Lee kuan yew quotes about family

We are not enamored with any ideology. You get that alternative and you'll never put Singapore together again: Humpty Dumpty cannot be put together again I cannot have that! She would not dare, right? Because my posture, my response has been such that nobody doubts that if you take me on, I will put on knuckle-dusters and catch you in a cul de sac Anybody who decides to take me on needs to put on knuckle dusters.

If you think you can hurt me more than I can hurt you, try. There is no other way you can govern a Chinese society. I try to tell the younger generation that and they say the old man is playing the same record, we've heard it all before. I happen to know how we got here and I know how we can unscramble it. But a socialist believes that society as a whole will benefit, and there will be more happiness for more people, if all are given equal opportunities for education and advancement regardless of class or property.

I thought our people should understand how vulnerable Singapore was and is, the dangers that beset us, and how we nearly did not make it. Most of all, I hope that they will know that honest and effective government, public order and personal security, economic and social progress did not come about as the natural course of events.

Lee kuan yew quotes about family: A nation is great not

So I immediately held an election. I knew the people will be dead scared. And I won my bet big-time. The gullible fools! We've got to know his background I'm saying these things because they are real, and if I don't think that, and I think even if today the Prime Minister doesn't think carefully about this, I and my family could have a tragedy. You must have application, you must be prepared to work hard, you must be prepared to get people to work with you.

This makes American society more aggressively competitive, with a sharper edge and higher performance. Or give it up. This is not a game of cards! This is your life and mine! I've spent a whole lifetime building this and as long as I'm in charge, nobody is going to knock it down. He is a hard-working, industrious, rugged individual. Or we would not have made the grade.

But let us also recognize that he is a champion grumbler. The human mind must be creative, must be self-generating; it cannot depend on just gadgets to amuse itself. 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.

With the years, the number of special ties which we two have shared have increased.

Lee kuan yew quotes about family: “The only differences between men and

With the unfailing support of my wife and partner I have lived my life to the fullest. It is the friendships I made and the close family ties I nurtured that have provided me with that sense of satisfaction at a life well lived, and have made me what I am. A successful Singapore. What have I given up? My life. We had to train adult dogs who even today deliberately urinate in the lifts.

Dog Matter Today. And I say without the slightest remorse, that we wouldn't be here, we would not have made economic progress, if we had not intervened on very personal matters - who your neighbour is, how you live, the noise you make, how you spit, or what language you use. We decide what is right. Never mind what the people think.

Thinking People Mind. To straddle the middle ground and win elections, we have to be in charge of the political agenda. This can only be done by not being beaten in the argument with our critics. They complain that I come down too hard on their arguments. But wrong ideas have to be challenged before they influence public opinion and make for problems.

Those who try to be clever at the expense of the government should not complain if my replies are as sharp as their criticisms. Clever Winning Ideas. I ignore polling as a method of government. I think that shows a certain weakness of mind - an inability to chart a course whichever way the wind blows, whichever way the media encourages the people to go, you follow.

Blow Thinking Government. Is it that simple? You vote in a Division Three government, not a Division One government, and the whole economy will just subside within three, four years. Party Simple Government. Men Vote British. The Bell curve is a fact of life. The blacks on average score 85 per cent on IQ and it is accurate, nothing to do with culture.

The whites score on average Asians score more These are realities that, if you do not accept, will lead to frustration because you will be spending money on wrong assumptions and the results cannot follow. Frustration Reality Curves. One-man-one-vote is a most difficult form of government. Results can be erratic. Men Erratic Vote. Apology Government.

The ideas of individual supremacy and the right of free expression, when carried to excess, have not worked. They have made it difficult to keep America society cohesive. Asia can see it is not working. In America itself, there is widespread crime and violence, old people feel forgotten, families are falling apart. And the media attacks the integrity and character of your leaders with impunity, drags down all those in authority and blames everyone but itself.

Integrity Fall Character. Law Practice Court.

Lee kuan yew quotes about family: "What are the things

We have over a hundred political detainees, men against whom we are unable to prove anything in a court of law. Nearly 50 of them are men who gave us a great deal of anxiety during the years of Confrontation because they were Malay extremists. Your life and this dinner would not be what it is if my colleagues and I had decided to play it according to the rules of the game.

Men Years Law. Anybody who decides to take me on needs to put on knuckle-dusters. There is no way you can govern a Chinese society. Hurt Thinking Chinese. I feel sanguine enough to say that there has never been a better set of conditions for open democratic politics because there is no need for unified front politics. Needs Enough Sanguine.

I think in Singapore, we stand a chance of making the one-man-one-vote system work. With amendments as we have done, you know, like GRCs. We need to make it work. And I believe with pragmatic adjustments, given these favourable conditions, we can have more open debate. Believe Men Thinking. Put it this way. Everybody knows that in my bag I have a hatchet, and a very sharp one.

You take me on, I take my hatchet, we meet in the cul-de-sac. Jobs Long Bags. I don't think I made a conscious decision as a career choice. From my school days I had decided, persuaded by my parents, to prepare myself for the law. Then the Japanese occupation came and we went through three and a half years of what I would call the university of life, it was hard, it was harsh.

School Thinking Years. Life is better than death. But death comes eventually to everyone. It is something which many in their prime may prefer not to think about. But at 89, I see no point in avoiding the question. What concerns me is: How do I go? Will the end comes swiftly, with a stroke in one of the coronary arteries? Or will it be a stroke in the mind that lays me out in bed for months, semi-comatose?

Of the two, I prefer the quick one. Thinking Two Mind. Fashion People Judging. But have you got a civilised life to lead? People want economic development first and foremost. The leaders may talk something else. At the end of the day, what I cherish most are the human relationships. With the unfailing support of my wife and partner I have lived my life to the fullest.

It is the friendships I made and the close family ties I nurtured that have provided me with that sense of satisfaction at a life well lived, and have made me what I am. Ties Wife Support. Most libels, and I have taken about 30 actions, take place at election time. It has not stuck because I am prepared to go before a court, stand in the witness box and face the most aggressive of lawyers who can cross-examine me on my personal history.

Taken Faces Action. What I fear is complacency. When things always become better, people tend to want more for less work. Inspiring People Want. Birthday Bash: 5 Cute cafes in Singapore to hold your little one's birthday party. June Holidays Guide to the best kid-friendly events in Singapore. Expert Advice Tips for success. Home Culture Singapore Events.

In memory of Lee Kuan Yew: His 20 most thought-provoking quotes. No doubt he was a man with great wisdom. Karen George Previous post. Next Post.