A person isn’t dead until he is forgotten, for otherwise he lives on, in the hearts and memories of people whose lives he has touched in one way or another. I may not have had the honor to ever meet the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew personally, but his ubiquitous influence and legacy was, and still is, everywhere I turn, even in my own reflection.
Even in my travels.
And that’s personal enough for me.
I remember visiting a cathedral in Italy on one of my trips, and a priest asked if I was from Singapore. Being thousands of miles away from home, I was surprised at the astute observation, as I didn’t think one could tell by looking at my face. I smiled, and asked the priest how he inferred my nationality so accurately.
“I could tell when I heard you speak. We have many visitors from all over the world, including Asia, at our church, and I have noticed that Singaporeans speak very good English.”
I beamed at the priest. I was far away from home – across continents, borders and varying cultures – yet I was immediately recognizable through the way I spoke. And I am thankful to Mr Lee for having the vision and foresight to implement English as a first language in our previously vernacular education system, for various reasons of which one was so that we would always be relevant on the global stage. Because English is possibly the most widely-used language, based on the number of countries in which it is spoken, I often feel less of a complete stranger no matter how far from home I go, or how foreign the lands may be.
I am truly proud to be part of the bilingual world (Mandarin is my second language) that Mr Lee envisioned, and achieved, for our nation. He, together with his pioneer team of capable politicians and leaders, led Singapore and our people from a flailing third-world nation to a first-world city-state in less than 50 years. They fought hard to improve and maintain strong international relations, making sure that the status of our city-state is secure relative to the global community.
As of 2014, Singapore’s bright-red passport ranks a joint-5th on the list of most powerful passports in the world in terms of travel freedom, with visa-free entry into 170 countries – based on the Henley & Partners Visa Restriction Index which monitors and analyzes global visa regulations yearly. The countries at the top of the index hold their positions with visa-free entry into 174 countries, which is just four more than Singapore.
I mean, 170 countries. I don’t even know if I’ll ever have the opportunity to visit all 170 countries in this lifetime, but at least I know that my little red book has that freedom to take me closer to my dreams, for which I am sincerely grateful. Mr Lee made sure that we were never overlooked or forgotten just because of our small size, but instead, kept in high regard – socially, economically, and politically – by world leaders all over.
And while my homeland may not have the beautiful beaches of South America, the rolling hills of Australia, or the rustic wilderness of Africa, I count my blessings to have a clean and safe place to come home to at the end of every travel journey I make, at the end of every travel story I write.
Thank you, Mr Lee – for dedicating your life to our motherland, for being such a fighter, for doing the best that you could all these years.
As Mr Lee said in his eulogy to his beloved wife, Mdm Kwa Geok Choo, who passed away in 2010, “I should find solace in her 89 years of a life well lived. But at this moment of the final parting, my heart is heavy with sorrow and grief.”
I share the same sentiments today, except towards you, dear sir.
May you put down the burdens of this world, and reunite with the love of your life in the next.
Rest in peace, Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
Lee Kuan Yew
1923 – 2015
Keep Calm & Jas Travel 