapidly, and Singapores economic success has been widely hailed by international observers. The city Mr Lee inherited in 1959 was very different from the Singapore of today. The streets are now sparkling clean, and the city runs like clockwork. Singapore is a leading financial centre, and boasts an impressive skyline that is easily recognizable. Among other things, Singapores public transportation and education systems are consistently rated highly in international rankings. Singapore is also known as a clean and green city, and at least some of this can be attributed to Mr Lees tough stance against chewing gum and littering. Southeast Asia has developed considerably over the past half-century, but Singapore has leaped even further ahead of her much larger and well-endowed neighbours. It is testament to the combined effort of all Singaporeans, under the erstwhile stewardship of Mr Lee and his team that the country now stands as an oasis of prosperity, orderliness and efficiency, almost as an oddity in contrast to the region. Fortunately, Mr Lee’s contributions have not gone unnoticed. He is widely respected by many Singaporeans, particularly the older generation, who remember his inspiring leadership during independence and the separation from Malaysia. Indeed, for many people in Singapore and other countries, Mr Lee is inextricably linked with their perceptions of Singapores country brand. Mr Lee has foresight, great leadership, is influential, passionate and patriotic. We ought to thank him for our wonderful lives here in Singapore.