For young Singaporeans: Who is Lee Kuan Yew 李光耀 ?
As a younger Singaporean, many of us don't really know much about Lee Kuan Yew apart from that he was the first PM of Singapore. Many of us would have learnt through school either in history lessons or National Education classes about Mr Lee's achievements in leading the country from a third world developing nation to a first world country.
I personally don't have any encounters with Mr Lee either, but I can remember when I was a kid in kindergarten, our teachers teaching us about our government. Mr Lee was the Prime Minister then. I remembered we were made to repeat after our teacher "黄金辉总统。李光耀总理。" Which literally translates to "Wee Kim Wee is the President. Lee Kuan Yew is the Prime Minister". We were shown pictures of the 2 leaders and were told they govern the country. We were made to recognise each leader by their picture.
Here are a few known facts about Mr Lee which our history books don't really tell us.
1. Mr Lee is a 4th generation Singaporean.
His great-grandfather of Hakka Heritage first migrated to Singapore in 1883 as part of massive migration from China to Singapore in search for work. Many of our ancestors would have either come China or India or are from the local Malay population.
2. Mr Lee attended Telok Kurau Primary School.
Little known fact, but Mr Lee, did attend a neighbourhood primary school. He excelled and made it into Raffles Institution. He then made it to the top of his class in RI. So who says neighbourhood primary schools are bad? If you smart or work hard at it, there is a good chance of getting to a great secondary school.
3. Mr Lee was very active in CCAs during his school years.
He was active in 4 CCAs - Scouts, Chess, Tennis and Cricket clubs! And yet he still did well in school.
4. Mr Lee is trained as a lawyer trained in Cambridge University
Mr Lee graduated in 1949 with a rarely awarded double starred (double first class honours) Law degree from Cambridge University. His wife also graduated with a Law degree from Cambridge University in the same year. Technically speaking, he was married before he graduated. I guess the whole concept of finishing university, then get a job, a home then get married was pretty different back then. But why not? It all seemed to work out for Mr Lee after all!
5. Mr Lee's first name was initially Harry.
Mr Lee given name at birth was Harry Lee Kuan Yew. After graduating from Cambridge, he chose to drop his English name. It was said that he dropped his English name as the name was associated to colonialism.
6. Mr Lee narrowly escaped from the Sook Ching Massacre during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore in WWII.
It was said that Mr Lee was segregated into a group of Chinese men who were eventually taken to a beach to be shot. Apparently, he made an excuse to go home to get clothing, which the Japanese guard allowed him to, narrowly escaping the massacre.
7. Mr Lee only started learning Chinese as an adult.
Mr Lee learnt Malay whilst in school. He picked up Japanese and worked as a Japanese interpreter during WWII. He started learning Chinese only as an adult - quite an achievement!
8. Mr Lee married twice.
Mr Lee married his wife Kwa Geok Choo twice - first in a private marriage in London in 1947 then again in 1950 when they returned to Singapore to please their parents and friends. They were married for over 50 years before she passed away after a long battle with illness.
9. Mr Lee was Singapore's Prime Minister for 31 years
Mr Lee at aged just 35, was the first Prime Minister of Singapore. He served the country as PM from 1959 to 1990 - 31 years. This is amongst the longest serving PMs in the world.
10. Mr Lee has spent nearly 60 years as a Member of Parliament (MP)
Mr Lee was first elected into his Tanjong Pajar seat since 1955. He has since been its Member of Parliament - that's nearly 60 years of service to Tanjong Pajar. Not many of us hold the same job for 60 years!
