I write this as the 'grandchild' of Mr Lee. As one of the kids from Gen X, Mr Lee was like a revered grandfather. I knew about his existence, of course, and knew about how remarkable a man he was. The adults would talk about him and share stories about him and his contributions. The benefits of being the 'grandchild' are that I am enjoying the fruits of his labour and the reaping what he has sown for all Singaporeans.
Without Mr Lee, I will (likely) not be bilingual and be at the losing end. Sure, I grumbled at school and whined sometimes about coping with more than one language but it was 'his insistence' that I took two languages and so, I did. Well, 'grandpa' knows best, isn't it? Now, English, for me, is my working language, literally. Without English, where would I be? What would I do? That's food for thought.
English is a working language, a business language. Due to his amazing foresight, many Singaporeans are able to compete on an international level and platform. A video that I watched recently showed interviewers asking Koreans and Japanese why they were not confident at using English despite studying the language for many years in school. I'll leave this video for those interested to watch but my point is that Mr Lee's Bilingual Policy has helped us so much. Gen X and Gen Y have truly benefited from learning two languages from young.
His contributions towards Singapore cannot be summed up like a 150-word summary. He has dedicated his whole life to Singapore and as the 'grandchild' of Mr Lee, even a heart-felt gratitude is not enough. Despite the immense and painful loss, I feel that we have to embody his pragmatism and push forward to make our Singapore, the Singapore that he will be proud of, always. We cannot and should not let him down because he has given his whole life to building a successful Singapore. The least that we can do as 'surviving members of the SG family' is that we ensure that Singapore remains successful and better yet, make Singapore even more successful.
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This has to be translated to Chinese for the effects to be felt but here goes...
Others: You think you very up there and all that is it? Who's your 'grandfather', eh?
SG Gen X: Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
Others: Oh... You win, okay? You win.
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Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Mr Lee, for being someone whom we can boast about. Because of you, your 'children', 'grandchildren', 'great-grandchildren'... can hold their heads up high and say, "Yes, we are Singaporeans and Singapore is our homeland which is where we belong."
Dear Mr Lee,
You are deeply missed. You are forever revered and respected. Thank you, thank you so so so much for building up Singapore.
You are deeply missed. You are forever revered and respected. Thank you, thank you so so so much for building up Singapore.
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Please note that the thoughts written here are my own. Please note the judicious use of Open and Close Quotation Marks. We are not related by blood but our bonds hold fast and true.
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