Dr Ng Eng Hen: Special Parliamentary Sitting

today this house mourns the passing of mr. Lee Kuan Yew the founding prime minister of Singapore as you have said madam Speaker mr. Lee was our longest serving a most illustrious member when mr. Lee was admitted to a stage a few weeks ago for pneumonia Singaporeans from all walks of life watched anxiously increasingly worried as his condition worsen there were well wishes little cards plays all over SDH so much sword SGH had to create a special sight in the quad we saw elderly Singaporeans with arthritic joints nailing frustrated themselves for his recovery despite without pouring of deep wishes and fervent prayers it was not to be mr. Lee's chair sits empty today his loss is deeply felt a nation cries out in mourning no one moves Singapore's mr. Lee Kuan Yew did not in life not in sickness and not in death we in this house together with all Singaporeans here in abroad weep that mr. Lee is no longer among us why this deep sorrow for one man why do tears flow uncontrollably for thousands on his passing and memory simply put Singapore would not be what it is today without me silicon you he was there bright the night star they guided us an impoverished and fearful nation through independence he envisioned then drove Singapore to become a success story as he promised from mud flats or thriving metropolis that countries all over seek to emulate today Singaporeans hold their passports with confidence and pride mr. Lee's vision and tenacity rallied and energized the nation to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds he cooks push Singaporeans to do or was difficult but ultimately right and good for the long-term interests with his powers of persuasion mr. Lee's clarity and confidence became ours two peoples the mark of a great leader mr. Lee is no longer with us but I believe as many do here that each generation will discover a new his wisdom in building the sturdy foundations of a thriving Singapore his life is like a treasure chest each visit true his many decent words and you see it now in the community tribute sites the videos that played the people who sit there riveted by what he said how he said it his convictions the courage of his convictions his clarity what he believed in what he saw his problems and as you replay it you reveal pearls of wisdom nuggets of sound advice as I found for this eulogy for such a monumental life and eulogy will fall short and I seek your pardon but to honor his memory and remind us what he stood for I proposed to capture the essence of mr. Lee through his speeches the very words used in this poem even at the dawn of his political career mr. Lee identified closely the hopes and aspirations of common Singaporeans madam Speaker you mentioned his first election in 1955 there he told the voters of Tanjong Pagar that out of twenty five divisions he wanted to quote represent workers wage earners and small traders not wealthy merchants or landlords there is why he chose Tanjong Pagar not telling the residents of Tanjong Pagar believed and trusted him and elected him by Handsome margin astonishingly as the madam speaker has said mr. Lee will be returned as the MP for 13 subsequent general elections he would serve as MP for Tanjong Pagar for 60 years from 1955 to 2015 in fact he's the only MP Tanjong Pagar has ever had since elections were started in Singapore predating our independence I doubt this record will ever be broken in our parliamentary history but mr. Lee and his government did not get reelected time and time again because they dispensed sweet words indeed mr. Lee would often warn against politicians with silver tongues purveying sweet promises empty promises he gained a fearsome reputation as one who has chewed the easier more popular but ultimately wrong paths as he recounted in his book hard truths flattery fell flat on him as it lofty but pretentious ideals for mr. Lee the asset test was whether the idea or proposal would make Singapore stronger if it weakened his country's foundations he would reject it even it was politically incorrect to say so and attracted widespread criticism if it would make Singapore better then no obstacles no preconceived notions no preset habits were too deeply entrenched to uproot overcome indeed he will attack these hindrances squarely and vigorously to improve our circumstances that was a leak on you the world knew and respected throughout his political life in 1968 an MPR distant Parliament how the British withdrawal could impact Singapore mr. Lee told Singaporeans matter of factly that the British bases made up 20% of the GNP and tens of thousands of jobs would be lost he spoke plainly there was more to come hito Singaporeans quote that they would have to adapt and adjust without any whimpering or wringing of hands as a way of life which they had then accustomed to over 30 years comes to an end truly hot truth when another NP followed an ass of economic aid from the British could ease the effects of the pullout mr. Lee's quick an unequivocal rejoinder was that any age of quote not make us dependent on perpetual injections of aid from the outside that we cannot change our attitude to life that the world does not always at living this was the origin of the phrase that the world is not always a living and that we cannot live by the begging bowl the best way of meeting the problem is to go about it quietly and intelligently discussing our problems in a low-key and with as little fuss and bother as possible and this way is worse in 1971 and the British were pulling out there was still in a tonne of these replies but mr. Lee reviewed later in 1999 that he knew how serious the problem really was he said 1968 and 1971 were critical years for a young Republic we knew we either made it or we would fail we worked hard we worked smart and more important we worked as a team by the time the British withdrew in October 1971 we had avoided massive unemployment miss Lili said with as little fuss as possible but in those critical years it would mean a fundamental overhaul of what Singaporeans had indeed become accustomed to but could not afford to stop the rot mr. Lee rooted out corruption attacked Malays that afflicted our society and economy what followed would remake the work environment