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As Singapore Enters Mourning, World Leaders Praise Lee Kuan Yew As Singapore Enters Mourning, Praise From Near and Far for Lee Kuan Yew
(about 3 hours later)
HONG KONG — World leaders praised Lee Kuan Yew, who died Monday at the age of 91, as a visionary statesman whose confidence and insight helped build Singapore into a prosperous and influential nation. Their tributes arrived as Singapore declared a week of national mourning to mark the death of the city-state’s founding father. SINGAPORE — They spoke about him with a zeal and adoration usually reserved for candidates for sainthood. Mourners filed past the gates of the government building where the body of Lee Kuan Yew, who died Monday at the age of 91, was being kept in preparation for his funeral on Sunday.
Singapore’s current prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, the son of Lee Kuan Yew, said during a televised address Monday morning that his father “fought for our independence, built a nation where there was none, and made us proud to be Singaporeans.” “He is my idol, and not a day passes without my saying it,” said Vasuki Thirupathi, an engineer from India who worked in Singapore two decades ago and was back on a visit. “Security, law and order, truth, honesty — all of this requires vision and boils down to leadership.”
“Singapore was his abiding passion,” his son said. “He gave of himself, in full measure, to Singapore. As he himself put it towards the end of his life: ‘I have spent my life, so much of it, building up this country. There is nothing more that I need to do. At the end of the day, what have I got? A successful Singapore. What have I given up? My life.’” “Singapore has become a First World country,” he added. “That’s not a simple thing to do.”
The former leader’s body will lie in state at the Parliament House from Wednesday through Saturday, and a state funeral will be held Sunday. Mr. Lee led Singapore from 1959, through its tumultuous separation from Malaysia in 1965, and remained at the helm until 1990, an era in which it rose “From Third World to First,” as he titled his 2000 book on the former British colony’s modern history. He remained a statesman and an adviser to world leaders for more than two decades after stepping down as prime minister.
Lee Kuan Yew led Singapore from 1959, through its tumultuous separation from Malaysia in 1965, and remained at the helm until 1990, an era in which it rose “From Third World to First,” as he titled his 2000 book on the former British colony’s modern history. He remained an influential figure in local and world affairs for more than two decades after stepping down as prime minister. For older Singaporeans, the roots of the respect for Mr. Lee were intertwined with their rise from poverty. Zhuang Yaying, a 79-year-old who paid her respects on Monday, spoke of living in a thatch-roofed house when she was young. “Singapore is like heaven now,” she said. She mentioned “proper” sidewalks and the ubiquitous high-rise apartment complexes.
In a statement, President Obama called Mr. Lee “a visionary who led his country from Singapore’s independence in 1965 to build one of the most prosperous countries in the world today.” He thanked Mr. Lee for advice he gave during his 2009 trip to Singapore, which Mr. Obama said was important as he developed a policy of American rebalancing toward Asia. Yeo Siew Siang, 65, a former colonel in the Singaporean Army, remembered the cows and pigs roaming in a neighborhood now filled with hipster cafes. “He has transformed all our lives,” he said of Mr. Lee.
Mr. Yeo addressed criticism of the stifling of political dissent under Mr. Lee’s tenure, saying, “You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs.”
Younger Singaporeans were also grieving.
Curren Seow, 30, who works at Facebook, said his parents had a picture of Mr. Lee posted in their home. “He’s a part of the family,” he said.
Foo Ceyu, 35, a marketing manager, said he had been sobbing the whole day. “In Chinese, there’s an idiom saying we need to remember the source of our water, i.e., we have to be grateful,” he said.
Praise for Mr. Lee poured in from around the globe. In a statement, President Obama called Mr. Lee “a visionary who led his country from Singapore’s independence in 1965 to build one of the most prosperous countries in the world today.” He thanked Mr. Lee for advice he gave during Mr. Obama’s 2009 trip to Singapore, which the president said was important as he developed a policy of American rebalancing toward Asia.
“He was a true giant of history who will be remembered for generations to come as the father of modern Singapore and as one the great strategists of Asian affairs,” Mr. Obama said.“He was a true giant of history who will be remembered for generations to come as the father of modern Singapore and as one the great strategists of Asian affairs,” Mr. Obama said.
