Reflecting on Lee Kuan Yew’s legacy
The anniversary of the death of Singapore’s founder is being marked with high-profile commemorations in the city state, but critics question whether the former premier’s record should be revised to include controversial practices that are often overlooked
In the year since the death of Lee Kuan Yew, his iconic status as the towering statesman who deftly navigated geopolitics and transformed Singapore into one of the world’s richest places has remained largely undiminished. Even his harshest domestic critics have known better than to challenge the compelling narrative.
But with the passage of time and as the country comes to terms with the loss of its revered founding father, some researchers are saying out loud that Singaporeans should peel away their unqualified adulation of the man for a more all-encompassing view of his legacy.
Lee and the People’s Action Party (PAP) he co-founded stewarded Singapore on an economic trajectory that far surpassed other post-colonial Asian nations, but as premier, he also presided over an era that institutionalised one-party rule, sought to tame the press and saw political dissidents jailed, bankrupted or forced into exile.
Any posthumous inquisition into these darker strands of Lee’s rule would require popular support and unprecedented access to classified government archives – conditions observers say are unlikely to be met in the near term.
“At the one-year mark, I expect people will be reflective and there will be that continued sense of gratitude for Lee’s achievements,” said Eugene Tan, a long-time political observer and associate law professor at the Singapore Management University.
A general deference to Lee’s positive legacy, deep trust for the PAP and an acceptance that the government is unlikely to declassify relevant records any time soon “have conspired to dampen any initiative to engage in revisionist history”, Tan said.