industrial relations school skills upgrading productivity defense and security the very issues we talked about in Parliament today but in a much more Paulo state here it's Singapore of unsavory unproductive and unsustainable habits and customs inherited from its pass a slew of legislative reforms followed in this house amendments were made to the employment industrial relations the trade unions act that put an end to disruptive labor strikes bills were passed to build technical training institutes the forerunners of today's ite polytechnics and universities to educate and upgrade the skills of our workforce work hours were extended and a number of public holidays slashed as you can imagine none of these bills was popular not one all of us in government and as MPs on the ground know how difficult it is to carry unpopular policies even when they are right why did mr. Lee and his government choose persuade Singaporeans to do again and again what was necessary but painful mr. Lee himself provided us the answer he said in 1968 in this house quote if we were a soft community then the temptation would be to leave things alone and hope for the best then only good fortune can save us from the unpleasantness which reason and logic tell us is ahead of us but we are not an easygoing people we cannot help thinking calculating and planning for tomorrow for next week for the next month for the next year for the next generation and it is because we have Restless minds forever probing and testing seeking new and better solutions to all the new problems that we have never been and I trust never shall be tried and found wanting mr. Lee spoke these words in 1968 to remind Singaporeans that unless they were willing to change and continuously adapt even if it meant short-term gains Singapore could not rise in return for the people's trusts and willingness to do what was needed mr. Lee and his government promised a better Singapore after these reforms to quote more industries more jobs improved standards of education health services social amenities and housing for all again the issues we talked about in our Parliament's today but as precent as these words were it seemed obscene an unattainable dream when mr. Lee gave these promises in 1968 Singapore's per-capita GDP then was around yanma today it will take a further two decades of constant effort and continuous change seeking new and better solutions as he put it which included CPF reforms and the introduction of national service in 1967 but at the end of it mr. Lee and his government delivered cabinet colleagues remember mr. Lee our mentor often reminding us to under promise and over deliver say less and do more what you promised you must deliver and more mr. Lee walked his table even in his twilight years mr. Lee kept a constant watch over Singapore's future in the world Singapore's well-being was his obsession as many of us know war retired anyone who tried to knock it down he was never complacent about our fundamentals and a singular passion was to make sure that Singapore remained well positioned for the future in 2009 mr. Lee then 86 years unexpectedly joined a debate on the motion of our equality in this house he said quote sir I am not intended to intervene in any debate but I was doing my physiotherapy just now and reading the newspapers and I thought I should bring the house back to earth and remind everybody what is our starting point what is our base and if we do not recognize where we started from and that these are foundations we will fail 86 year old gentleman doing his physiotherapy reading the newspapers lesser mortals were a fall of other things but mr. Lee says I have to make a speech in Parliament mr. Lee went on to explain why the constitution of Singapore and joins us the government to specifically look after the position of the Malays and other minorities our Constitution states expressly that it is the duty of the government not to treat everybody as equal it quote yes he said it is not a reality it is not practical it will lead to grave and irreparable damage if we work on that principle Lee Kuan Yew refused to be swayed by ideology that could work he considered these as quote highfalutin ideals that mislead Singaporeans as a result today many countries come to Singapore to study how we have maintained our harmony in a multiracial society but while mr. Lee held constant and firm two key fundamentals he could change his own line if it made Singapore better in 2005 he supported a proposal to build integrated resorts he told this housewife quote the old model on which I worked was to create a first world city in a third world region clean green efficient pleasant healthy and wholesome safe and secure for everyone these virtues are valuable or no longer sufficient Singapore has to reposition itself in this world if you are in charge if you are responsible for Singapore's future for its well-being for its vibrancy for the kind of life Singapore can provide his people in 10 20 years can you say no that is the question you have to answer this is your choice surely we must move forward and keep abreast of the top cities in Asia and the world unquote above all mr. Lee believed that ultimately was the quality of its people and leaders that determine a nation's chances of success madam speaker has quoted what he said when pollen moved in 1999 mr. Lee never believed in the size of this chamber and his grandeur he believed that the understatement lies great strengths of character integrity and determination and that is what will see us through mr. Lee never believed that physical monuments or towering edifices and gender or sustained greatness he would brush aside these as foundations for our success this past week we have seen the glowing tributes to mr. Lee from leaders and on the front pages of newspapers from all over the world ministers and MPs from Australia and New Zealand have held special sessions in their Parliament's in mr. Lee's honor wall leaders are disrupting your schedules to come personally to attend his funeral service this recognition is seldom given to even leaders of great countries let alone the little red dot I find it befitting and poetic therefore one who did not believe in monuments that mr. Lee Kuan Yew himself became great Singapore's