During his leadership, Singapore separated from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965 and grew from an underdeveloped colonial outpost with no natural … Mr Yee asked whether PM Lee’s reasoning that minorities would feel disenfranchised and the founding values of the nation would erode if a non-Chinese almost never becomes President would apply to the Office of the Prime Minister. 2021. She told me: "Tell Lee Kuan Yew I will always support him. "It seems to me inevitable that at some point, a minority prime minister - Indian, Malay, Eurasian, or some mixture - is going to be a feature of the political landscape. Noting that many students might be happy to have a non-Chinese PM, Heng said that his “own experience in walking the ground, in working with different people from all walks of life, is that the views — if you go by age and by life experience — would be very different.”, He added: “I do think that at the right time when enough people think that we may have a minority leader, a minority who becomes the leader of the country, that is something that we can all hope for.”, Mr Heng asserted that he witnessed Singapore’s reluctance to accept a non-Chinese PM as he observed the elections: “I can tell you that it is not easy because it triggers all the feelings about race, which are not obvious. ", He added: "We've got a crop of people who are in the fray already and entering the fray who will provide future leadership.". Madam Halimah’s seat at Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC has been vacant since she left the ward and the Government did not call for a by-election. It is also about overlapping circles," he said. And these sentiments—who votes for whom, and what makes him identify with that person—these are sentiments which will not disappear completely for a long time, even if people do not talk about it, even if people wish they did not feel it.”. Asked whether he would be prime minister, DPM Tharman Shanmugaratnam said he did not see himself taking on the job. This article is now fully available for you, Please verify your e-mail to read this subscriber-only article in full. Today corruption.net is looking at why he will be remembered for his relentless fight against ant-corruption. Read 3 articles daily and stand to win ST rewards, including the ST News Tablet worth $398. In 2000, Lawrence Koh represented a top-rated book about Lee Kuan Yew’s childhood years, Growing Up with Lee Kuan Yew. He also acknowledged that attitudes towards race had shifted as English provided more of a common ground. Close. In the long term, such a scenario will foment deep unhappiness, and erode the founding values of our nation.”. They can read the article in full after signing up for a free account. The past three ministers since Singapore gained independence in 1965 have been Chinese: Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Chok Tong, and Lee Hsien Loong. Mr Lee Kuan Yew once said that former Cabinet Minister S. Dhanabalan was one of the four men he considered as his successor, but decided against him as he felt Singapore was “not ready” for a non-Chinese prime minister. 26 January. “If only you could be our PM” – Singaporeans tell Tharman as he lauds Heng Swee Keat, Ex-GIC chief economist joins chorus of Singaporeans asking why “people’s choice” Tharman dropped out of PM race, Whopping 92% of Singaporeans in viral poll vote for Tharman to become next PM, Send in your scoops to news@theindependent.sg. According to him, it’s all ‘utter rubbish’ and people are saying what is ‘politically correct’. THE FUNDAMENTALS OF SINGAPORE’S FOREIGN POLICY: THEN AND NOW. He asked Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong if a Malay could be elected president. In remembrance of our founder, Lee Kuan Yew, we commemorate his third death anniversary with this video. Lee Kuan Yew and his cabinet also took their oaths of office on June 5, 1959, in the City Hall Chamber. March 23, 2016, marks the first death anniversary of Singapore’s founding father and long-serving Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. While detractors have been quick to criticise Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, it is imperative to bear in mind that he is, after all, only human. Mr Zakaria was chairing a dialogue at the SG50+ Conference on what lies ahead for Singapore, organised by the Institute of Policy Studies and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. LEAVING HIS MARK ON SINGAPORE He informed me that PM Lee Kuan Yew would be arriving in Anuradhapura two days later, with Minister Gamini Dissanayake in attendance. When something causes offence, like people making reckless remarks or offensive posts, we have to take action. When asked whether it is Singapore or the PAP that is not ready for a non-Chinese PM, Mr Heng asserted that the older generation is not prepared to accept a minority PM. Mr Lee’s government amended the constitution to reserve presidential elections for a particular racial group if no one from that group has been president for five continuous terms prior to the 2017 presidential election. 7 years ago. Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has said it is a matter of time before Singapore gets a non-Chinese prime minister. He wrote: "We have put together an account using evidence from the British archives as well as CPM sources, which confirm that Mr Lee Kuan Yew told the truth. