man... statesman!

Lee Kuan Yew. The great statesman and the father of Singapore passed away yesterday. Singapore was the second country that I went abroad as an independent adult. It was a part of an offsite that we were going to. I was just inducted in the international division of the firm and there was an offsite planned in Singapore. I thought that was so cool. And I remember the day when the secretary just asked me for my passport. I heard it from her that we were going to Singapore. I think it was for two or three days. I promptly bought the Lonely Planet and read all I could about the city. I asked around as well… and yes… you are Indian so you will have to stop at the mecca of Singapore – the Mustafa shopping centre. And to cater to tourists who enjoy the city during the day – the dam store stays open 24 hours!. Wow that is super cool.

From the first experience that I received while landing – at the Changi airport – I was dazzled by the city. Clean, orderly, and everything works to the clock. People walk on the amazing pavements, travel by the metro or the MRT as they call it. The busses are air conditioned and the malls are amazing and the people and service is great. I remember one instance where at the crossing, I was letting the car by but the car stopped and allowed me to cross first. It was absolutely a city in order. And then in the free time I went around the city. We were staying at the Sentosa island which itself had tons of fun things to do. The first thing I did was see the aquarium and the first thing at the aquarium – the touching tank! OMG. In India we are used to seeing barricades that stop us from going anywhere near the exhibits or animals or anything. But here we are free to  - of all things touch the fish. These were the Ray fish that we were experiencing. Then I roamed around the city and saw tons of things. I was a crazy wide eyes tourist with a mission to soak in as much of the city as possible. Mind boggling.

As an adult my first international visit was Bangkok and then this. This was my first experience of what a modern city feels like. I remember walking along their main road which was Orchard Street and not feeling any pollution at all. I swore to take my family along the next time. And sure enough, with the next bonus I was in Singapore again with Jasmine and Jispa. What a city! Organized and orderly and great living standards. How this happen? Who made it happen? Is this really true? The amazing Bird Park, the zoo, the island, the beach, the airport. How they make it happen? That’s when a friend of mine told me about the Man himself – Lee Kuan Yew. I read about him and then chanced upon his two books. One is about the way at 35… only 35… he led his city country to merge with Malaysia to only cede within a short time due to race issues. This book is ‘My Singapore Story’. It’s a bit boring but you get a sense of the resolve of the guy. The next book is an absolute mind bender. “from third world to first”. This book talks about the various issues he faced and the various challenges he resolved while he transformed his island country. My god. That man at 35 had an amazing vision. He resolved race conflicts, understood Singapore’s geo strategic positioning and built a modern efficient city. He ruling with a  strong arm but with a benevolence of a father, an incorruptible man of the highest integrity… he transformed Singapore in the magical city that we see it today. And he started at 35.

What an inspiration he is to all. The ability to fight off opposition, impose a fair just society and build the highest living standards for all. He talks about how at the start, Indians tried giving him a planner to help him and how he quickly realized how useless it was. He use of corporal punishment and banning of chewing gum was felt as suppressive to the world but you need to just look at the pavements of London to understand the impact. Every pavement of main street London has black spots that bear testimony to the ugliness of spat out chewing gum! Banning Chewing gum is good! though the real reason he banned it was the MRT. It would jam the doors.

The tourist magnets that are available for sale mock Singapore’s fine culture by calling it a Singapore -  a Fine City. Fines for smoking in public, spitting, not flushing etc etc…

But you can’t take away anything from this great guy. Lee Kuan Yew. Amongst those that lived while I was alive – to me he ranks up there with Nelson Mandela. I don’t think that for their people they were any less than great founding fathers! I salute you guys! You guys were awesome and to rephrase the words of great in memory of another great – generations to come will scarcely believe that a man such as this walked in flesh and blood on this earth!

We will soon deride them as our memories fall short as we do for Gandhi and Nehru. But what leaders of men these were. I need to someday think about what’s common in all of these? Possibly Lincoln as well. That makes me think. Time to read up on George Washigton!