QCEC 2022

The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC) is the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools. Each year, young people write on a theme that stems from the Commonwealth’s values and principles, developing key literacy skills whilst also fostering an empathetic and open-minded world view. Past winners include the Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Mei Fong, and renowned author, the late Elspeth Huxley CBE.

Question:

Her Majesty The Queen was born in the twentieth century, a period that saw enormous social change driven by visionary and committed leaders

Reflect on an inspirational leader from this period.

by Foo Yu Xiang, Brayden, 4D, 2022

As one of the few youths (Gen Z) that was born and educated in the very heartlands of Singapore, I have always taken an interest into how my own country has gone from a small island trading island port under the influence of the Majapahit Empire and the Siamese kingdoms, to becoming one of the independent, sovereign and self-sustained Four Asian Tigers, with an internationally high ratings in the economic and quality of life sectors.

Being the founding father of Singapore, and spearheading its evolution and progression since our independence from British rule to present day era, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew has always been widely regarded as the most influential and respected politician that has led Singapore through thick and thin. In this essay, I will delve into details of his premiership and what he has contributed for Singapore that makes him such an inspirational leader from the twentieth century.

Brayden Foo

Mr Lee as a child.

Mr. Lee was born on the 16th of September 1923 at 92 Kampong Java Road in Singapore. He was the first child of 5 siblings. He was accompanied with three brothers and one sister. Both of his parents were English educated Straits Chinese with his paternal bloodline being of Hakka descend. He was named “Kuan Yew” (meaning light and brightness) because his parents aspired him to be the type of firstborn son to bring glory and honour to his family. Growing up in a family which bore a high social standing, Lee was not close to his father due to his father’s gambling addiction and poor parental skills, which led to his mother to be the only one able to hold the family through tough times. In the 1940s, Lee had attained the top score in his Senior Cambridge examinations not only in his cohort, but also across the Straits Settlements and Malaya. Thus, enabling him to be eligible for the John Anderson scholarship to enroll in Raffles College. Coincidentally, he also met his future wife Kwa Geok Choo during the prize receiving ceremony who was also the only female at that point of time. Unfortunately, World War II reached Singapore’s shores later in December of that year, following the British’s surrender earlier in February 1942.

After the war, Lee had decided to not enroll in Raffles College but instead went on to pursue the Queen’s Scholarship in the United Kingdom, which was also where he married his wife in secret, while engaging in political activity for the first time in his life by campaigning for his friend, David Widdicombe in the Totnes constituency. It was in the UK where Lee’s political motivations, ideologies and convictions had materialized and hardened. Especially after experiencing the Japanese Occupation of Singapore, it left him determined that “no one – neither the Japanese nor the British had the right to kick or push us around.” In his own words.

His own experience in the UK while furthering his studies after WW2 left him even more determined to free Singapore from colonial ruie after realizing how ridiculously racist his British peers was towards him. They were disgusted and appalled that an Asian man was walking among them. “I saw no reason why they should be governing me, they’re not superior.” Having been molded by the left-wing Atlee-Labour government policies for social housing, establishing influential state monopolies.

However left-wing politics seemed the most appropriate for him back in Singapore, he instead continued his life amongst the upper class, an ambitious and wealthy lawyer, having been called up to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1950. But Lee was also deeply aware that left-wing politics could mean more than the redistribution of wealth.

After forming the People’s Action Party, Lee and his party won 43 out of the 51 contested seats in the 1959 General Elections, hence allowing his party to form a supermajority Government. He was sworn in as first Prime Minister of Singapore on the 5th of June in City Hall, alongside the rest of his Cabinet.

Lee family photo in 1946.

Mr Lee in 1957. (Photo: National Archives of Singapore)

Fast forward to 1965, after Singapore had gained complete independence from being cast out of Malaysia following racial tensions and unsuccessful bipartisan agreements on how Singapore should be governed, Singapore was alone. We had no natural resource to depend on for economic support, we had no security with communist threats alongside Indonesia in its confrontational stance. British forces were also expected to fully withdraw from the East of Suez.

