He was the man.
The founding father of Singapore.
The only leader to bring a country from third-world to first-world in a generation.
The one who never stopped trying to improve lives.
The cold hard words registered in so subtly and silently that it did the magnitude of the incident not a shred of justice. As reiterated by our fellow countrymen countless times, "Without him, Singapore would not be where we are today." Asserting leadership over a small and independent country that had almost no natural resources whatsoever, he completely revamped the national systems and functions, and has brought us disproportionate pride and dignity to be a citizen of this little red dot.
"What is of consequence is that I did my best."
We will remember your moment of anguish, your inspirational words and your policies that would come to shape and determine our lives for the better. Thank you for your ideals, your focus, the values that you promoted, and your unique view of issues and overcome them with efficient and revolutionary methods. As Tony Blair once said, "he is the smartest leader I ever met."
You weren't just a man.
You were the one who went the extra mile.
You were the one who always pulled through for us.
"Even from my sickbed, even if you are going to lower me to the grave and I feel that something is going wrong, I will get up."
Our prime minister, our senior minister and our minister mentor, who hasn't stopped striving to change our lives for the better, may you rest in peace, and be well assured that you have left a legacy and a life that will be deeply etched in our hearts.