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month for the first 3 months. Harry and his wife Meghan... Singapore – Parliamentarians supported Singapore's US$20.57 million (S$27.7 million) contribution to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) initiatives to help the vulnerable and low-income countries cope with the Covid-19 pandemic. A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 04, 2015, with the headline ''Matter of time' before S'pore has non-Chinese PM'. He said this to assure the minorities in Singapore that they would always be protected and … He was the co-founder and first secretary-general of the People's Action Party, and led the party to a landslide victory in 1959. Many Singaporeans got triggered over the weekend after Singapore finance minister Heng Swee Keat made comments reported by local media that the country was not ready for a non-Chinese prime minister (PM). But a log-in is still required for our PDFs. "It is having a love for diversity," he added, "not just tolerant of each other, not just accommodating... but something deeper than that.". That was almost 20 years ago. Singaporeans told Mr Tharman that he is still the clear “people’s choice” for PM when he later congratulated Mr Heng on his appointment as Deputy Prime Minister – an appointment which marked Mr Heng as the Government’s choice to become the next PM. Everybody will have a place in Singapore.”. - WP politician asks... Wheelchair-bound woman struggles getting in and out of home because of inconsiderate neighbours and no lift access, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce their first Netflix series, S’pore to contribute S$27.7m to IMF for low-income countries coping with Covid-19, MPs show support. I was born in 1948, and I am 48 years old (this was 1996). PM Lee said he thought it was possible for Singapore to have a non- Chinese prime minister, but it may not happen soon. "Let me put it this way. 35. Lee Kuan Yew delivered the 37th Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture on November 21, 2005 in New Delhi. In 1992, craftsman Lai Kui Fang introduced authentic oil artworks of Lee Kuan Yew’s 1959 swearing-in service as prime minister, which are important for the National Museum of Singapore’s assortment. All this explains his incredulity that poll results show that 90% of Singaporeans have no problem with having a non-Chinese PM. At a later panel discussion, Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh noted that there had not been a Malay president since Mr Yusof Ishak in the 1960s. Lee Kuan Yew was a very popular public figure in Singapore. u/The_Turk2. During his long rule, Singapore became the most-prosperous country in Southeast Asia. Lee Kuan Yew laid foundation for China-Singapore ties: PM Lee. Speaker of Parliament and PAP MP Halimah Yacob subsequently vacated her parliamentary position to contest the 2017 presidential election. Join ST's Telegram channel here and get the latest breaking news delivered to you. In that survey, 69 per cent of 897 respondents said they would support Tharman as a candidate to become prime minister. Asserting that the fault lines of race, language and religion “have not really disappeared” and that the decision was made for the “long-term good,” he said: “We have to continue managing racial and religious issues closely and sensitively. At yesterday's hour-long dialogue, a member of the audience asked Mr Tharman what he felt were the "key tenets of a more positive narrative of an ageing Singapore" and ways to achieve it. Founded by Harry in 2014, the Invictus Games is the Paralympics-style competition for wounded service personnel and veterans. She subsequently won the election by walkover when two other presidential hopefuls were disqualified by the Elections Department. Archived. Lee Kuan Yew, (born September 16, 1923, Singapore—died March 23, 2015, Singapore), politician and lawyer who was prime minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. He was best known as the first prime minister of Singapore, also regarded as the founding father of modern Singapore served for more than three decades from 1959 to 1990, making him the longest-serving PM in history. 43-year-old Coco and her 50-year-old husband have been living in an HDB apartment for 15 years, without a lift lobby on their floor. Workers’ Party (WP) politician Yee Jenn Jong raised critical questions after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong defended the reserved presidential election, at the People’s Action Party (PAP) convention last Sunday (Nov 10). PM Lee said he thought it was possible for Singapore to have a non- Chinese prime minister, but it may not happen soon. Dr Tan lost the 2011 presidential election by less than 0.35 per cent of votes to establishment pick, Tony Tan. In March this year, Heng Swee Keat said that Singapore might not be ready for a non-Chinese PM as he spoke to students at a Nanyang Technological University (NTU) forum. Posted by. “Please do not twist facts”: Netizens chide Education Minister after claiming rise in imported cases not due to travellers entering S’pore . We all have our preferences and I was always, in sports, playing centre-half rather than centre-forward. ", "It is a pretty strong common space, an education system where everyone is educated with first-language English. The gift link for this subscriber-only article has expired. Mr Deng, at … Mr Goh said making the presidency an elected one did not preclude Malays, but acknowledged that one man, one vote might see the Malay candidate struggling to get elected. It is important for us to ensure that we have that safeguard.”