A friend of mine on Facebook said this of MM Lee Kuan Yew:
Chor Pharn Lee: "Seems like LKY's sense of mortality, and the urgency to wrap up loose ends is accelerating. Closure through Men in White, hectoring the USA to stay its course while receiving some award, now public atonement for killing the Chinese language in Singapore. In balance, he has done more good. Like how they sum up Mao's achievements as one third bad, two thirds good. I think I'll be more generous."
Here's the link on MM Lee about his education policy:
Personally, I have had my own prejudices about MM Lee. Afterall, my father is Fong Swee Suan (google him, or "Hock Lee Bus Riots"), one of the main opposition leaders during the early days of PAP.
But I am also a product of MM Lee's Singapore. I had a great bilingual education (it's not perfect, but it's still great!). I benefited from growing up in a multi-racial, multi-lingual country. I can live my life without fear of racial or religious prosecutions, or being shot down in the streets, or in fear of the triads.
MM Lee took ownership of his triumphs, and more importantly, he took ownership of his failures. It takes a great man to do so. And I want to acknowledge him for creating a great country that allows me to go after my dreams.
So, to MM Lee, THANK YOU! You're a great man! I love you as I love my father!
Here's an old song about giving credit - for those of us who didn't get it when we first heard it:
Otto Fong
1 comment:
Let's be historically accurate here. LKY killed the Chinese language*s*, but he only resurrected only Mandarin. Cantonese, Hokkien, Hakka, and a whole host of other equally legitimate Chinese languages (not "dialects") lie suppressed at his feet.
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