LKY's Contributions to Singapore
Aaron Epps
Dr. Quek Ser Hwee
June 8, 2015
Lee Kuan Yew’s Contributions to Modern Singapore: Both Contentious and Impactful
A few short months before Singapore celebrates its half-century independence on August 9, 2015, the founding prime minister of an independent Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew (LKY), passed away after battling pneumonia for several months. LKY governed Singapore for more than thirty years until 1990 and is described as transitioning Singapore from the "third world to the first world in a single generation" under his leadership (Yew). He became the embodiment of the orderly transition of a region from western dominance to neo-Confucian success. His death on the morning of March 23, 2015 caused a sudden boom and several days of mourning throughout the nation. “It was almost like the long-awaited passing of a grandfather,” one Singaporean native said when I asked her how she remembered receiving the news of LKY’s passing. “You knew it was coming, but you still did not want to accept it as true.” Hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans flocked to the Parliament House where his body remained for viewing from Wednesday, March 25, 2015 to Saturday, March 28, 2015 to pay their respect. His death also attracted the attention of certain worldwide dignitaries and they paid their respect accordingly. There is no doubt that his profound contributions to Singapore advanced it as a nation and left an impact in the hearts and lives of thousands of citizens, but some of the Singaporeans feel controversial about his impact on Singapore, although they greatly revere him as the most notable leader of their beloved nation. These differences of opinion are reflected in Fernandez’s and Bowring’s obituaries on LKY published only a few days after his passing. While The Straits Times article posted by Warren Fernandez sings high praises to