greatest icon indeed miss Elliot at such a monumental impact on all Singaporeans the each would have his or own special memory often I'm sure all of us have one particular memory or particular memories with mr. Lee they read the tributes the artworks the banners through beautifully crafted posters that tens of thousands of Singaporeans have laid at a tribute sites many others were certainly remember him as internationally renowned great teacher and statesman for myself to personal encounters have left lasting impressions in 2009 mr. Lee led a delegation on an official trip to many states of Malaysia Deputy Prime Minister Thurmond and I were part of it the delegation was having dinner together it was a long trip when mr. Lee asks to excuse himself so that he could speak on the phone to mrs. Lee due to previous strokes mrs. Lee could not speak but remain conscious and worth Vasili had made it a routine to speak and read to her each night he did not want to break this routine even though he was in Malaysia on a long trip he asked the nurse the phone to put the phone to mrs. Lee and spoke to her he did this every night while we were in Malaysia we stood aside to respect their privacy but that image of mr. Lee hunched over the phone speaking to mrs. Lee who could not speak back will stay with me for a very long time as a simple by pure picture of true devotion mrs. Lee passed away in 2010 and the impact on him was visible physically I think many people noticed this mr. Lee NIDA become frail as he approaches 90th birthday in 2013 he had problems in swallowing food will go down the wrong way in his into his windpipe affecting his lungs repeatedly as eating could cause aspiration pneumonia he needed intravenous nutritional supplement but became progressively thinner Parliament was sitting that year on September 16 his birthday and we wanted to acknowledge his 90th birthday in auspicious birthday I call the missileer the Astana and told him about our plans he said he would be in Parliament that day on September 16 unfortunately when the day came a dehydrated and weakened mr. Lee had to go to hospital and be put on trip his doctors advised him not to attend Parliament we will inform so recall of our plans but just before Parliament adjourned we were surprised when mr. Lee entered the chamber I found out later that he overruled his doctors saying that he must attend Parliament because he had given his commitment he wanted to walk actually but thankfully his doctors persuaded him they will be acceptable for a 90 year old man or intravenous nutrition to be wheeled into the chamber that's September 16 this house at the last privilege to wish him happy birthday together after Parliament adjourn he stayed on as we cut his birthday cake sang him a birthday song at age 90 frail and dehydrated mr. Lee kept his worth to be here great strength of character determination and integrity this one you had all of these qualities and more he kept his promises but he said he would do he wouldn't more whether it was for individuals or an entire nation as we honor his memory we resolve to learn from his example to be men and women individually and collectively as a nation to have the great strength of character integrity and determination these values as mr. Lee emphasized would see us through difficult times we must maintain as he put it restless minds forever probing and testing seeking new and better solutions to old and new problems so that we have never been and I trust never shall be tried and found wanting we must aspire to these qualities that mr. Lee asked office because that would be the greatest tribute to the memory of the Kuan Yew of what he stood for fought against and desired for the good of Singapore and Singaporeans there will not be another Lee Kuan Yew ha who made us better than we are or could be mr. Lee Kuan Yew found it moved and lifted the nation because of his unwavering devotion and a life poured out for Singapore he has made all our lives better for many generations to come few mortals have accomplished so much in their lifetime we in this house are honored to have lived and served with him his legacy will live on through us and through this nation mr. Lee Kuan Yew had his critics while alive he was asked on a number of occasions how he thought history would judge him all at the end his reply would invariably be non-committal once he replied factually I'd be dead by then there was Miss Lee but today we had the opportunity to tell mr. Lee if he could hear us and I believe he can mr. Lee we would like to tell you the Singaporeans have decided thousands upon thousands have lined the streets on your journey from Sri tamasic to this Parliament House they queued for hours under the hot Sun to pay their respects yet they did so spontaneously an outpouring of gratitude and admiration for what you have done for their lives I believe thousands more will do so when you move from here to your final resting place on Sunday Singaporeans shouted your name repeatedly and clapped with adulation silly I'm sorry that they had to wait so long I can just hear his reprimand in my ear my cabinet colleagues walked through the crowds thanking our people for their patience Singaporeans smile replied that the wait was little compared to what you had done for them employers let off workers who skipped meals to pay respects volunteers distributed food and drink to people in line parents brought the little children along determined that their children should know who had been responsible for our good lives here senior citizens hobble on walking sticks on wheelchairs to say goodbye and thank you personally despite their physical infirmities icily all these Singaporeans young and all whose lives you have touched it is they who matter as you've always said and who have pronounced the final judgement on your lives work it is a great work that has surpassed all expectations it is called Singapore and filled with Singaporeans who love and revere you majulah singapura rest in peace you

Channel: Prime Minister's Office, Singapore

Views: 91,567

Keywords: parliament of singapore, parliament, singapore, lee kuan yew, ng eng hen, tribute, lky

Id: diQkx9mqWqo

Length: 24min 1sec (1441 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 26 2015