. Here it … At the same time, we must proactively strengthen our structures and institutions that support our multiracial and multi-religious society.”, PM Lee called the President a “unifying symbol” of multiracial Singapore and asked: “How would the minorities feel if the president of Singapore were almost always Chinese? We've got a meritocracy, it is an open system. By registering, you agree to our T&C and Privacy Policy. Taking issue with this last statement, WP member Yee Jenn Jong asked why the PAP thinks Madam Halimah would have lost an open election based on her race since a minority candidate that has contested past presidential election has never lost in the history of independent Singapore. Was the reprint of the book a strategy to counter Tan Pin Pin’s To Singapore, with Love? Until we resolve the issues, subscribers need not log in to access ST Digital articles. We won't always get it the way we expect it to be, but we think very hard about succession in Singapore. The fundamentals of our foreign policy were forged during those vulnerable early years. Days after Mr Heng said that he does not believe Singaporeans are ready for a non-Chinese PM, a whopping 92 per cent of 19,900 individuals responding to a viral Facebook poll voted for Tharman Shanmugaratnam to succeed PM Lee and become the nation’s next head of Government, instead of Mr Heng. Pointing out that PM Lee’s statement on the importance of racial equality for the President contradicts the Government’s repeated claims that Singaporeans are not ready for a non-Chinese PM, Mr Yee asked: Addressing his party’s members and activists last Sunday, PM Lee said the PAP “must never, ever be afraid to do what is right for Singapore” and cited the 2017 reserved presidential election as an example of a “right thing” the PAP Government did, despite some backlash. The question of whether and when Singapore may see a minority prime minister has come up in recent years. SINGAPORE, Dec 29, 2018, The Straits Times. As the world recalls his achievements, Lee's espousal of "Asian values" inspired by Confucianism has made him a … I don’t think so, because you have to win votes. Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH was a Singaporean politician. "Are we ready for a non-Chinese PM then?" • The Online Citizen . The PAP government’s decisions to amend the constitution and reserve the election for Malay candidates were perceived as a contentious move since Tan Cheng Bock had announced his intention to contest the 2017 election months before that. Those observing the delegation Lee Kuan Yew led on his first official visit to China in 1976 would have noticed the presence of interpreters, even though both sides appeared to be ethnic Chinese. 63 quotes from Lee Kuan Yew: 'I am often accused of interfering in the private lives of citizens. Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew passed away at 03:18 am local time Mon., at the age of 91. In LKY’s universe, his ancient blood feud against … It is up to PAP to decide if S’pore is ready to have non-Chinese PM, not the people: WP’s Yee Jenn Jong. Yes, if I did not, had I not done that, we wouldn't be here today. Lee was born into a Chinese family that had been established in Singapore since the 19th century. We have been experiencing some problems with subscriber log-ins and apologise for the inconvenience caused. Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding father, retires from cabinet This article is more than 9 years old Former PM, who led country from independence in 1959 to … "Nehru's speeches resonated with me," he said. On Sunday, PM Lee told PAP cadres that the reserved election issue was a “political minus for the government, for the PAP” in the short term but added that he is “convinced that we did the right thing.”. Mr Tharman said his vision for the country 50 years from now is one where people are encouraged, have a passion for learning throughout their lives and can age actively. A Blackbox survey commissioned by Yahoo Singapore confirmed the results of our poll. Pointing out that it would have been the vote of Singaporeans if Madam Halimah did not win an open election and that Singaporeans should be trusted with their ability to discern, Mr Yee wrote on Facebook: Asserting that Singaporeans are not unhappy with Madam Halimah as a person but are frustrated with the process that deprived them of their opportunity to elect a president in an open contest, Mr Yee continued: PM Lee, his father Lee Kuan Yew and his presumptive successor Heng Swee Keat have all publicly said that they don’t feel Singapore is ready for a non-Chinese PM. All done! But he does not see himself taking on the job, he said when replying to Washington Post columnist Fareed Zakaria, who had asked whether Singapore could see an Indian prime minister. Mr Yee points out that PM Lee's statement on the importance of racial equality for the President contradicts the Government's repeated claims that Singaporeans are not ready for a non-Chinese PM. Independence was thrust upon Singapore. He said: “Will it happen soon? In 1965, on the day we became independent, Mr Lee Kuan Yew said Singapore is “not a Malay nation, not a Chinese nation, not an Indian nation. And more importantly, to go beyond what Singapore has achieved in multiculturalism. The award China recently conferred on founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew is a strong affirmation of his longstanding support for the country’s reform and opening up as well as the friendship between the two countries, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, reported The Straits Times. The sentiments Singaporeans expressed in the latest poll match the result of The Independent’s own poll over two years ago when we asked our readers who should be the next PM. