The political legend who built modern Singapore on how nations can overcome corruption to give its citizens a better life and equal opportunities.
“I have had the privilege of meeting many of the world’s leaders over the past 40 years. None has shown greater insight, imagination and creativity than Lee Kuan Yew.”
— Henry Kissenger, August 2nd, 2011
When I was in my teens I heard about a political study. It found that while Singapore paid its civil servants one of the highest salaries in the world, they also had the least amount of money in their bank accounts among politicians in the region. That was because corruption was almost non-existent in this island nation of mine when I was growing up.
Truth be told, I’m a fiercely independent thinker. On more than one occasion I’ve found myself disagreeing intellectually with some of my government’s policies. But I can’t deny that without Lee and his founding team of statesmen who believed in meritocracy, this resource scarce island would never have gone from third world to first in 30 years. My brothers and I may not even have been able to afford our education!
