Tribute to the late LKY

I had wanted to make my way to the parliament house and pay my last respect to the late LKY. But was very much plagued by work and too fatigued to combat the 10hr-long queue. Finally headed to Tampines community tribute center instead.

Thank you, MM Lee

The recent years I had grown to detest the PAP, because, of the obvious reasons.

For the excessive foreigners that flood our island, fighting for our jobs and suppressing our wages;
For the public transport that became too unbearable from the squeeze and subsequently the frequent breakdowns of trains;
For the poor control of public housing that drives purchase prices to the sky.
Not to mention LKY the dictator who silenced the oppositions; the 1987 marxist conspiracy; the unreliable Straits times which serves only as PAP's mouthpiece; the constant putting down of oppositions and accusations; the worship of expats and turning Singaporeans into 2nd citizens of our own country, so on and so forth.

My perception started to change when I headed to Shanghai for various job training last year. Training were mostly conducted in Mandarin, because the China trainees had poor grasp of English. It was especially tough for me, for I did not know the technical terms in that language.

But I felt blessed to be bilingual, and I was fortunate to survive the total 5 weeks.

The Chinese had a great wealth of knowledge which impresses me very much. However they aren't inclusive if you don't speak their language, so they won't share. Well, pretty much the same for the everywhere else in the world. Fortunately I could converse decently and blend into them.

Me surviving well in Shanghai

It then dawned on me that LKY had the vision to implement bilingual policy in the early days, how often had I taken it for granted. I knew for the longest time that we were basically connected to the East and the West. But to go out and experience it myself, it was an overwhelming feeling.

I am inadequate, as we all are.
But we are equipped with survival skills to carve our journeys in life.

Like Chiam put it, "His contributions to Singapore far outweighs the criticisms."

Thank you for building a nation of educated and bilingual people so our country can survive.
Thank you for building a safe and civilized country so we don't have to be afraid of walking in the night.
Thank you for the racial and religious harmony that we can accept and enjoy our cultural diversity.
And finally thank you, for giving us the confidence to go out to the world.