However, Lee and his party did not give up, after Lee went into self-isolation for six weeks, he and the party begin to work, to fight for Singapore to be transformed from a third-world country to a massive economic powerhouse, coupled with the ability to defend itself from foreign threats. The real work has just begun. Lee began to seek international recognition of Singapore’s independence, and Singapore then successfully joined the UN on the 21st of September 1962 and founded the Association of Southeast Asian Nations with four other Southeast Asian Countries. His government begun to stress on the significance of maintaining religious and racial harmony as Singapore was a multi-racial and multi-cultural country.

Lee also appointed Goh Keng Swee as Minister for the Interior and Defence to build up Singapore’s defence force while seeking help from other countries like Taiwan and Israel. Then on, in 1971, he introduced mandatory conscription for all able-bodied male citizens from the age of 18 to serve in one of three of Singapore’s uniformed services at that time. By 1971, Singapore had 17 national service battalions with another 14 in reserve.

Lee also tackled high unemployment issues by enticing foreign investments from multinational corporations while establishing First World Infrastructure and standards in Singapore. Our economic base boomed into a major global powerhouse, attracting entrepreneurs from countries like the US and Europe to establish their business in Singapore. Singapore also gained recognition as an international financial centre. Quelling any doubts foreign investors and bankers had in Singapore as we hold top class social conditions, infrastructure and extremely skilled professionals, leading to a stable valued Singapore dollar/currency.

Furthermore, Lee also introduced anti-corruption measures by granting law enforcement agencies greater prerogative and authority to conduct arrests, audits, compel witnesses and investigate financial accounts of suspects. This led Singapore to have the lowest corruption rate in the world, as the Government maintained honesty and transparency to the people.

Singapore has also relied on Malaysia for water resources ever since its merger. However, it made Singapore subjected to the constant threat of price increases and Malaysian officials using Singapore’s water reliance as a subject of political leverage in the form of threatening to cut off our water supply. Hence, Lee experimented and introduced methods of water recycling in 1974, which now forms the initiative known as NEWater, which allowed Singapore to built a robust, diversified and sustainable water supply from four water sources also locally known as the Four National Taps – Water from Local Catchment, Imported Water, high-grade reclaimed water and Desalinated Water. With this initiative, Singapore has managed to overcome its lack of natural water resources to meet the needs of an ever-evolving population and country. Lee also spearheaded Singapore’s foreign policy by forming diplomatic relations with other countries, especially with global superpowers like the US and China, which has guaranteed its survival because Singapore tends to remain neutral on most international disputes.

Water treatment plant in 1973. (Photo: National Archives of Singapore)

Mr Lee meets US President Obama at the White House in 2009. (Photo: YouTube)

Even after stepping down from his position as Prime Minister in 2004, he still continued to fight for Singapore’s interests and achievements by serving on his successor’s Cabinet in an advisory and non-executive capacity – as Senior Minister, advising and providing advice to a newer generation of the Cabinet. He then went on to further relinquish his role as Senior Minister and instead became Minister Mentor, a portfolio he held until 2011.

All in all, despite the hardships Singapore went through early on in its independence, till the day of his passing, Lee Kuan Yew was a man of sheer determination, confidence and pragmatism. His progressive and persistent ideologies is the reason why Singapore was able to come a first-world country, with the best international statistics due to our economy, defence, foreign policy, water policies, population policies, low crime rate, low corruption rate, etc etc.

Although Lee’s methods may have been questionable and much less explicable to some, I believe that Singapore would not be where it is today without his impeccable leadership and guidance. He has led Singapore through thick and thin, through rain and shine, through highs and lows. The world has not seen such a leader with such commitment and ambition to see it to the end, to ensure Singapore survives, ever since its independence from the British. Its highly likely Singapore would not see such a vigorous leader ever again.

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