LKY

As everyone knows, LKY passed away yesterday. I was sadder than I imagined myself to be. I was surprised at my own reaction because I wasn't pro-PAP, as I was probably influenced by all the anti-PAP articles I read during GE2011. I couldn't vote then but I read all those articles with fervor, and I found myself deeply unsatisfied with them. I found that they were getting too complacent and there were many problems unsolved, like the lack of HDB flats, the frequent breakdowns of the transport system, the explosion of foreign workers in Singapore and high COEs. I was unhappy with CPF too, as I felt like the CPF was denying us our own hard-earned money. I guess quite a portion of Singaporeans felt the same way and that's how PAP lost its first GRC in Aljunied.

However, recently I start to appreciate what PAP has done. Maybe it's because I matured and also I saw PAP trying their best to rectify the problems in 2011. Since GE2011, there were more flats being built, so many that house prices have began to drop and everyone I know who needs a house managed to get one. I also appreciate the CPF scheme now and I think it's absolutely necessary. The government has to ensure that there some kind of safety net for Singaporeans when they retire. If there's no CPF, there would probably be more poor and homeless old people around as there definitely will be reckless individuals who will fail to save and have to rely on government for handouts  By implementing the CPF, the government ensures that everyone has some savings (no matter how little) for retirement and need not rely on the government. I mean, I bet Singaporeans also do not want their tax revenue to go to supporting such reckless individuals right? I also see efforts by the government to improve our public transport and curb the number of foreign workers. As for COE, I finally understood the government's rationale when I visited Bangkok for a holiday. There were so many cars in Bangkok as cars is pretty affordable there, but the jams were so bad!! It took our taxi 2-3 mins to travel 100m due to the jams. I got so frustrated inside the taxi because I felt like my time was wasted! I am glad there's COE in Singapore such that jams are minimized and we Singaporeans do not waste our time being stuck in jams. Perhaps Singaporeans are not grateful enough and 身在福中不知福

In light of all these realizations, I began to see that the PAP and LKY (all the next two PMs) did good things for Singapore and even though these policies might not be popular, they implemented it anyway. They could have chose the easy way out by implementing populist policies to get votes, but they didn't. They did what they thought was right and good for Singaporeans, and that's how we get to live in a successful country. That's what I think makes LKY exceptional.

However, I do not agree with his iron fist approach on some matters, such as media censorship.

I was also very touched by the love story between LKY and his wife. I was reading articles on them and some quotes really touched my heart. This is one of them:

We have never allowed the other to feel abandoned and alone in any moment of crisis. Quite the contrary, we have faced all major crises in our lives together, sharing our fears and hopes, and our subsequent grief and exultation. These moments of crisis have bonded us closer together.

 Also, accounts on how he cared for his wife after she was bedridden after a stroke touched me too. It is endearing to know how they cared for each other and managed to stay in love after such a long time. I took the chance to reflect on my own relationship and I think I would feel very sad if I were in their shoes. But of cause, it's irrational to be sad given that they have spent so many happy moments together. Afterwards, I felt like I should treasure every moment with Lx & everyone else.

Writing this post made me feel sad again... Sigh :(