by Andre Sanchez

Lee Kuan Yew was born to a Chinese family, and was educated at Cambridge University, England, graduating in law.  After being admitted to the bar in England, he returned to Singapore.

His attitudes and approach to independence were colored by his experiences during the Second World War, and by a visit to Zambia.  It was always though that the British were stoic under pressure and the Chinese would panic. In fact, when the Japanese invaded Malaysia, it was the British who were running around like headless chickens, and the British offers who, in 1941, left Penang to try to save their skins in Singapore, leaving the Asians to their fate.  It was the Chinese who died with dignity, and the Europeans who were unable to provide leadership when it was most needed.

This showed Lee Kuan Yew that the assumptions of English superiority and invincibility were false, and that their tenure in Southeast Asia was limited.  One day, colonial superiority would come to an end, especially now that this superiority of a people who abandoned their posts when under threat was being questioned.  This was a point that the future prime minister made while a student at Cambridge.

On a visit to Lusaka in 1970, with which he was familiar with in the colonial days before Zambia gained her independence, he noticed that the shrubs and flowers that lined the roads and roundabouts had gone and had been replaced by weeds.  The roundabouts were covered in tarmac and he recognized than that decolonization needed more than just a glittering ceremony.

 “Social cohesion and capable, effective government to take power from the colonial authority” were also required, and a country should not seek independence until it was ready for it. The advantages of colonialism should not be set aside through “half-digested theories of socialism and redistribution of wealth”.  This is being proved even today in Zimbabwe.

In November 1954, Lee led a group of Chinese who had also been studying in Britain into forming the People’s Action Party that sought to attract the Singaporean masses in a socialist endeavor to seek independence for Singapore and an end to colonial rule. As Secretary-General of his party, he became opposition leader after winning his seat in the 1955 elections,  and in the 1959 national election his PAP party won 84% of the seats.

He became prime minister on June 3rd, 1959, and Singapore became self-governing in all but defense and foreign affairs.  He faced tremendous problems in housing, education and employment and tackled them all with a tenacity and leadership that resulted in not only 100% employment, but also a housing construction program to offer cheap housing to all.

In 1963, Singapore became part of the Federation of Malaysia, and British colonial rule ended.  However, much against Lee’s wishes, his country had to secede from the Federation, largely due to racial tensions between the Chinese and Muslims, and the Republic of Singapore was created on August 9th, 1965.

Lee had many problems to resolve, especially in relation to corruption, and he fought them with a great tenacity.  He took no prisoners and swiftly dealt with anyone who crossed him.  Under his leadership Singapore blossomed from a problem-ridden island with limited natural resources to one of the most mature states in Eastern Asia.  He provided the strong leadership required during the period immediately after the separation from Malaysia, and it is doubtful that anyone but he could have achieved so much in so little time with so few resources other than the Singaporean strong work ethic. 

Its economy is the most advanced in Southeast Asia, and it is now a strong player on the world stage.  Lee Kuan Yew is still revered and regarded with great respect for what he achieved. He never forgot the lessons he learned during the Japanese invasion about keeping one’s head in a crisis, and of the need for strong leadership and planning when decolonizing a nation.  That the success of Singapore is attributable to Lee is uncontroversial, and it will be a long time before another giant of man such as he enters the world stage.

Lee Kuan Yew: First Minister of Singapore This Article was originally published at http://www.globallifenow.com