SINGAPORE - Senior Minister of State (Ministry of Law and Ministry of Education) Indranee Rajah today (March 26) paid homage to the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew in a Special Sitting of Parliament. Here is her speech:

Mdm Speaker,

Mr Lee first entered this Parliament or its earlier iteration, legislative assembly, in 1955 as the member for Tanjong Pagar, a seat he held for 60 years, an unsurpassed record.

I once asked him why he chose Tanjong Pagar. He said it was because the people there were very poor, the conditions bad and the place much in need of improvement.

I did not fully appreciate what he meant until I read his memoirs.

He described the Tanjong Pagar of 1955 as docklands crowded with dock workers, trishaw riders, the shopkeepers, and opium dens. Workers’ quarters were wooden dwellings with no sewerage or drainage.

He recalled scenes of filth and dilapidation among broken-down shophouses in or around Narcis Street, where Tanjong Pagar Plaza stands today. Drains were clogged with rubbish stank with decaying food.

He vowed to change this. He promised Singaporeans a better life. They believed him and voted him in.

This allowed him to enter Parliament and eventually go on to become our First Prime Minister.

Tanjong Pagar and Singapore today are a far cry from what he described. Both have been completely transformed through his vision and his efforts.

He kept his promise to the people of Singapore and the bond was cemented.

Let me say something on sacrifices. What we were called upon to do, was to sacrifice things that would have held us back. It was not people who were sacrificed, but things which would have made us a lesser people, a lesser country than we are today.

He called upon us to make sacrifices in accordance with some very basic principles: Humanity, integrity, thrift, welfare of the people.

The things we had to give up were laziness, corruption, division, hatred of other races.

The things we had to give up were like the lack of security, lack of housing. We were called to make sacrifices so we could put these things together.

And the other kind of sacrifices we were told to make were to set aside divisions and animosity in the interest of national unity. And who made the biggest sacrifice of all?

In an interview, Mr LKY was once asked, at the end of the day, what he had achieved. And his response was: “A successful Singapore. What have I given up? My life.”

The biggest sacrifice of all was made by Mr Lee Kuan Yew. And because of that, because he was a strong leader, and led a strong party, everyone benefited and Singapore is what it is today. And if you compare us with any newly independent country, our people have more opportunities in Singapore. And let us see the response
of Singaporeans.

In the last week we saw a tremendous outpouring of love for Mr Lee. Thousands — young, old, rich, poor, of all races and religions and all walks of life came — first, to wish him well and then, to say goodbye.

I have been at Tanjong Pagar CC every day the last five days. You have also seen queues that snaked around Parliament. You have to be there among the people to understand. 

If you speak to them, all of them will tell you that the reason why they are at the CC or standing in queue is that this was the one thing, the last thing they could do --- to say thank you and show respect.

What is the essence of the man that inspires such a reaction?

Some might say it was his vision, his drive, his intellect.

But these alone would not have been enough to generate this wellspring of emotion.

The real secret of his enduring bond with Singaporeans is that we all fundamentally understood that the vision, the drive and the intellect were all powered by one thing - he cared. He cared deeply for Singaporeans and Singapore and all his actions were driven by a desire to make things better for them. Singapore was his life’s work.

And people know this.

So, just as he was there for us on that amazing journey from Third World to First, Singaporeans have been here for him in the last days, and now for his final journey.

One well-wisher wrote:

“ Dear Mr Lee, we cannot thank you enough for all that you’ve done for us and the land we call home, let alone the sacrifices you made behind the scenes that all of us will perhaps only learn of in the long future or maybe even never. And in this simple card I know that I will fail to express my heartfelt gratitude and emotions to you as well. I can’t quite put into words the feelings I hold.”

Sometimes, the lack of words says it all. History judges men by their legacies.

And what is Mr Lee’s legacy?

It is not in buildings or monuments. His is not a legacy of brick or stone.

His is a legacy of life and breath:

- a place where you can belong, irrespective of the colour of your skin, your religion, or your language;

- a place where you can be safe;

- a place of opportunity

- a place we call home.

His legacy is:

- a people united

- a people with heart

- a nation strong and free.

This is who we are today because of this man, his vision and his leadership, and above all, his unconquerable spirit from which we took heart and which now defines us as a people and a nation - the spirit of Singapore.

His journey has ended. He is now at rest.

Rest well, Mr Lee, and know that because of your legacy, Singapore and the Singapore Spirit will live on.