Monday, March 23, 2015

Lee Kuan Yew now belongs to the stars

I go to bed each night wondering if I will wake up in the morning to learn that Lee Kuan Yew has left us. This morning I woke up to receive a message from my brother that LKY has passed away.

LLAP: Live Long and Prosper. We are all trekkers.

Now Lee Kuan Yew belongs to the stars together with those who had gone and once served with him before.

It is now up to us to do the same for the next generation as he had once for my parents and us.

I woke my daughter this morning for school and the first thing I told her was Lee Kuan Yew is gone. I am not expecting very much from her but wonder how and what we must preserve for them in order that we finally reach the stars. My thoughts wander to how the Americans had mythologize their founding fathers and when the myths are established and matured, they then add on the human frailties. I think we can borrow from them. The Chinese had done the same but long ago and what they had to do was to turn their heroic leaders into gods.

This is an excerpt from Obama's surprisingly long tribute to Lee Kuan Yew. Shows how much he admired him. It also gave me the opportunity to reinforce my point to too many clueless people the irreplaceable role LKY served in the security and prosperity of Singapore. This was a role his successors never took over from. Well nobody could but now we badly need someone who can.

For this missing bit I am afraid for Singapore. But I can hear him say to us, "make the effort!"

Never give up!

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