How Mr Lee Kuan Yew Lived - 38 Oxley Road

Proof that Mr Lee Kuan Yew Did not Covet Money ...

With the passing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, little known facts are starting to emerge about the man. Fiercely private, Mr Lee had kept much of his personal life private. 

One of the biggest shock for many Singaporeans is to learn how spartan a life Singapore’s founding Prime Minister lived. Despite earning a decent salary, Mr Lee did not live lavishly.

Mr Lee’s bedroom was simple with a single bed as the main piece of furniture. On it was a thin towel blanket and a small bolster. Even the computer which he used was old and the screen flickered as e-mails arrived. The rest of the old two-storey house was equally spartan. The downstairs bathroom, for instance, still held a hamdankong (Cantonese for barrel or tub used for making salted eggs), a large clay urn filled with water for bathing, old-school style, complete with a plastic scoop.

Its mosaic tiles, some a little chipped, had been popular in the 1970s. The chairs in the house were mismatched, giving off an eclectic feel.

An ancient exercise bike stood in one corner, gathering dust. It was nothing to look at - a bicycle mounted on a stand, but I learnt that Mr Lee had exercised on it for decades, well into his 70s, until he fell off one day. Although the model had been replaced by a more modern one, the trusty old bike still retained its place in the 100-year-old home.

Between 1960 and 2011, Singapore's per capita gross domestic product surged more than 100-fold. But the Lees' modest home remained largely unchanged in that time and had become dwarfed by the multi-million dollar, multi-storey bungalows that sprang up around it.

When one looks at the life Mr Lee Kuan Yew lived, one cannot but help wonder about the many wild and unfounded accusations his detractors had leveled at him. One of which was that the Lee family was filled with greed and that every policy they and the ruling government made was designed to milk Singaporeans of their hard-earned money. If Mr Lee indeed focused on enriching himself, where then did the alleged theft of money go? As far as I (and rational Singaporeans) can see, Mr Lee did not covet money. His simple life is testimony to that.

Low Thia Khiang Dishonors Mr Lee Kuan Yew

Today in a despicable act by the leader of the opposition in Singapore, Mr Low Thia Khiang dishonored the memory of Mr Lee Kuan Yew at the Special Parliamentary Session convened to honor him.

In addressing the House, Mr Low Thia Khiang was reported by Today to have said "success arose not just from Mr Lee's fighting spirit and tenacity but also his sincerity. The PAP's one-party rule was not the reason for transformation, he said. Many Singaporeans were sacrificed. Mr Lee did what was right, but silencing opposition has risked disconnecting Singaporeans from their own society."

There is a time for everything Mr Low. Your words were said in extremely poor taste. It was something we would expect from the likes of Han Hui Hui and Roy Ngerng, not from the defacto leader of Singapore's opposition.

Your actions and words are equivalent to someone going to a wake and spitting on the deceased. As a Singaporean I was shocked to hear you utter such words. I can only imagine the pain that PM Lee felt. Unfortunately, in Parliament, you have your Parliamentary Rights to speak. However, if you use your Parliamentary rights to deliberately hurt another human being when he is already hurting, you are a man of poor character.

I really hope that the residents of Aljunied, Hougang and Punggol East see the man that you are and vote you out.

Tribute to Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew

An honest perspective by Ganesh Sundram about Mr Lee Kuan Yew ... 

Ok... i read that former prime minister lee kuan yew... is critically ill... and we all know whats gonna come after that....

I am honestly gonna be very sad when he is no longer ard. He had a full life and at 91.... thats consoling to the mind....

I see alot of ppl saying... if the old man dies... i will be damn happy.... But i jus want to ask.... what r we angry at?? Coz he took a small shitty island and turned it into what it is today??

Coz today... our currency is almost on par with USA... 1.36 exchange rate... BY THE WAY... and that country is a giant... the world's superpower la.... and we are almost on par... our neighbour's exchange with us is at 2.4 smthg.... dun know... dun care

Today... companies all over the world come here to start their regional hq... coz of the stable platform created....

Today... india.... a country with the world's second largest population... has HIRED SINGAPORE'S EXPERTISE TO BUILD A NEW CAPITAL CITY FOR ITSELF!!!

sure... cars are expensive....here la... do u know in thailand... or jakarta... a small distance like yishun to ang mo kio... will take 2 hours... to drive... because everyone has a car and its congested very badly....this was said to me by a thai tourist and a indonesian tourist.....

