Lee Kuan Yew was known for his iron fist with which he founded the base of today’s Singapore. He was revered for his leadership and this is one of his most memorable leadership quotes, where he said leaders are not manufactured in leadership courses. They are made through everyday crises, hardened by situations. And he said it with conviction in his book The Wit & Wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew: “I do not yet know of a man who became a leader as a result of having undergone a leadership course.”It is a witty observation indeed but the meaning is deeper than his observation.
Who was Lee Kuan Yew?
Born in Singapore during British colonial rule, Lee’s youth was spent under the shadows of World War II. Lee was amongst the Chinese men rounded up by the Japanese Sook Ching operation. By his own account, he feared getting caught by the Kempeitai (military police) and reported with a friend to be screened.When the war ended, Lee went to England to study law at Cambridge University. He excelled academically, and when he returned to Singapore, he started his own law firm in Singapore.At that time, Singapore was headed by chief ministers under British colonial rule. In 1954, Lee founded the People’s Action Party. In 1959, Lee led the PAP to its first electoral victory, becoming Singapore’s first prime minister. Seeking sovereignty from the British Empire, Lee led Singapore to a merger with Malaya along with Sarawak and Sabah, forming Malaysia in 1963. Racial strife and ideological differences later led to Singapore’s expulsion from Malaysia and consequent independence in 1965.It was his greatest test because overnight, Singapore became an independent country. But it was completely unprepared for statehood. It was a tiny island with no natural resources, no real military, a high unemployment rate, severe housing shortages, and deep ethnic tensions between its Chinese, Malay, and Indian populations. Foreign experts publicly predicted that Singapore would collapse within months.Lee was pushed into the crisis, and he started working without giving up. Over the next several decades, he led Singapore through a radical transformation. To fix the economy, he personally traveled the world to convince foreign companies to build factories in Singapore. To ensure national safety, he created a mandatory military service program from scratch to build an army. To solve the housing crisis, his government built massive public housing complexes where different ethnic groups were forced to live together, breaking down racial segregation and preventing riots. To keep the government honest, he set up strict anti-corruption laws that applied to everyone, including his own ministers.LKY then led his party to victory in seven elections and stepped down in 1990 after becoming the world’s longest-serving prime minister.“At the end of the day, what have I got? A successful Singapore. What have I given up? My life,” he said.