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's first project with Netflix will highlight one of the Duke's most passionate causes. Share gift link below with your friends and family. I was to give the PM of Singapore the ancient city treatment for 40 minutes, and to remember to show him where Fa Hien the Chinese pilgrim cried, during his sojourn at the Abhayagiri monastery. It seems to me inevitable that at some point, a minority prime minister - Indian, Malay, Eurasian, or some mixture - is going to be a feature of the political landscape. All three of Singapore’s Prime Minister since independence have been Chinese, and the person identified as the most likely to succeed PM Lee and become Singapore’s fourth Prime Minister – Heng Swee Keat – is also Chinese. At a blogger’s event specially organised for the launch, the “elephant in the room” in everybody’s head loomed large. You have reached your limit of subscriber-only articles this month. He, however, added that "if good candidates came along... the time will come when the Malay candidate would be elected". Singapore -- How does a wheelchair-bound woman move around when her HDB flat has no lift access? I know what he has done for me and Singapore." Lee Kuan Yew is no more. China's then-Senior Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping being welcomed to Singapore by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. The building underwent major renovations from 1987 to 1991. But for an election, it becomes an issue.”, Referring to the reserved presidential election, Mr Heng defended the government’s position saying it is “not contradictory.” He reasoned: “It is precisely because we need to place this emphasis institutionally that we recognise that we have not arrived. All rights reserved. Lee Kuan Yew also spelled as Lee Kwan Yew 李光耀 is known as a very successful politician, born in Singapore, Mr.Lee successfully turned Singapore from a third world to first world.The other 2 non western countries that managed to reach developed status are Taiwan and South Korea, but both are still behind Singapore in term of Human Development Index (HDI) and Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). "Unless I am forced to be, and I don't think I will be forced to it because we've got choices. Speech by Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Minister Mentor, at the S. Rajaratnam Lecture, 09 April 2009, 5:30 pm at Shangri-La Hotel. NON-CHINESE PM? Lee Hsien Loong echoed his father’s views in 2008, shortly after Barack Obama got elected as the first black president of the United States of America. Singapore's friendly relations with China are a product of Lee Kuan Yew's dedication towards non-interference and his vision for peace, prosperity and stability. You go through common experiences together, national service, so it is a matter of time.". He will be remembered by many for many reasons. ... My favorite parts are LKY's response when the reporter asked his opinion on the future of China speaking as a Chinese who understands China. The common space where everyone is growing up in is much larger than it used to be. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew is still The Man. 198402868E. Richard Harrington / Stringer Out of 2,316 responses, most (1882 votes) voted for Tharman to lead Singapore into the future. SPH Digital News / Copyright © 2021 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co. Regn. In the 1980s, founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew said he had considered then-Minister for National Development, S Dhanabalan, to be the Prime Minister of Singapore, but decided that the country was not ready for an Indian head of government. She and her generation knew that, to use a Chinese phrase, "跟着李光耀走不会死的" - if you follow Lee Kuan Yew, you will survive. PM Lee, his father Lee Kuan Yew and his presumptive successor Heng Swee Keat have all publicly said that they don’t feel Singapore is ready for a non-Chinese PM. No. During his long rule, Singapore became the … During his long rule, Singapore became the… "First of all I cant speak as a Chinese because I am a Singaporean. "We've got a meritocracy, it is an open system," he said yesterday, noting that people share experiences like national service and are educated largely in English, and that the common space is expanding. Asserting that they are ready for a non-Chinese PM, some hoped for a “miracle” that Mr Tharman would assume the top post while others opined that they do not like Mr Heng as much as they like Mr Tharman. The 2017 election was subsequently reserved for Malay candidates since the Government said no one from the racial group had been president in the last five terms. Lee Kuan Yew was the prime minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990, making him the longest-serving PM in history. DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, on a non-Chinese becoming prime minister of Singapore, DPM Tharman, who is also the Finance Minister, said: "Singapore is evolving. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. Interview with PM of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew on the Vietnam War (1967) Video. In October 1951, a large shipment of opium was hijacked by … I enjoy playing half-back and making the long passes, but I am not the striker. Days after Mr Barack Obama was elected in 2008, becoming the first black American president, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was asked whether Singapore was ready for a non-Chinese prime minister at a dialogue with Malay-Muslim community leaders. In 2012, despite PM Lee accepting a 36 percent pay cut to S$2.2 million, he is still the world’s most well paid head of government – four times Barack Obama’s yearly salary. When Mr Zakaria asked if he would do the job, Mr Tharman drew a sporting analogy. After all, both PM Lee Hsien Loong and MCI Minister Dr Yaacob Ibrahimspoke out against Pin Pin’s film, stating that it gave a one-sided account of what occurred back in the 1960s and did not do justice to the people who gave their li… During a parliamentary sitting on Monday (Apr 5), members of Parliament (MPs) on... © The Independent News & Media Pte Ltd, Singapore.