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Enduring legacies: A shield, and a place to call home

Making sure that this tiny red dot could protect itself with a robust defence and national security, and a public housing policy that allows Singaporeans to own their homes.

At the Community Memorial Garden at Bishan Park last week, residents gathered to pen their memories of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and their hopes and aspirations for Singapore, with words and drawings on pebbles. Photo: Damien Teo/TODAY

At the Community Memorial Garden at Bishan Park last week, residents gathered to pen their memories of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and their hopes and aspirations for Singapore, with words and drawings on pebbles. Photo: Damien Teo/TODAY

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Making sure that this tiny red dot could protect itself with a robust defence and national security, and a public housing policy that allows Singaporeans to own their homes.

These two achievements in which Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew had a large hand in came out tops — by a distance — in a face-to-face survey of 500 Singaporeans and permanent residents aged 15 to 70 commissioned by TODAY to mark the first anniversary of Mr Lee’s death.

The survey, which was conducted between Feb 24 and March 10 by research consultancy Blackbox, aimed to find out, among other things, Singaporeans’ views on Mr Lee’s legacy, the impact of his death, and the values and qualities that Mr Lee stood for that could be useful for current and future leaders as they steer the country in its next phase of development.

Mr Lee, who was Singapore’s longest-serving Prime Minister, died on March 23 last year, several weeks after being hospitalised for severe pneumonia.

Asked to pick from a list of wide-ranging accomplishments by Mr Lee during his lifetime that benefited Singaporeans, the highest proportions of respondents chose what Mr Lee did to ensure the Republic was able to defend itself against external threats (27 per cent) and the home ownership policy (25 per cent). Next on the list was Mr Lee’s efforts in taking Singapore from Third World to First (18 per cent), closely followed by the transformation of the Republic’s economy into what it is today (17 per cent).

About three-quarters of the respondents cited Mr Lee’s integrity, intelligence and wisdom, and his zero-tolerance for corruption as the top qualities that Singapore’s leaders “must definitely” emulate.

we (Click to enlarge) Propping up the list were Mr Lee’s ruthlessness in dealing with political opponents (34 per cent), his distaste for Western-style democracy (30 per cent) and his handpicking of top Government officials (23 per cent).

Separately, Mr Lee’s cut-throat approach towards political opponents (46 per cent), his uncompromising brand of politics (28 per cent) and his aversion to state welfarism (22 per cent) were among the most commonly cited qualities that “must definitely” be avoided.

In particular, a higher proportion of older respondents (aged 35 and above) felt his political style should be avoided by current and future leaders, in contrast to those under 35 — a greater percentage of whom cited his deep-seated views on Western-style democracy and state welfarism.

The survey respondents were also asked to pick the best way to remember Mr Lee and his contributions to the country. A national holiday declared in Mr Lee’s honour was the top choice by some distance (43 per cent), followed by a memorial park (17 per cent) and a dedicated Lee Kuan Yew library (12 per cent).

In terms of the impact of his death, almost four in 10 of respondents — the highest proportion in the survey — agreed with the statement that it made Singaporeans reflect on the country’s achievements since independence. About a third concurred that it made Singaporeans contemplate the future and where the country is heading, while 29 per cent felt it helped youths to better understand how far the Republic has come.

Senior research fellow Mathew Mathews at the Institute of Policy Studies noted that Mr Lee’s death coincided with the SG50 celebrations, and happened when the entire nation was in a reflective mood.

“The celebrations focused on our successes as a nation, our gratitude to our pioneers and our hopes for the future,” he said. “It would be little wonder that this reflection would be further strengthened with Mr Lee’s passing since he did embody a pioneering generation, and is attributed with leading the successful transformation of Singapore from Third World to First World.”

‘STRONG MATERIALISTIC DIMENSION’

On what the respondents saw as Mr Lee’s greatest achievements, political analyst Felix Tan from SIM Global Education said the findings showed that Singaporeans and PRs here are, in general, a pragmatic lot who are focused on bread and butter issues such as security and affordable housing.

He noted that while Singapore has always been hailed as a success story of racial integration and as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, these did not feature as highly on the minds of the public (these areas were seen as Mr Lee’s top accomplishments by 16 per cent and 13 per cent of the respondents, respectively).

Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan also felt that the findings reflected a “strong materialistic dimension” to how people here assess Mr Lee’s achievements. “But this may well reflect the strong material dimension in Singapore’s first 50 years as a nation-state,” he said.

Noting that affordable and quality housing is a by-product of a successful economy, Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Zaqy Mohamad said: “There is no point having a strong economy and having people living in squalor and ghettos.”

He noted that the terrorism threat — which Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam described last week as hitting its highest level in recent times — and current regional geopolitics could have had a bearing on the findings, with the public having a deeper appreciation of the work of Mr Lee and the other founding fathers in making sure Singapore could protect itself.

National University of Singapore sociologist Tan Ern Ser felt the findings showed a complicated relationship between Singaporeans and Mr Lee.

“They appreciate his wise, decisive and pragmatic leadership, but not what they would consider his authoritarian, paternalistic style of ruling the country,” he said.

Assoc Prof Eugene Tan agreed that the findings indicated that Singaporeans “do not have affinity for his authoritarian ways”. “Ironically, it is the relative peace, stability and prosperity that Singapore has enjoyed the past half century that has rendered Singaporeans less comfortable with Mr Lee’s traits that ranked the lowest,” he pointed out.

While Mr Lee’s qualities may not be universally embraced, there is little doubt that Singaporeans feel the country has lost a giant whose wisdom, intellect and leadership abilities were well regarded around the world.

In the TODAY survey, respondents identified Mr Lee’s wisdom and foresight (41 per cent), his strength and decisiveness (34 per cent) and his leadership abilities (31 per cent) as the top three assets that Singapore has lost with his death.

In that regard, Mr Lee has left big shoes for the current and future leaders to fill, Assoc Prof Eugene Tan said.

Agreeing, Dr Felix Tan added: “The current leadership needs to continually examine itself and gain the respect that Mr Lee had garnered during his time.”

Nevertheless, he stressed the need to see Mr Lee’s accomplishments in context. Mr Lee had to do what he did in an era that was very different from the present, he said. Circumstances and situations in a post-war environment differed greatly from today’s globalised and interconnected world.

“Besides having a strong leadership, a country also needs a society that believes in a collective vision for the country. We had that in the early days of independence. The question now would be whether we can see a continuation of this in the next 50 years — a successful, independent nation that many other nations want to emulate,” he added.

NATION IS IN GOOD STEAD

On a scale of 0 to 10 (the higher the score, the greater the confidence), the TODAY survey found a mean score of 7.3 among the respondents when they were asked about their level of confidence in Singapore’s future post-Lee Kuan Yew.

SIM University sociologist Kang Soon-Hock said that a hallmark of Mr Lee was his foresight. As such, the country stands in good stead, with stable and forward-looking institutions — including a competent civil service — that plans for leadership renewal in advance.

Similarly, it was the work of Mr Lee and other founding fathers that has given the country a strong platform for future success. MacPherson MP Tin Pei Ling noted that the respondents’ confidence in Singapore’s future, post-LKY, stemmed from the country’s reputable international standing. At the same time, it helps that certain core values which Mr Lee stood for — such as a corruption-free government and meritocracy — remains entrenched in society, she said.

Dr Mathews added: “Many Singaporeans are aware that there is a well-oiled machinery that runs Singapore, and subsequent generations of leaders have been able to navigate Singapore through various challenges. So Singaporeans in general are confident that things will go well, at least based on past successes.”

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