Lee Kuan Yew was known for his strong willpower which helped him lay the foundation of today’s Singapore. He was respected for his leadership and this is one of his most memorable leadership quotes, where he said that leaders are not built in leadership courses. They go through everyday crises, hardened by circumstances. And he said it with conviction in his book The Wit and Wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew: “I don’t know yet of anyone who has become a leader as a result of going through a leadership course.”This is indeed a witty observation but its meaning is deeper than his observation.
Who was Lee Kuan Yew?
Born in Singapore during British colonial rule, Lee’s youth was spent in the shadow of World War II. Lee was among the Chinese arrested by the Japanese Sook Ching operation. According to his own account, he was afraid of being caught by the kempetai (military police) and reported being investigated with a friend.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 the time, Singapore was led 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 and became the first Prime Minister of Singapore. Seeking sovereignty from the British Empire, Lee pushed for Singapore to merge with Sarawak and Sabah along with Malaya, creating Malaysia in 1963. Racial conflict and ideological differences later led to Singapore being expelled from Malaysia and resulting in independence in 1965.This was his biggest test as Singapore became an independent country overnight. But it was not completely ready for statehood. It was a small island with no natural resources, no real army, high unemployment rates, severe housing shortages and deep ethnic tensions between its Chinese, Malay and Indian populations. Foreign experts publicly predicted that Singapore would collapse within a few months.Lee was pushed into crisis and began to work without giving up. Over the next several decades, he led Singapore through radical transformation. To fix the economy, he personally traveled the world to persuade foreign companies to build factories in Singapore. To ensure national security, he created a compulsory military service program from the beginning 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 enacted 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, becoming the world’s longest-serving Prime Minister.“At the end of the day, what did I get? A successful Singapore. What have I left? My life,” He said.