Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s ‘red box’ might go on public display: Heng Swee Keat

SINGAPORE - The red box used by the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew to store his working documents might be displayed publicly by the National Heritage Board, said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat today (March 30).

The late Mr Lee Kuan Yew's red box may be displayed publicly by the National Heritage Board. Photo: Ministry of Communications and Information

The late Mr Lee Kuan Yew's red box may be displayed publicly by the National Heritage Board. Photo: Ministry of Communications and Information

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp

SINGAPORE - The red box used by the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew to store his working documents might be displayed publicly by the National Heritage Board, said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat today (March 30).

Speaking at Changkat Primary School to announce changes to the Junior Sports Academy Programme, Mr Heng added that the red box was so much of Mr Lee’s life and was a symbol of Mr Lee’s dedication to Singapore.

Mr Heng was Mr Lee’s former principal private secretary and had last week written a Facebook post about how the late founding prime minister used the red box extensively to store important policy documents.

“Personally, I think we should let fellow Singaporeans have a view of this box and how much is it part of Mr Lee’s life and Singapore’s history,” he said today.

Asked about possible changes to the SG50 and National Day celebrations later in the year in the wake of Mr Lee’s death, Mr Heng who heads the SG50 steering committee , said that SG50 is about charting Singapore’s future among fellow Singaporeans.

But in the coming days, he will be discussing with committee members on whether there is a need to modify certain aspects of the activities that have been lined up, adding that he looked forward to ideas from Singaporeans too.

Asked whether the national education syllabus will include more content on Mr Lee, Mr Heng said parents have been sharing with their children on Mr Lee and he will leave it to the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) professionals to decide on any necessary changes.

Mr Heng also shared that a fellow education minister in Asia called this morning to send his condolences and wanted to come and study Singapore’s education system - a testament to Mr Lee’s legacy .

JUNIOR SPORTS ACADEMY PROGRAMME TO USE MORE BROAD-BASED ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The Junior Sports Academy Programme will be tweaked, such that budding sporting talent will be identified and developed based on broad-based criteria like speed or agility, instead of placing students in particular sports groups early on.

Students will also be identified earlier at Primary Four instead of Primary Five for the programme. They will then undergo a two-year programme and be exposed to a variety of sports-related activities. The programme has taken in about 1 per cent of each cohort – around 400 students - since it was launched in 2008.

The MOE hopes that with this move, students can explore their strengths through a range of sports in primary school, and make more informed sports choices in secondary school .

Mr Heng added that allowing students to experience different sports is also a better way of uncovering talent regardless of family backgrounds .”Students do not have to go to very specialised coaching lessons just to get the exposure, the schools will provide that foundation to allow them to so that,” he said.

(Correction: An earlier version of the article said: "The programme has taken in about 10 per cent of each cohort since it was launched in 2008". This is incorrect. It should be 1 per cent. We are sorry for the error.)

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.