China, which has at times looked to Singapore as model of Asian prosperity with little corruption and constrained politics, also spoke of Mr. Lee’s guidance.China, which has at times looked to Singapore as model of Asian prosperity with little corruption and constrained politics, also spoke of Mr. Lee’s guidance.
President Xi Jinping said Mr. Lee was “an old friend of the Chinese people and the founder, pioneer and promoter of China-Singapore relations,” according to Xinhua, the state-run news agency.President Xi Jinping said Mr. Lee was “an old friend of the Chinese people and the founder, pioneer and promoter of China-Singapore relations,” according to Xinhua, the state-run news agency.
Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain said Mr. Lee “was always a friend to Britain, if sometimes a critical one, and many British prime ministers benefited from his wise advice, including me.”Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain said Mr. Lee “was always a friend to Britain, if sometimes a critical one, and many British prime ministers benefited from his wise advice, including me.”
Mr. Cameron said that Margaret Thatcher, the former British prime minister, said “there was no prime minister she admired more than Mr. Lee for ‘the strength of his convictions, the clarity of his views, the directness of his speech and his vision of the way ahead.’” In a testament to the orderly city-state that Mr. Lee built, mourners in Singapore were shepherded through a meticulously organized grieving line. Ushers with black armbands checked flowers with metal-detecting wands and guided mourners to tables where pens and index cards were neatly laid out. White tents shielded them from the sun.
“Lee Kuan Yew was a legendary figure in Asia, widely respected for his strong leadership and statesmanship,” said a statement from the spokesman for Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general of the United Nations. “During his three decades in office, he helped Singapore to transition from a developing country to one of the most developed in the world, transforming it into a thriving international business hub.” “We are deeply in debt to him,” said Irene Yeo, a saleswoman who brought a bouquet of flowers purchased at a supermarket. She enumerated the reasons for her gratitude: “My life, my housing, my family, the good environment, the good transportation and medical care.”
Singapore’s neighbor Malaysia also praised Mr. Lee. “I pay tribute to Mr. Lee Kuan Yew’s determination in developing Singapore from a new nation to the modern and dynamic city we see today,” said Prime Minister Najib Razak. “His achievements were great, and his legacy is assured.” Singapore’s current prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, one of Lee Kuan Yew’s sons, said during a televised address Monday morning that his father “fought for our independence, built a nation where there was none, and made us proud to be Singaporeans.”
While comments from world leaders were overwhelmingly positive about Mr. Lee, human rights groups criticized his strong-handed politics. “Singapore was his abiding passion,” his son said. “He gave of himself, in full measure, to Singapore. As he himself put it towards the end of his life: ‘I have spent my life, so much of it, building up this country. There is nothing more that I need to do. At the end of the day, what have I got? A successful Singapore. What have I given up? My life.’ ”
Comments about Mr. Lee from world leaders were overwhelmingly positive. Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general of the United Nations, called Mr. Lee “a legendary figure in Asia.”
Prime Minister Najib Razak of neighboring Malaysia also praised Mr. Lee. “I pay tribute to Mr. Lee Kuan Yew’s determination in developing Singapore from a new nation to the modern and dynamic city we see today,” he said.
Dissenting voices came from human rights groups, which criticized his strong-handed tactics in politics.
“Lee Kuan Yew’s tremendous role in Singapore’s economic development is beyond doubt, but it also came at a significant cost for human rights,” said Phil Robertson, the deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch. “And today’s restricted freedom of expression, self-censorship and stunted multiparty democracy is also a part of his legacy that Singapore now needs to overcome.”“Lee Kuan Yew’s tremendous role in Singapore’s economic development is beyond doubt, but it also came at a significant cost for human rights,” said Phil Robertson, the deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch. “And today’s restricted freedom of expression, self-censorship and stunted multiparty democracy is also a part of his legacy that Singapore now needs to overcome.”
Asked about the tapering of political freedoms under Mr. Lee’s rule, Mr. Thirupathi, the engineer from India who stood in the grieving line wearing an I Love Singapore T-shirt, said his priorities had been right.
“As long as you are economically well off, with housing and food, who cares about the politics?” he said. “I would much rather live in a country like this than a place where you have every freedom in the world but you are hungry.”