Remembering Lee Kuan Yew

Official website:




Passing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, founding Prime Minister of Singapore
Statement By Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew dies aged 91
Period of National Mourning Declared





Tributes to Lee Kuan Yew

 Lee Kuan Yew: Lying in State & Community Tributes

The Lee Kuan Yew I remember







What Papa's death taught us about ourselves -Lee Wei Ling
What the crowds and the tears told us about LKY, Singapore & Singaporeans
Tribute segment for Mr Lee Kuan Yew at this year's National Day Parade
Mr Lee Kuan Yew and 38 Oxley Road
Do not rush into decisions on how best to honour Mr Lee Kuan Yew, says PM
Dr Lee Wei Ling on honouring the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew: 'Honour the spirit of what Papa stood for'
Memorial Tree and Time Capsule @ Tanjong Pagar
The security men and women who became like family -Lee Wei Ling
Mr Lee Kuan Yew's name and image to be protected
National Day Parade 2015 Tribute to Lee Kuan Yew


Mr Lee Kuan Yew's Final Trip to Parliament























Parliamentary Statement on calls to honour Mr Lee Kuan Yew, by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on 13 April 2015



Memorial Tree and Time Capsule @ Tanjong Pagar




Remembering Lee Kuan Yew - His ideas and impact on the Singapore Public Service - pdf download











Mr Lee's final gift: One united people
'Mr Lee thought about others, even when he was sick'
Memorial photo pose 'the most natural thing in the world'
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night -Mr Brown

Lee Kuan Yew: I did my best
Lee Kuan Yew: Life is better when it is short, healthy and full
Lee Kuan Yew: Behind the no-nonsense demeanour, a heart that beat for Singapore
Lee Kuan Yew’s Public Service: How has it changed and how will it continue to change in future
On A Mission To Say The Best Goodbye

The Legacy of Lee Kuan Yew and the Myth of Trade-Offs -Calvin Cheng
By gum, the West is wrong about Singapore
The Same-Old Criticisms of Singapore
The Lee Kuan Yew Conundrum

The Harder Truth
An era is over
The day Lee cried and changed me forever
Musings on Lee Kuan Yew's legacy from ordinary people he touched
Unique online tributes to Mr Lee Kuan Yew
'Battleship' is the new way of saying 'steam boat' in Singapore

Lee Kuan Yew’s place in history is guaranteed
Conversation with my pax: The Malaysian on LKY -Gintai
Singapore and the Worldview of Lee Kuan Yew
Jamaica went for sprints, S'pore goes the distance
Why we like what we see in Singapore: Lee Kuan Yew got things done
Lee Kuan Yew's Other Legacy: Why Singapore Has One Of The World's Toughest Militaries
Lee Kuan Yew and Suharto: Friends till the end
Yudhoyono: Indonesia lost a great friend in Lee Kuan Yew's passing
Singapore Day in Shanghai: DPM Teo leads Singaporeans in paying tribute to Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew and Henry Kissinger

 Lee Kuan Yew: The ‘Engine’ That Was ‘Too Big for the Boat’
Lee Kuan Yew's legacy and Singapore's future -Cherian George
Lee Kuan Yew: a model for the New Authoritarians or a one-off genius?
Lee Kuan Yew: death of an outstanding statesman -Bob Hawke
Charlie Munger in 2010: ‘Don’t ask Charlie Munger. Study the life and work of Lee Kuan Yew, you’re going to be flabbergasted’
Economic Legacy of Lee Kuan Yew: Lessons for Aspiring Countries
The UK can learn a lot from Lee Kuan Yew and Singapore
America suffers from too much democracy
Singapore: A Fascinating Alternative To The Welfare State
Lee Kuan Yew: The Man and His Dream
Hong Kong's pan-democratic lawmakers can learn from Lee Kuan Yew
The secret of Singapore's success in education
Lee Kuan Yew in historical context
Lee Kuan Yew’s Legacy: A Singaporean Singapore

How new leaders can sustain Singapore's success
What's next for Singapore after Lee Kuan Yew?
How will Singapore Fare in a Post- Lee Kuan Yew world?
Getting out of a hole, after Lee Kuan Yew

















































Remembering Lee Kuan Yew: The Straits Times' full print coverage
































National Day Parade 2015 Tribute to Lee Kuan Yew








































2025: Remembering Lee Kuan Yew on the 10th anniversary of his death

Lee Kuan Yew’s values continue to thrive

It has been 10 years since founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew left us. Each one of us carries different memories of him. I remember my first encounter with the person I learnt to fear, respect and love.

The thought of meeting Mr Lee for the first time frightened me. When he questioned me in the cold Istana Cabinet office, my hair stood on end.

He was a big man with sharp piercing eyes and a booming voice. The other interviewers flanking him were all quiet, and there was absolute silence between his questions and my answers. It was not an interview; it was an interrogation. I left the meeting feeling intimidated and shaken.

After that indelible experience in 1991, I managed to work closely with him on the political ground in Tanjong Pagar for 25 years. During that time – with my hair prematurely greying in my 40s – I learnt many aspects of the man we loved, feared and respected all in the same breath.


He was a devoted politician and a charming and warm person. He did not reveal the softer side of himself often. The little gestures people did not see were what humanised him, and he cared for people in ways they did not know.

For example, when he visited a resident’s HDB flat, he asked for permission to see the inside of the family’s refrigerator. The food in the fridge told him how they lived. He did not totally trust the reports we gave him.

He also told me to raise to him personally any cases in my Meet-the-People’s Sessions that I felt needed special attention.

Mr Lee transformed Singapore. Many wondered if the miracle would last.

Ten years have passed since Mr Lee left us. Ten years is a short time in the history of nations but it is a good time to take stock of his legacy.


Few Western thinkers thought Singapore would do well after Mr Lee’s death. Mr Samuel Huntington wrote in his 1996 book The Clash Of Civilisations And The Remaking Of World Order that the honesty and efficiency that Mr Lee brought to Singapore were “likely to follow him to his grave”.

Mr Huntington could not be more wrong. The values of honesty and efficiency, together with competency and incorruptibility, which Mr Lee brought to Singapore, have not only survived but also remained strong.

Mr Lee did not just bring those values to Singapore – he laid them deep into the foundations so that future leaders could build on them. And they did.


While we remember Mr Lee and his achievements, we must not live in the past. Mr Lee warned Singaporeans not to hark back to the past or we would miss the signals that beckon us to the future.

The guiding signposts for our success are those values Mr Lee laid out. How long those values can endure will depend on the men and women who succeed him. We can revisit the Clash of Civilisations 10 years later.

Koo Tsai Kee

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