Sure... houses are expensive... do u know that in hongkong... ppl dun own their flats??? Its so expensive... everyone rents!!! And the houses are smaller than our flats....

Everyday since i was born... till today.... i cannot remember a day when electricity or water went out.... i can drink the water out of the tap and toilet bowl... its that clean.... and i can switch on my fan anytime i want... it will work.... i went to india and i witnessed it first hand.... bloody every three hours... there was a power cut.... even in hotels... then the generators will kick in...

New delhi... a girl was raped and violently abused.... brought to SINGAPORE for treatment... we all remember that... dun we...

Superstar rajnikanth.... calls Lee Kuan Yew a hero... CAME TO SINGAPORE FOR TREATMENT....

sure we buy water from our neighbour... but how many of us know that we treat the same water and sell it back to our neighbour???

I had a tourist from paris... she told me that she lost her husband to a heart attack... they live in the outskirts of paris... she called for an ambulance... it took the damn ambulance 2 hours to get to them.... PARIS OK!!!! city of love... world reknowned tourist spot... 2 hours for ambulance response....

You dial 995 and call for ambulance now la.. you see how long the response time is...

God damn they even opened up independant ambulance companies so that the real emergencies can be attended to by SCDF

Sure.. there was a riot in little india... but it was contained wasn't it??? Ya our police and civil defence got a beating... but still... did any civilian get injured??? Ppl living in the flats beside... got injured??? The ambulance that got burnt.... what does it show... singapore's patience or that particular nationality's uncivilised behaviour....

The very next day.... that road was cleaned and relaid....

Even in war laa.... its protocol to nvr hit safety vehicles.... what the hell....

I met a tourist from sweden... and she said... she got raped whilst going for a jog from her house to her neighbour's house which was 2 miles away.... there was nobody to help her.... and thats y she moved to singapore...

My current job allows me to meet different nationalities everyday... straight from the airport.... and we always get to talking... abt their country versus mine... and almost EVERY SINGLE person.... tells me

"You guys dun know how good u have it here"

Every government has its flaws and shortcomings..... every government.... they r humans laaa.... not machines.....

Our laws are amongst the strictest.... and i have personally felt the brunt of some of the laws... but u know what??? I aint complaining.... my mum.. sister... girlfren... can go out and come back whatever time... they r fine...

I can sleep in my van and wake up... with my doors unlocked... i will not be mugged and robbed

Ppl from certain countries come here... to study... they have to take cross over exams... to match our system

I go somewhere.... my education is recognised la ..god damn it

Foreigner influx was probably the blooper singapore did.... but hey.... i have got a job... i earn very well... i am happy...

I have got close friends that live in condos.. drive nice cars... live in landed houses... have lots of money.....

So its definitely possible for everyone to "live the life" here... sure it may be difficult to rise up to the top... but hey.... other countries easy ahhhh????? You know ahhh????

A flat in singapore is 300,000.... a landed house in the states is also 300,000.... u get alot of space... but u still NEED TO HAVE MONEY.....

Soooo.... if u r not successful.. blame urself.... not the country.. the system... the lamp post... or the dog....

U never study... ur fault... u nvr work hard... ur fault...

Other countries... got natural resources... to build on... what does singapore have??? NOTHING!!! the people are the resource... and that why we have to work and contribute to build the country...

America... canada... all 40% tax sia... and here we complain for paying CPF and tax....

U try la... go and say smthg bad abt our neighbour to their citizens... or better still say smthg bad abt india to an indian citizen who lives in singapore.... you see what happens....

Their country is full of injustice and problems.... but they will NEVER SPEAK DOWN ON THEIR COUNTRY...

Look at what we r doing.....

This social portal page... new nation or smthg... teases that singapore will be renamed Lee Kuan Yew... eh why laaa i ask u. Then name as what??

mohd goahead bin gostan???

Or

Angamuthu s/o singamuthu

Is it???

That man.... whether u like it or not... was a key installation to the life we have today..... not sang nila utama... or that tengku.... or stamford raffles.....

The name is LEE KUAN YEW...

and if he is no longer ard.... i WILL feel sad.... coz god damn it i am SINGAPOREAN... and even though my country has its fair share of bullshit.... i LOVE this damn place.... the life and opportunity it has given me.... the level playing field it has given me....

And it was because Lee Kuan Yew had a vision and he went abt executing it....

Lets show a little bit of gratefulness laaa... a little bit....

Whether he did right or wrong.....the man who gave us this quality of life has reached the end of the tunnel.... let him go in peace and respect.....