Related Posts
谁是李光耀？LKY101
Who is Lee Kuan Yew to you? (Timeline of Prime Ministers around the World)
Lee Kuan Yew - Massive Funeral Turn Out
Lee Kuan Yew - Obituary Condolences from World Leaders
Lest we forget - Mr Lee Kuan Yew's Team
Singaporeans in Sydney - Remembering Lee Kuan Yew
Mr Lee Kuan Yew's Biggest Achievement
References
[1] Asia One - The Last Farewell to My Wife
[2] Wikipedia - Lee Kuan Yew
[3] The Role Lee Kuan Yew played in Transforming Singapore Economy
[4] Photo image from: Asia One
To support my blog, please click on one of my sponsor's advertised links :)
I personally don't have any encounters with Mr Lee either, but I can remember when I was a kid in kindergarten, our teachers teaching us about our government. Mr Lee was the Prime Minister then. I remembered we were made to repeat after our teacher "黄金辉总统。李光耀总理。" Which literally translates to "Wee Kim Wee is the President. Lee Kuan Yew is the Prime Minister". We were shown pictures of the 2 leaders and were told they govern the country. We were made to recognise each leader by their picture.
Here are a few known facts about Mr Lee which our history books don't really tell us.
1. Mr Lee is a 4th generation Singaporean.
His great-grandfather of Hakka Heritage first migrated to Singapore in 1883 as part of massive migration from China to Singapore in search for work. Many of our ancestors would have either come China or India or are from the local Malay population.
2. Mr Lee attended Telok Kurau Primary School.
Little known fact, but Mr Lee, did attend a neighbourhood primary school. He excelled and made it into Raffles Institution. He then made it to the top of his class in RI. So who says neighbourhood primary schools are bad? If you smart or work hard at it, there is a good chance of getting to a great secondary school.
3. Mr Lee was very active in CCAs during his school years.
He was active in 4 CCAs - Scouts, Chess, Tennis and Cricket clubs! And yet he still did well in school.
4. Mr Lee is trained as a lawyer trained in Cambridge University
Mr Lee graduated in 1949 with a rarely awarded double starred (double first class honours) Law degree from Cambridge University. His wife also graduated with a Law degree from Cambridge University in the same year. Technically speaking, he was married before he graduated. I guess the whole concept of finishing university, then get a job, a home then get married was pretty different back then. But why not? It all seemed to work out for Mr Lee after all!
5. Mr Lee's first name was initially Harry.
Mr Lee given name at birth was Harry Lee Kuan Yew. After graduating from Cambridge, he chose to drop his English name. It was said that he dropped his English name as the name was associated to colonialism.
6. Mr Lee narrowly escaped from the Sook Ching Massacre during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore in WWII.
It was said that Mr Lee was segregated into a group of Chinese men who were eventually taken to a beach to be shot. Apparently, he made an excuse to go home to get clothing, which the Japanese guard allowed him to, narrowly escaping the massacre.
7. Mr Lee only started learning Chinese as an adult.
Mr Lee learnt Malay whilst in school. He picked up Japanese and worked as a Japanese interpreter during WWII. He started learning Chinese only as an adult - quite an achievement!
8. Mr Lee married twice.
Mr Lee married his wife Kwa Geok Choo twice - first in a private marriage in London in 1947 then again in 1950 when they returned to Singapore to please their parents and friends. They were married for over 50 years before she passed away after a long battle with illness.
9. Mr Lee was Singapore's Prime Minister for 31 years
Mr Lee at aged just 35, was the first Prime Minister of Singapore. He served the country as PM from 1959 to 1990 - 31 years. This is amongst the longest serving PMs in the world.
10. Mr Lee has spent nearly 60 years as a Member of Parliament (MP)
Mr Lee was first elected into his Tanjong Pajar seat since 1955. He has since been its Member of Parliament - that's nearly 60 years of service to Tanjong Pajar. Not many of us hold the same job for 60 years!
Related Posts
谁是李光耀？LKY101
Who is Lee Kuan Yew to you? (Timeline of Prime Ministers around the World)
Lee Kuan Yew - Massive Funeral Turn Out
Lee Kuan Yew - Obituary Condolences from World Leaders
Lest we forget - Mr Lee Kuan Yew's Team
Singaporeans in Sydney - Remembering Lee Kuan Yew
Mr Lee Kuan Yew's Biggest Achievement
[1] Asia One - The Last Farewell to My Wife
[2] Wikipedia - Lee Kuan Yew
[3] The Role Lee Kuan Yew played in Transforming Singapore Economy
[4] Photo image from: Asia One
To support my blog, please click on one of my sponsor's advertised links :)
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