theceomagazine.com | 15a rite of passage for Singaporean men, very
character-building,” says tech entrepreneur
Leslie Lim.
As the young co-founder of micro-loans start-up
Cicil, he says his generation is reaping the benefits
of the decisions Lee made those decades ago.
“I respect him a lot. He pushed for Singapore to
become a meritocratic society where the results
speak for themselves. He made a lot of tough
decisions and as a result people have tended to
label him a dictator, but he simply chose to be
pragmatic,” says Lim.
“WE DECIDE WHAT IS RIGHT”
Not everyone would agree. During his three-decade
tenure as prime minister, Lee presided over one
of the most impressive economic and social
transformations of any developing country – by
the time he stepped down in 1990, Singapore
was no longer a neglected colonial outpost, but
a prosperous ‘Asian tiger’. But for many, the price
of progress was civil repression.
Rodan describes Lee’s leadership as intolerant
and elitist. “His predisposition towards tight political
and ideological control has not just contained civil
society. It has also produced a sameness about the
world views of contemporary leaders,” says Rodan.
Vadaketh agrees, saying Lee’s paternalistic
approach lingers on in Singaporean politics. “We’re
not allowing our political leadership to benefit
from a diversity of thought and debate,” he tells
The CEO Magazine.
However, during his time in office, Lee had no
qualms about his strongman style. In a 1986 speech
he said: “I am often accused of interfering in the
private lives of citizens. Yes... had I not done that,
we wouldn’t be here today. And I say without the
slightest remorse, that we wouldn’t be here... if we
had not intervened on very personal matters – who
your neighbour is, how you live, the noise you make,
how you spit, or what language you use. We decide
what is right.”
GIANT OF HISTORY
Regardless of where one stands on Lee Kuan Yew’s
methods, his legacy is undeniable. He dedicated his
life to his country, imbuing the Singaporean people
with the same sense of discipline and hard work with
which he governed. Lee insisted no monuments be
built in his honour after his death, but in many ways
the bustling twenty-first century metropolis of
Singapore is itself a testament to his leadership.
Lee died from pneumonia on 23 March 2015.
On the day of his funeral almost two million people
(nearly half the population) came out to pay their
respects to Singapore’s founding father – the man
described by former US President Barack Obama
as a “giant of history”, and by Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi as a “lion among leaders”.Cover story | INSPIRELEE PRESIDED OVER ONE
OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
TRANSFORMATIONS.