Lee Kuan Yew Quote

Lee Kuan Yew (born Harry Lee Kuan Yew; 16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean statesman, politician, and lawyer who served as the first Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. Lee is widely recognised as the founding father of the modern Singaporean state, and for his leadership in transforming it into a highly developed country during his tenure.
Lee was born in Singapore during British colonial rule. During the Japanese occupation, Lee escaped being the victim of a purge, before subsequently starting his own businesses while working as an administration service officer for the Japanese propaganda office. After World War II ended, Lee studied law at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, to study law, graduating with a double first degree in 1947. He was called to the Bar from the Middle Temple in 1950. Upon his return to Singapore, he practised as an advocate and solicitor whilst campaigning for the British to relinquish their colonial rule.
Lee co-founded the People's Action Party (PAP) in 1954 and won his first seat at the Tanjong Pagar division during the 1955 general election and became the de facto opposition leader in parliament.
Lee led his party to its first electoral victory in 1959 and was appointed the state's first prime minister. To attain complete home rule from Britain, Lee campaigned for a merger with other former British territories in a national referendum to form Malaysia in 1963. Racial strife and ideological differences later led to Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia and subsequent independence in 1965, less than two years after the merger.
With overwhelming parliamentary control at every general election, Lee oversaw Singapore's transformation into a developed country with a high-income economy within his premiership. In the process, he forged a highly effective, anti-corrupt government and civil service. Lee eschewed populist policies in favour of long-term social and economic planning, championing civic nationalism through meritocracy and multiracialism.
Lee's premiership was described as authoritarian by the Western world or as a sort of guided democracy by scholars and the media. He was criticised for curtailing press freedoms, imposing narrow limits on public protests, restricting labour movements from industrial or strike action through anti-union legislation and co-option, and bringing defamation lawsuits against prominent political opponents. Lee directly responded to such critiques by stating that "If Singapore is a nanny state, then I am proud to have fostered one".
Lee stepped down as prime minister in 1990, but remained in the Cabinet under his successors, holding the appointments of Senior Minister until 2004, then Minister Mentor until 2011. He died of pneumonia on 23 March 2015, at the age of 91. In a week of national mourning, about 1.7 million residents and world leaders paid tribute to him at his lying-in-state at Parliament House and community tribute sites.